From College Tennis to the Tennis Hall of Fame: Millennials are so Impatient
Tennis Hall of Fame Hosts ITA Collegiate Team Event on the Grass in Newport
The Hall of Fame ITA Grass Court Invitational will draw four men’s teams and four women’s teams for a first of its kind tournament, which is free and open to the public.
NEWPORT, R.I., September 13, 2016 – In a first of its kind event, the International Tennis Hall of Fame has partnered with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) to host a three-day grass court tournament that will draw eight NCAA Division 1 tennis teams to compete on the grass courts of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island this weekend. The Hall of Fame ITA Grass Court Invitational will be held September 16 – 18. The tournament will be free of charge and open to the public, providing a great opportunity for fans to see high-caliber competitive tennis. The tournament will be streamed live on FloTennis – the inaugural broadcast of the ITA’s new partnership with FloSports.
“This is an exciting new event to add to the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s calendar. The objectives of this tournament are multi-faceted. Every day at the Hall of Fame, we strive to inspire the next generation of great tennis champions and very likely, some of them are playing collegiate tennis at this moment. We are delighted to welcome some of the top collegiate players to the Hall of Fame, where they will be immersed in our sport’s rich history and hopefully inspired by the Hall of Famers who are honored here,” said International Tennis Hall of Fame CEO Todd Martin.
He continued, “Additionally, the Hall of Fame is a place where our sport is celebrated every day. Collegiate tennis is an integral part of our sport in so many ways and it is also really exciting to watch. These players are competitive and incredibly talented. They are committed to the sport and to pursuing a higher education. It will be a great event for families with aspiring young players to attend as well as for general tennis fans who are interested in watching some top-notch competitive tennis. For any tennis fans who have been meaning to plan a visit to the museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame – this would be a great weekend to do it.”
Matches will be played on the historic Bill Talbert Stadium Court and on the additional grass courts at the Hall of Fame, all of which have hosted many of the sport’s greatest tennis legends over the years.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for ITA college athletes to compete in a venue that is really special to tennis worldwide, and to learn more about our sport. We are very pleased to be collaborating with the Hall of Fame to make this unique opportunity available to the student-athletes and look forward to growing this partnership in the future,” said Tim Russell, CEO of the ITA.
Eight teams (4 women’s and 4 men’s) will compete in a flighted singles and doubles round robin format, playing for individual ITA Ranking Points. Following is a list of participating teams, listed with their national ITA ranking, based on the standings at the end of the 2015-2016 seasons.
Men’s Teams:
University of Virginia, No. 1
Texas Christian University, No. 3
University of Michigan, No. 25
Princeton, No. 52
Women’s Teams:
University of California, No. 2
Oklahoma State, No. 8
Georgia Tech, No. 16
Harvard University, No. 55
The Hall of Fame ITA Grass Court Invitational will be held September 16 – 18 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. The event is free of charge and open to the public, providing a great opportunity for fans to see high-caliber competitive tennis. During the event days, admission to the museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame will be reduced to $8 from the standard $15, making it a great time for tennis fans to visit. Admission to the museum for kids ages 16 & under is always free.
‘Big Bang Theory’ Star Kaley Cuoco To Join Bryan Bros. V-Grid Tennis Fest Once Again
Camarillo, Calif., – Kaley Cuoco, the award-winning actress and childhood friend of the Bryan Brothers, has committed to being part of the popular V-Grid Bryan Bros. Tennis Fest set for Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo.
Cuoco, star of the of “The Big Bang Theory”, will join the all-time winningest doubles team Mike and Bob Bryan and provide her humorous commentary alongside the twins’ father and event emcee Wayne Bryan. Season 10 of the “The Big Bang Theory” will premiere on CBS in two weeks.
“We are excited and elated to once again welcome Kaley back on the courts with us,” Bob Bryan said. “We’ve known Kaley since we were kids, and we’ve remained close friends with her and her entire family.”
Added Mike Bryan: “We’re so grateful Kaley will be able join us on Sept. 25. She made our event last year, and the crowd loved having her commentate on our doubles match.”
Bryans (Photo: Bryan Bros. Foundation)
The Bryan Bros., who are nearing 1,000 professional career wins and are considered the greatest all-time doubles team, will take on top American singles players Steve Johnson and John Isner on the jam-packed day to raise funds for the Bryan Bros. Foundation. Johnson, who lost to Roger Federer in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon, is from the City of Orange and earlier this summer won his first ATP pro title. Johnson and Isner are currently the No. 1 and 2 ranked American players in singles. Johnson is currently ranked No. 23 in the ATP World Tour rankings, and Isner is No. 25.
Tennis fans can purchase courtside seats for $100 (children under 17 $40) on the event website at www.BryanBrosTennisFest.com. here:http://www.bbtennisfest.com/general-admission/. There are still a few spot remaining in the Pro-Am where players can pair up with Bob, Mike, Isner, Johnson or former ATP star Mardy Fish. The event will once again feature wine and food tasting, a live auction, pro-am, and performance by the Bryan Bros. Band.
The schedule includes:
1:00pm-4:00pm: Pro-Am Tournament & Food and Wine Tastings
4:00pm-5:30pm: Pro Exhibition Matches
5:30pm-6:30pm: Bryan Bros Band Concert
Over the years, the event has raised more than $750,000 to benefit both the Ventura County Junior Tennis Association, as well as the Santa Barbara Tennis Patrons and other local children’s charities.
The V-Grid Tennis Fest is being run by Spanish Hills Director of Tennis Dave McKinney.
Sponsors include: Sponsors include: V-Grid Energy Systems, Alexander Cadillac, K-Swiss, Spanish Hills Country Club, Channel Islands Wealth Management, Fenessco, Progressive Equine, Channel Islands Wealth Management, St. Mary Magdalen School, Michael Phillip-Raymond James, Blois Construction and the SCTA.
2015 Orleans, Tiburon, Pereira, Agri, Rome and Porto Alegre Challenger Recaps
Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Orleans
Jan-Lennard Struff’s ranking has taken a big hit in the past year. Just a year ago he was ranked inside of the top 50, while at the start of this tournament he found himself at #136. However, he would take a big step towards the top 100 at Orleans. He started off by very nearly beating fifth seed Ivan Dodig in the second round, 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2, after which he surprised by beating top seed Sergiy Stakhovsky without breaking a sweat, 6-4 6-2. Kenny De Schepper, who beat third seed Marsel Ilhan in the second round, couldn’t break Struff’s run either in the semi-final, 6-2 3-6 6-3.
In the bottom half the seeds held up better, with three of them making the quarterfinals. There eighth seed Iliya Marchenko beat fourth seed Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4 6-4, while second seed Jerzy Janowicz beat Franko Skugor 6-1 2-6 6-4. The semi-final was a tight affair, but Janowicz overcame Marchenko in three sets, 6-1 2-6 6-4. In the final Janowicz was up a set and a break twice, but eventually couldn’t stop Struff’s dream run, who took down his second Challenger title of the year and third overall. He made a big jump in the rankings, rising thirty-one spots to #105, while Janowicz improved seven spots to #61.
Tiburon
Fourth seed Dustin Brown took a big hit in the first round, falling 6-2 7-5 to qualifier Sekou Bangoura. There was a little bit of controversy in the beginning of the match, with Bangoura hitting a winner off his chest, which wasn’t seen by the umpire.
Bangoura couldn’t take his run further, as he fell in a third set tiebreak to wildcard Mackenzie McDonald, who in his turn had a lucky break against sixth seed Bjorn Fratangelo in the next round, who had to retire after losing the first four games due to a lower back injury. In the semi-final top seed Denis Kudla was just too strong, despite McDonald hitting the shot of the tournament early in the third set, 6-2 6-1 6-4.
In the bottom half second seed Kyle Edmund had an early first round exit against fellow Brit Brydan Klein, 6-4 6-1. Fifth seed Ryan Harrison fell to Marek Michalicka in the second round, 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3. In the following round third seed Tim Smyczek had no troubles with Michalicka, 6-3 6-1, after which he came up with the exact same scoreline to beat Quentin Halys for a place in the final. There an absolutely spectacular encounter between Smyczek and Kudla followed, with Smyczek saving four match points during his 1-6 6-1 7-6(7) triumph. Smyczek moved back into the top 100 with his second Challenger title of the year and his fifth overall, rising fourteen spots to #98. Kudla rose six spots to a career high ranking of #67.
Pereira
Top seed Paolo Lorenzi was the only top 100 player in the draw and expected to win here, with second seed Joao Souza in a big slump and fourth seed Alejandro Falla uncomfortable on clay. Lorenzi cruised through the draw, beating fifth seed Guilherme Clezar 6-4 6-2 in the quarterfinal and Marcelo Arevalo, who beat Falla in the second round, 6-1 6-3 in the semi-final to reach the final without dropping a set.
In the bottom half Souza and Gonzalez managed to get through to the semi-final, although Souza showed the confidence in his game is still low, needing three sets on two occasions against much lower-ranked opponents. Gonzalez took advantage of his slump, beating him 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3 to reach the final. There another long match followed, but Lorenzi managed to come out on top this time, 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3. It’s the third Challenger title of the year and fifteenth overall for the 33-year-old Italian. The win saw him rise three ranking spots to #83, while Gonzalez rose twelve spots to #110.
Second seed Malek Jaziri withdrew citing an ankle injury, keeping up his acting performance from last week, when he retired alongside Denys Molchanov while 8-9 down in the supertiebreak of the Izmir Challenger final. The retirement was solely because they had a bet on themselves to win, which would be voided with a retirement. In Agri it resulted in a very ironic situation where Jaziri’s accomplice of last week, Molchanov, took advantage of the draw opening up because of the withdrawal, with him beating Dennis Novak 7-6(4) 6-2 for a place in the semi-final. There eighth seed Saketh Myneni was just too strong, 6-3 3-6 7-6(1).
In the top half fifth seed Konstantin Kravchuk managed to oust top seed Ruben Bemelmans in the quarterfinal, 6-3 6-4. In the semi-final sixth seed Farrukh Dustov was too strong, however, 7-6(4) 6-2, meaning Dustov reached the final without dropping a set. He kept it up in the final, beating Myneni 6-4 6-4 to win his second Challenger title of the year and fifth overall. He rose twenty-four ranking spots to #129, while Myneni rose thirty spots to a career high ranking of #168.
World no.153 Farrukh Dustov wins the inaugural Agri Challenger beating Saketh Myneni 6-4, 6-4 in the final. #AgriCHpic.twitter.com/SywXKrH3Gm
A strong line-up arrived in Rome, with five players ranked inside of the top 100 competing. Second seed Daniel Gimeno-Traver was the only one of them to lose before the quarterfinal, falling 6-3 5-7 6-3 to Thiemo de Bakker in the second round. Top seed Federico Delbonis beat eighth seed Albert Montanes 7-5 6-1 in the quarterfinal, after which he ousted third seed Dusan Lajovic as well in the following round, although it was a much harder encounter, 7-6(8) 7-6(5).
In the bottom half fifth seed Filip Krajinovic beat De Bakker 6-1 6-3 for a place in the semi-final, where fourth seed Marco Cecchinato awaited, who beat sixth seed Inigo Cervantes 6-1 6-4. After a tight two-set encounter Krajinovic advanced to the final, beating Cecchinato 7-5 6-4. In the final Delbonis was too strong eventually, beating Krajinovic 1-6 6-3 6-4 to claim his third Challenger title of the year and his seventh overall, posting a perfect 3-0 record in finals this year. His ranking improved ten spots, landing at #57. Krajinovic rose eleven spots to #87, just one spot shy of his career high ranking of #86.
Porto Alegre
Top seed Diego Schwartzman managed to reach the final, but it was far from easy. In the quarterfinal eighth seed Maximo Gonzalez took him to 6-1 1-6 7-5, after which fourth seed Carlos Berlocq made it even closer in the semi-final, 3-6 6-3 7-6(0). In the bottom half Rogerio Dutra Silva kept up his remarkable run of form, beating third seed Kimmer Coppejans 6-2 6-4 in the second round, after which he followed it up with a win over fifth seed Facundo Arguello, 2-6 6-4 6-4. Second seed Guido Pella was too strong in the semi-final, however, beating the Brazilian 6-1 5-7 6-1.
The final was won by Pella as well, after an excellent 6-3 7-6(5) victory over Schwartzman. It’s Pella’s third Challenger title of the year, racking up a 3-1 record in finals this year and a very impressive 9-2 overall. He rose seventeen ranking spots to #77, just two shy of his career high ranking. Schwartzman rose five spots to #72.
The US hard court season officially begins with a Premier event in Stanford, often a popular destination for the best players in the world.
The event was originally launched in San Francisco in 1971, making it the longest running women’s only event on the calendar. Eight years later it moved to Oakland before finding its current home the Taube Family Tennis Center in 1997.
Martina Navratilova holds the tournament record with five titles. Other winners include four time champion Kim Clijsters, and three-time champions Lindsay Davenport, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King and Serena Williams, who won the event last year.
Bank Of The West Classic Tier: Premier
Location: Stanford, USA
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $665,900
Date: August 3rd-9th 2015
Top four seeds who receive a first round BYE (Ranking) 1. (W/C) Caroline Wozniacki (5)
2. (W/C) Agnieszka Radwanska (7)
3. Carla Suarez Navarro (10)
4. Karolina Pliskova (12)
World number one Serena Williams, and Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza were forced to withdraw from the tournament. The last seed is Elina Svitolina, making this a strong field but not in comparison to recent years.
First round matches to watch:
(5) Angelique Kerber vs Daria Gavrilova
Youngster Daria Gavrilova could provide a stern test for fifth seed and potential champion Angelique Kerber in this intriguing round one clash.
The German is making her return to action after a disappointing loss to Garbine Muguruza at Wimbledon. Kerber would have felt she had a huge chance of making the final herself in that section of the draw. Now with that behind her, the fifth seed will turn her attention to the US hard court swing, starting with Stanford.
Gavrilova looked to be showing signs of promise when she was gradually climbing up the rankings, but recently she has been in a slump, losing her last three matches. After a first round loss in Istanbul, can the Russian bounce back in a big way and upset Kerber in Stanford?
The world number thirteen defeated Gavrilova twice at the beginning of the season with victories in Brisbane and Sydney. Their last meeting was a close 6-7,7-6,6-3 win for the German. The quickness of the courts should suit Kerber’s counter punching game, especially with her flat shots. Gavrilova could provide an interesting test, but it is likely to be the fifth seed advancing.
(6) Andrea Petkovic vs Carina Witthoeft
Witthoeft? Really?
Speaking of youngsters, Carina Witthoeft will look to spring an upset by defeating compatriot and sixth seed Andrea Petkovic.
The 20 year old will be looking to put a bad few months on the main tour behind her after not registering a win since the French Open. The German is just outside the top 50, so a win here could see Witthoeft re-join that club.
Petkovic is making her return to tour action after losing in the third round of Wimbledon to Zarina Diyas. The German had a good grass court season by her standards on a surface she has previously struggled on. Hard courts suit her game more, so the world number 16 will look to use this stretch of the season to potentially re-join the top 10.
Petkovic will be the favourite, but with this being the start of a new part of the season there is potential for an upset.
Draw Analysis:
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki will receive a first round bye, but could face Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in round two if she can get by Varvara Lepchenko. The Croatian’s power game could be effective on this surface, and if Wozniacki is not careful she could be heading for an early exit. Mona Barthel will likely await the winner of Petkovic vs Witthoeft which would set up another all German clash for a quarter final place. Petkovic will once against be the favourite, but Barthel is capable of playing great tennis. The top seed does not have it easy in her quarter with potential for an upset.
Karolina Pliskova will look to put a disappointing Wimbledon behind her by making a title run at Stanford. The surface should suit the big serving Czech, who will receive a first round BYE courtesy of her seeding. The fourth seed could face Sabine Lisicki in the second round in what will be billed as a battle of the servers. The German is also coming off the back of a poor Wimbledon (for a change), but overall she has had a fairly consistent season. It will likely come down to who serves the better of the two, making this an even contest on paper. Speaking of big serves, seventh seed Madison Keys also finds herself in this tough quarter. The American will face Aleksandra Krunic in round one, then the winner of Ajla Tomljanovic vs Vitalia Diatchenko in round two. Three decent and potentially tricky opponents, but players you will expect Keys to beat. A quarter final against Pliskova or Lisicki will provide us with another big serving contest.
Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska took a wildcard in to the tournament and looks to build off a strong Wimbledon performance that saw the Pole re-enter the top 10. Her draw to the quarter finals looks kid with Catherine Bellis or a qualifier awaiting the world number seven in round two. From there it could be tricky, with Kerber possibly awaiting her in the quarter finals. The German could possibly go through a duo of youngsters in Gavrilova and Ana Konjuh before reaching the last eight. A clash with Radwanska will be interesting given their respective defensive game styles. The fast courts suit both, but I feel it benefits Kerber slightly more.
Third seed Carla Suarez Navarro lost in the first round of Wimbledon, so is also looking to recover from a disappointing result at SW19. There are some potentially dangerous players in her section of the draw, with Alison Riske or Tatjana Maria being the Spaniard’s second round opponent. Elina Svitolina is the projected quarter final opponent, but she can be troubled by Caroline Garcia in round two. It will be a battle of two of the tour’s rising players, but form is on the side of the Ukrainian. With Suarez’s form unknown, the 20 year old will fancy her chances of a deep run here.
2015 Busan, Aix en Provence, Cali, Karshi and Rome Challenger Previews & Predictions Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Busan Open
ATP Challenger Tour
Busan, South Korea
4-10 May 2015
Hardcourt, Rebound Ace
Prize Money: $100,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Yen-Hsun Lu (67)
2: Sam Groth (85)
3: Go Soeda (87)
4: Hyeon Chung (88)
5: Dudi Sela (90)
6: Tatsuma Ito (97)
7: Lukas Lacko (99)
8: Ryan Harrison (122)
The last direct acceptance is Takuto Niki, ranked 283rd. Ryan Harrison withdrew due to the ankle injury he attracted last week.
Second round match-up to watch
Denis Kudla
(4) Hyeon Chung – Denis Kudla
Chung cracked the top 100 for the first time after winning the Savannah Challenger two weeks ago and now faces an interesting opponent in Kudla here. Kudla seemed to be heading the same direction as Chung, but has shown to lack consistency after beating Viktor Troicki and taking world #14 Feliciano Lopez to 8-10 in the decider at the Australian Open to start off the year. He is now closer to dropping out of the top 150 than reaching the top 100.
Top Half
Just a year ago, top seed Yen-Hsun Lu would have been the overwhelming favorite here. But after his surprising loss last week and the rise of some other players, he might be ‘just’ one of the contenders. It isn’t unreasonable to put Chung up as the slight favorite, followed by Lu and with Dudi Sela closely behind the two. Tatsuma Ito and Grega Zemlja can be seen as outsiders.
Bottom Half
The top section seems to be a clear prey for Go Soeda, especially with the seed here getting replaced by a qualifier after Harrison’s withdrawal. However, he faces a tricky second round opponent in John-Patrick Smith, who is playing the best tennis of his career. The bottom section is very interesting, with two titlists of last week being there, Franko Skugor and Sam Groth. Groth might be able to keep his good run going, while that is very doubtful in Skugor’s case. Also in this section are Lukas Lacko, Luke Saville and Iliya Marchenko, who could all very well cause surprises and upset a tired Groth. Although we should remember that this is the venue where Groth hit the unofficial fastest serve of all time three years ago.
Predictions
Semis:
Chung d. Lu
Groth d. Soeda
Final:
Groth d. Chung
Open du Pays d’Aix
ATP Challenger Tour
Aix en Provence, France
2-10 May 2015
Red Clay
Prize Money: €64,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Blaz Kavcic (77)
2: Malek Jaziri (84)
3: Lucas Pouille (95)
4: Robin Haase (101)
5: Filip Krajinovic (104)
6: Norbert Gombos (111)
7: Andrey Golubev (117)
8: Alexander Zverev (119)
The last direct acceptance is Mathias Bourgue, ranked 214th. Former world #18 Florian Mayer received a wild card.
First round match-ups to watch
(6) Norbert Gombos – (WC) Florian Mayer
Tough break for Gombos, as he isn’t the favorite to win his first round match, despite being seeded. Mayer has already shown decent tennis after coming back from his one year injury lay-off, almost taking out world #10 Marin Cilic in the second round of Monte Carlo, falling 6-3 in the third set. It certainly is nice to have the jumping backhand dropshots back on tour again.
(7) Andrey Golubev – Aleksandr Nedovyesov
An interesting match-up between two players with similar high risk playing styles. Put them together and they can work wonders, as they showed by beating Federer and Wawrinka in doubles at their Davis Cup meeting last year, but on their own it’s a struggle. Golubev is 3-9 on the main tour this year, while Nedovyesov has failed to impress since reaching the Bergamo final in early February.
Top Half
This appears to be a fine draw for Alexander Zverev to make a deep run. The 17-year-old has a kind draw with Michal Przysiezny in the first round and a wildcard or qualifier in the second, while his potential quarterfinal opponent #3 seed Lucas Pouille comes off a disappointing loss last week and might be a bit more vulnerable here. In the top half it’s perhaps last week’s Ostrava winner Inigo Cervantes who has the best shot, being surrounded with players who are not that fond of clay, but for someone who is not used to perform two weeks in a row this might be a bit too much. This might be a good opportunity for Gastao Elias to pick up some form and make a deep run.
Bottom Half
A rare occurence, but I’m picking the wildcard as the favorite here. Florian Mayer should be able to fend off the rest of the contenders here, with unseeded Albert Montanes perhaps being his main competitor. The two are projected to meet in the quarterfinal of the bottom section. From the top section Robin Haase should be able to come through, despite him being capable of losing to a wide variety of players these days.
Predictions
Semis:
Zverev d. Elias
Mayer d. Haase
Final:
Mayer d. Zverev
Seguros Bolivar Open
ATP Challenger Tour
Cali, Colombia
4-10 May 2015
Red Clay
Prize Money: $50,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Blaz Rola (93)
2: Niels Desein (161)
3: Chase Buchanan (163)
4: Nicolas Jarry (189)
5: Guido Andreozzi (204)
6: Christian Lindell (222)
7: Juan Ignacio Londero (235)
8: Jose Hernandez-Fernandez (240)
The last direct acceptance is Ryusei Makiguchi, ranked 502nd.
First round match-up to watch
(6) Christian Lindell – Nicolas Barrientos
The two played a very close match last year in Italy, with Lindell taking it 6-4 in the third set. After Lindell’s final run last week and with Barrientos playing in his home country, there might be an upset in the making here.
Top Half
Top seed Blaz Rola is by far the highest ranked player here and it’s hard to look past him. Second seed Niels Desein is ranked sixty-eight spots below him, which is a lot. If Rola fails to reach the final here it would be a huge disappointment, since every loss is an upset. If I had to pick one player capable of pulling it off it would be #7 seed Juan Ignacio Londero, who is projected to meet Rola in the quarterfinal.
Bottom Half
Nicolas Jarry’s form has not been convincing lately, but this is a golden opportunity for him to gain momentum and a lot of ranking points. The only player who should be able to threaten him is #5 seed Guido Andreozzi in the semi-final, which is likely to be a close match. #2 seed Niels Desein is not a fan of clay and has had some bad losses on the surface as of late, making it unlikely he will be able to live up to his seeding.
Predictions
Semis:
Rola d. Lindell
Jarry d. Andreozzi
Final:
Rola d. Jarry
Karshi Challenger
ATP Challenger Tour
Karshi, Uzbekistan
4-9 May 2015
Hard, Plexipave
Prize Money: $50,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Teymuraz Gabashvili (100)
2: Farrukh Dustov (108)
3: Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (118)
4: Aslan Karatsev (166)
5: Evgeny Donskoy (196)
6: Ti Chen (203)
7: Brydan Klein (205)
8: Yuki Bhambri (216)
The last direct acceptance is Vladimir Ivanov, ranked 424th.
First round match-ups to watch
(6) Ti Chen – Matthew Ebden
Tough draw for the seed, with Ebden seeming to pick up some good form in his last two tournaments, reaching a quarter- and semi-final. If he plays to those standards, he should be able to beat Chen and make another deep run.
(5) Evgeny Donskoy – Ramkumar Ramanathan
Former world #63 Donskoy is sinking deeper and deeper, now even disappearing out of the top 200. Granted, Ramanathan’s development seems to be stagnating a bit and his results have been lacking, but against this Donskoy anything is possible.
Top Half
Top seed Teymuraz Gabashvili is playing his first hardcourt event after a respectable clay court stretch. The scheduling is a bit remarkable, giving that Roland Garros is around the corner, but he is probably looking to pick up some easy points. This should be doable, but he has a very dangerous quarterfinal opponent in Yuki Bhambri, who I think should be able to surprise Gabashvili, who will be lacking hardcourt rhythm. The two of them are very likely to decide the finalist from this half.
Bottom Half
Adrian Menendez-Maceiras has been playing the tennis of his career at the ripe age of 29 and is showing no signs of slowing down. He could very well rack up another final here, with fellow seeds Donskoy and Chen very uncertain to perform well, while #2 seed Farrukh Dustov is already out by the time I am writing this, making him a pretty strong favorite to do so.
Predictions
Semis:
Bhambri d. Karatsev
Menendez-Maceiras d. Ebden
Final:
Bhambri d. Menendez-Maceiras
Garden Open 2015
ATP Challenger Tour
Rome, Italy
4-9 May 2015
Red Clay
Prize Money: €42,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Aljaz Bedene (91)
2: Dustin Brown (102)
3: Radek Stepanek (120)
4: Kyle Edmund (130)
5: Marco Cecchinato (150)
6: Taro Daniel (164)
7: Konstantin Kravchuk (167)
8: Elias Ymer (171)
The last direct acceptance is Miroslav Mecir, ranked 216th. Russian sensation Andrey Rublev received a wildcard.
First round match-up to watch
(6) Taro Daniel – Gerald Melzer
This is bound to be a great match. Melzer lucked out at Munich last week, getting a bye into the second round as a qualifier, where Pablo Andujar retired against him in the first set. However, he showed he was deserving of that luck by beating world #44 Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinal, before falling to #26 Philipp Kohlschreiber in the semi-final after a long battle, 2-6 6-1 6-4. Daniel comes off a tournament win at Vercelli, so he is well at home on the Italian clay. They faced each other twice last year, splitting the matches, both in straight sets.
Top Half
Top seed Aljaz Bedene has not been convincing on clay so far, so it’s hard to make him the clear cut favorite. One of Melzer or Daniel should be able to beat him in the quarterfinal, for instance. The finalist is likely to be one of those three, however, with the bottom section (headed by #4 seed Kyle Edmund) being considerably weaker.
Bottom Half
17-year-old Andrey Rublev has shown he can hang at ATP level after beating three top 100 players in just as many events, so he might well be able to continue that good run here. He is projected to face Marco Cecchinato, last week’s Turin winner, and Radek Stepanek, but names like that shouldn’t frighten him and he might even be the favorite against both men. The bottom section is headed by the always unpredictable Dustin Brown, who might find another youngster on his path to the semi-final, 18-year-old Elias Ymer.
LONG BEACH, Calif., (Jan. 17, 2015) – Steadiness and experience have gone along way for Frederik Nielsen this week at the USTA Pro Circuit $15,000 Long Beach Futures Tournament taking place at the El Dorado Park Tennis Center.
The 31-year-old 2012 Wimbledon doubles champion and No. 6-seeded singles player this week, Nielsen of Denmark held off 2014 NCAA singles runner-up Alex Sarkissian from Glendale, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, to advance to Sunday’s final.
Nielsen, who avenged a 2013 loss to Sarkissian at the Aptos Challenger in their only career meeting, will play qualifier Takanyi Garanganga of Zimbabwe in the 11 a.m. final.
Garanganga battled to the very end against hometown favorite Jason Jung of Torrance, pulling out the close 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over the No. 3 seeded former University of Michigan star.
The average age of the four players Nielsen beat this week was an average age of 19.5, including Martin Redlicki (19), Mackenzie McDonald (19), Stefan Kozlov (16) and Sarkissian (24).
Sarkissian held a 4-2 lead with Nielsen serving in the second set, and had two break points to go ahead 5-2 and serve out the match. But Nielsen stayed steady and held on to win the game and eventually the set.
“At the start of the match I felt like he was a step ahead of me and he was playing better than me and faster than me,” Nielsen said. “I started slicing and slowing the pace down.”
He added: “Physically I feel amazing, and mentally I feel tough. All and all I’m very happy with where I’m at.”
Nielsen has made some time for some sight-seeing this week and has been enjoying the picture-perfect 72-degree sunny weather this week. On Friday, he saw the sunset and views of the Pacific from the Griffith Observatory, and on Saturday evening he was headed to the Santa Monica Pier for dinner.
He surprised many with his 6-0 win in a third set against Kozlov in the quarterfinals on Friday. “I think it’s very tough to evaluate him now because of his age,” Nielsen said of Kozlov. “He’s only 16 years old and it’s outrageous his composure and how impressive he handles everything. I do feel he let me play a little too much on my terms and that he may have some physical limitations over the next couple of years. But he’s very mature and he’s a great fighter. I’m just glad I was able to beat him now.”
USTA League Captain’s Appreciation Day is Sunday, Jan. 18, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The tournament is free and open to the public.
FLORIDA’S @STEFANKOZLOV OPENS WITH BIG WIN AT SO CAL PRO FUTURES TOURNAMENT
LOS ANGELES (Jan. 6, 2015) – Unseeded 16-year-old Stefan Kozlov opened up first-round play at the USTA Pro Circuit $15,000 Southern California Futures Tournament with an easy 6-1, 6-0 victory over No. 7-seeded Joshua Milton of Great Britain on Tuesday at the Marks Tennis Stadium on the campus of USC.
Kozlov, who has turned pro, finished 2014 as the No. 3-ranked ITF junior player in the world and reached both the Wimbledon and the Australian Open junior final in 2014, as well as the junior quarterfinals at the US Open and the French Open.
In December of 2014, the Pembroke Pines, Fla., resident Kozlov also won the prestigious Orange Bowl singles and doubles titles.
In the upset of the day, wild card Taylor Fritz of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., downed top-seeded and former UCLA All-American Dennis Novikov, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-5.
Playing 45 miles from his hometown of Thousand Oaks, former four-year University of Washington star Kyle McMorrow opened up first-round play with a 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-1, win over Switzerland’s Sandro Ehrat.
In a battle between wild cards, USC’s Eric Johnson got past Stanford’s Tom Fawcett, 6-4, 7-5.
In a battle of qualifiers, former UCLA standout Clay Thompson outlasted North Carolina’s Ronnie Scheinder, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-1.
The tournament announced that reigning NCAA singles champion Marcos Giron had pulled out of the event, but was scheduled to play next week’s USTA $15,000 Futures event at the El Dorado Park Tennis Center in Long Beach.
For more information including draws and schedules, check out procircuit.usta.com. For more information on the Southern California Tennis Academy run by Smith and Mitch Bridge, go to sctennisacademy.com.
