Devvarman, Levine, Myneni, Williams Round Out @CVilleTennis Quarterfinalists
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., October 30, 2013 – The quarterfinal round is all set at the Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger at The Boar’s Head Sports Club, as the second round of singles play concluded with four matches on Thursday. The semifinals of the USTA Pro Circuit event will be played two hours earlier than originally scheduled on Saturday.
On Thursday, No. 2 seed Somdev Devvarman got past Denys Molchanov of the Ukraine, 6-2, 6-3. Devvarman, the former two-time NCAA singles champion at the University of Virginia, will take on No. 7 Rhyne Williams in the quarterfinals. Williams enjoyed an easy 6-3, 6-1, second-round victory over American qualifier Kevin King on Thursday. Devvarman, 28, is currently ranked No. 91 and was the singles runner-up of the inaugural Charlottesville tournament in 2009. The 22-year old Williams is a two-year pro and a former NCAA singles finalist at the University of Tennessee.
Also on Thursday, Jesse Levine defeated fellow Canadian Filip Peliwo to move on to the quarterfinal round, 7-5, 6-2. Levine, the 26-year old 2011 Charlottesville singles runner-up, will face Saketh Myneni of India in the quarterfinals.
Myneni, who upset top seed Tim Smyczek in the first round, continued his solid play with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Chase Buchanan in Thursday’s finale. Levine boasts a world ranking of 160.
On the doubles side, three teams punched their tickets into Saturday’s semifinal round. No. 2 seeds Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren eliminated former UVa teammates Devvarman and Sanam Singh, 6-4, 6-2. They will face Jarmere Jenkins and Donald Young, who on Thursday knocked off Levine and Molchanov, 6-3, 6-3, in the semifinals on Saturday. Steve Johnson and Smyczek became the first duo to advance to Saturday’s semis with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Carsten Ball and Peter Polansky in Thursday’s first match.
In doubles opening-round play, Alex Kuznetsov and Williams teamed up to defeat former UVa wild cards Teddy Angelinos and Michael Shabaz, 6-3, 3-6, 10-6.
Friday’s quarterfinal action starts off with a bang, as three of the four remaining seeded singles competitors will take the court in the first two matches of the day. In the opening match, Young faces Canada’s Peter Polansky, followed by the showdown between No. 2 Devvarman and No. 7 Williams. Myneni will then face Levine prior to Friday’s lone doubles match between the British duo of David Rice and Sean Thornley, and Kuznetsov and Williams, for the last spot in Saturday’s semifinal round. Friday’s featured match will follow, as 35-year old all-time Pro Circuit wins leader and No. 3 seed Michael Russell goes up against Jenkins. A full schedule is listed below.
The Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger features 32 singles players and a 16-team doubles field. Thanks to the generosity of this year’s sponsors, admission to the tournament is free all week long, and will again benefit Special Olympics Virginia.
Main Draw matches will start at 11 a.m. on Friday. The start time for the semifinal matches on Saturday, originally slated for 1 p.m., will now be moved up to 11 a.m., and all four semifinal matches will be played consecutively. Saturday’s featured match will not begin prior to 5 p.m. The finals will be played on Sunday, November 3, beginning at 1 p.m. (doubles final followed by singles, unless one or more competitors are still alive for both).
The tournament’s 2012 singles champion, Denis Kudla, is not back to defend his title this week. Live scores can be found online at http://www.usta.com or by using the free ATP/WTA app for your mobile device. Also, a live feed from the tournament can be found daily at http://www.procircuit.usta.com.
Thursday, October 31 – RESULTS
Singles – Second Round
[2] Somdev Devvarman, India, d Denys Molchanov, Ukraine, 6-2, 6-3
[7] Rhyne Williams, United States, d [Q] Kevin King, United States, 6-3, 6-1
Saketh Myneni, India, d Chase Buchanan, United States, 6-4, 6-4
Jesse Levine, Canada, d Filip Peliwo, Canada, 7-5, 6-2
Doubles – Quarterfinals
[2] Austin Krajicek, United States / Tennys Sandgren, United States, d Somdev Devvarman, India / Sanam Singh, India, 6-4, 6-2
Steve Johnson, United States / Tim Smyczek, United States, d Carsten Ball, Australia / Peter Polansky, Canada, 6-2, 7-5
Jarmere Jenkins, United States / Donald Young, United States, d Jesse Levine, Canada / Denys Molchanov, Ukraine, 6-3, 6-3
First Round
Alex Kuznetsov, United States / Rhyne Williams, United States, d [WC] Theodoros Angelinos, Greece / Michael Shabaz, United States, 6-3, 3-6, 10-6
Friday, November 1 – SCHEDULE
Court 7 – starting at 11 AM
Peter Polansky, Canada, vs [4] Donald Young, United States
[7] Rhyne Williams, United States, vs [2] Somdev Devvarman, India
Saketh Myneni, India, vs Jesse Levine, Canada
Not Before 5:00 pm
David Rice, Great Britain / Sean Thornley, Great Britain, vs Alex Kuznetsov, United States / Rhyne Williams, United States
[3] Michael Russell, United States, vs [WC] Jarmere Jenkins, United States
—Scott Ratcliffe
Tennis Atlantic 