2012 Tallahassee Challenger Recap
by Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
The USTA Tallahassee Tennis Challenger finished up with Tim Smyzcek defeating Frank Dancevic in singles 7-5 (ret.) and Martin Emmrich and Andreas Siljestrom beating Artem Sitak and Blake Strode 6-2 7-6.
The American Smyczek, who has a career high ranking of 158, (currently 282) played some great tennis this week. He began by beating Alex Kuznetsov in the 1st round, coming back after losing the 1st set to defeat 7 seed Rogerio Dutra Silva in the 2nd, taking out 3 seed Igor Kunitsyn in another 3 set battle where he, again, came back after losing the 1st set in the quarters and defeating fellow American Rajeev Ram in a 3 set semi-final battle.
The Canadian Dancevic also played great tennis this week en route to the final, beating qualifier Artem Sitak in the 1st round, Jamie Baker in the 2nd round, Bobby Reynolds in the quarters and Tatsuma Ito, the 4 seed, in the semis. He beat all but Ito in straight sets and was competing very well with Smyzcek until he suffered a back injury at the end of the 1st set, something that has hampered him in the past, and had to be carried off the court. He said he felt something “pop” in his back, and after receiving treatment, he determined it was best for him to retire from the match and not risk further injury. Unfortunately, he will likely be off pro circuit for a few weeks depending on the severity of his injury but his ranking will now hover near around 111 (career high for Frank was 65).
In doubles, Martin Emmrich, who is already ranked 89 in the world in doubles, and partner Andreas Siljestrom made quick work of doubles qualifiers Sitak and Strode, who to the surprise of many made it all the way to the final this week.
It was a great week of tennis in Tallahassee, filled with thrilling, eventful matches. The challenger celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and here is to another 20 years and beyond!
Tennis Atlantic 
Return Serve?