Tennis Atlantic

SATURDAY’S SINGLES AND DOUBLES SEMIFINAL ROUNDS SET AT THE CHARLOTTESVILLE MEN’S PRO CHALLENGER

Highlights include the completion of the singles quarterfinal round, as defending champion Izak Van der Merwe, Alex Kuznetsov, No. 2 Alex Bogomolov Jr. and No. 8 Denis Kudla advance; Doubles semifinals all set with the duos of Jarmere Jenkins/Jack Sock and No. 2 seed John Peers/John-Patrick Smith moving on

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., November 2, 2012 – The quarterfinal rounds for both singles and doubles competition are now complete at the Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger at The Boar’s Head Sports Club. Friday’s action at the USTA Pro Circuit event was intense, and produced a handful of winners that now have a more realistic shot at capturing this year’s prize.

Defending singles champion Izak Van der Merwe of South Africa advanced to tomorrow’s semifinal round with a 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 win over Australian John-Patrick Smith. The 28-year old is one step closer to capturing his fourth career Pro Circuit Challenger victory, but will have to get past 20-year old Arlington, Va., native Denis Kudla in the semifinals.

Kudla, the No. 8 seed, got past crowd favorite and University of Virginia legend Somdev Devvarman with relative ease on Friday night, 6-2, 6-0. Kudla is now 2-1 all-time against Devvarman, and will have a busy Saturday, as he will be playing a doubles semifinal match as well.

In the other singles semifinal, the top remaining seed, No. 2 Alex Bogomolov Jr., will take on American Alex Kuznetsov. Bogomolov was challenged by Tennessee native Rhyne Williams on Friday, as the 21-year old forced a first-set deciding tiebreak, but it was all Bogomolov from there. The 29-year old, who was born in Moscow, claimed the tiebreak 7-0, and then cruised to a 6-0 finish in the second set.

Kuznetsov also turned it on late in his quarterfinal match, as he defeated former Stanford standout Bradley Klahn in the first match of the day in three sets, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1. In their only prior meeting, Bogomolov, currently ranked No. 96 in the world, knocked off Kuznetsov in the round of 16 at last year’s Sarasota Challenger (6-2, 6-1).

The No. 1 doubles seed was upset on Friday, while the No. 2 seed advanced. UVa alum Treat Huey (who won the 2011 doubles title with another former Cavalier, Dominic Inglot) and Bobby Reynolds were beaten by current UVa standout Jarmere Jenkins and 20-year old Nebraska native Jack Sock, 6-4, 6-3. Jenkins admitted that he was suffering from flu-like symptoms during the upset victory.

Sock won the 2011 U.S. Open Mixed Doubles crown with Melanie Oudin, and also beat Kudla to win the U.S. Open junior title the year before. Jenkins and Sock will now meet up with Kuznetsov and Mischa Zverev in Saturday’s first semifinal match.

On the other side of the bracket, the No. 2 seeded Australian duo of John Peers and John-Patrick Smith held off Tim Smyczek and Ryan Sweeting on Friday, 6-3, 6-4. They will now face Kudla and Jesse Levine in the semifinal round on Saturday.

–Scott Ratcliffe, USTA