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Former Illini Kevin Anderson
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Nov. 11, 2007
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois tennis fans will get an opportunity to relive the last five spectacular years at the Atkins Tennis Center courts Monday night, due to an exciting schedule that will keep at least one Illini on the court from 4:30 until 10:30PM. Kevin Anderson, Ryler DeHeart, Rajeev Ram, Ryan Rowe, and Brian Wilson are all scheduled to take the courts at the JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana, providing a look at the past, and future of the program.
"I'm just excited for a good opportunity to play in front of this Illini crowd," says DeHeart of his headlining act. "I'm really excited to be here and play at home. Hopefully, court two will treat me well."
But a surprise highlight for fans could be mixed in during the night, as the tournament's #3 seed, Donald Young, takes the court against Israeli veteran Harel Levy. Young is one of the top up-and-comers in the sport today, a Chicago native playing in his first professional tournament in the state of Illinois, a former world junior number one, and Junior Champion at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
Sunday's action was not friendly to the University of Illinois student-athletes, as both Senior Ruben Gonzales and Freshman Abe Souza lost in straight set matches, eliminating them from competition. Gonzales and Brandon Davis also fell in doubles competition. Gonzales was not deterred by his losses on Sunday, saying that today's loss to Phillip Simmonds was indeed a learning experience.
"I played pretty well today," Gonzales said. "Phillip's been in the top 200 in the last year, so it's a good bar to see where I am. I think I'm taking steps forward so that's good."
Tuesday night's tentative schedule could feature a true Illini battle, as Kevin Anderson and Rajeev Ram are scheduled for an explosive first round match. Amer Delic also begins his singles run, taking on a qualifier that is still to be determined.
Monday's early matches will complete the qualifying draw, with eight players competing for the final four spots in the main draw. That includes Brian Baker, a former junior champion who is playing in his second tournament back after missing two years due to a hip injury. At one time, Baker was ranked 174th in the world, a ranking that would have nearly earned him a seed at this tournament.
The top six seeds, in order, are Amer Delic, Robert Kendrick, Donald Young, Bobby Reynolds, John Isner, and Zack Fleishman. All are inside the top 130 in the world. Delic faced Fleishman in the final here last year. A complete draw sheet is available at www.illinoischallenger.com Admission in to the $50,000 2007 JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana is free through Wednesday. Tickets for the remaining days are available at the door, or by calling (217) 244-3318.
Sunday's Results:
Qualifying Doubles, First Round
Monday's Highlighted Matches: (all times after 10AM approximate)
Quotes:
Brad Dancer on Sunday's Illini performance
"Abe's limitations were exposed today, including his returns and his inability to dictate the court with his forehand. But he did a good job of managing himself from a competitive standpoint."
Ryler DeHeart on playing the unpredictable Ilia Bozoljac
Other Notes:
-The main draw is made up of 32 players. It consists of 23 "direct entry" players, based solely on their rankings 4 weeks before the tournament begins; 1 special exemption based on the previous week's results; 4 qualifiers; and 4 wild card entrants, players who are granted entry by the tournament organizers or the United States Tennis Association.
-The Battistone brothers, Brian and Dann, moved on in doubles today. Both use a prototype double-handed racket, and Brian also employs a jump serve. They play in the final round of qualifying doubles Monday afternoon.
-Brian Baker continues his amazing comeback from hip surgery two years ago. Tomorrow, he attempts to qualify for the main draw in both singles and doubles. Last week was his first tournament since losing to Jeff Morrison on these courts in November 2005.
Qualifying Singles, Second Round
#5 Luka Gregorc (SLO) def. Tim Smyczek (USA) 6-2, 5-7, 6-1
Brian Baker (USA) def. #8 Marcus Sarstrand (SWE) 6-4, 6-3
#3 Nikita Kryvonos (USA) def. Harsh Mankad (IND) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
#6 Phillip Simmonds (USA) def. Ruben Gonzales (USA) 7-6 (4), 6-4
#2 Daniel King-Turner (NZL) def. Patrick Briaud (USA) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
Travis Rettenmaier (USA) def. Michael Rubin (USA) 7-5, 6-3
#1 Izak van der Merwe (RSA) def. Justin Diao Natale (USA) 7-6 (5), 6-4
#7 Michael McClune (USA) def. Abe Souza (USA) 6-2, 6-2
Brian Baker/Phillip Simmonds (USA) def. #1 Roman Borvanov (USA)/Petru-Alexandru Luncanu 6-3, 7-6 (4)
#2 Brian Battistone/Dann Battistone (USA) def. Brandon Davis/Ruben Gonzales (USA) 6-4, 7-5
4:30PM - Brian Wilson vs. Jesse Witten
6:00PM - #3 Donald Young vs. Harel Levy
6:30PM - Anderson/Rowe vs. Kuznetsov/Oudsema
8:00PM - Ryler De Heart vs. Ilia Bozoljac
Ruben Gonzales
"I played pretty well. I hit a really good shot at four-all in the breaker, but then lost the next two. It was just a couple of big points here and there."
"Ruben continues to show improvement, especially in his serve. He was able to control the tempo today, but he had difficulty getting points started on Simmonds' serve, which is a good one."
"I'm just going out there focusing on my game, and not worrying about what he's doing. He's a really nice guy, but on the court he can be a bit unpredictable. I just have to go out with the same attitude and make him play, and know he's going to hit some incredible shots, and not let it affect me."
-The finals will be held on November 17th. A time is still TBA, but will be held at either 4 or 5PM, tentatively.
