Men's Tennis

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Nov. 14, 2008

Former Illini Kevin Anderson continued his dominating play at the JSM Challenger at Urbana's Atkins Tennis Center, picking up a 6-4, 6-4 win over Carsten Ball to move in to Saturday's semifinals. It's his first appearance in the semis in his adopted hometown.

Anderson's strength tends to be his booming serve, and pounding groundstrokes, but today, the wiry South African said he had to focus on something different.

"The most important thing for me today was return of serve," he said. "He has a big lefty serve and I felt comfortable if we had a baseline exchange. In the first set I must have ten break points before I was able to break him. He's the kind of player who likes to take a few hits at the ball, so you have to find a balance between being consistent, and continuing to stay aggressive."

The day's two early quarterfinals both produced seeded winners. Kevin Kim had little trouble rolling past Ramon Delgado, winning 6-0, 6-4. The 5th seed has not lost a set this week in reaching the semifinals. In contrast, Wayne Odesnik had another challenging match, needing three sets to get past the talented Frank Dancevic, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. The tournament's 6th seed faced numerous break points, including four in a service game at 2-1 in the third that proved to be the difference.

"He was returning really well," Odesnik said, "so I was just trying to mix up my serves as best I could. I don't even remember how I won that game right now. But I had never beaten him before, so I just tried to make a lot of balls, and hopefully he was going to make some mistakes."

The tournament suffered a major loss before Friday's play began, as Taylor Dent, the former world number 21, pulled out of his quarterfinal match with Sam Warburg with a strained calf. It was a disappointing end to the tournament for Dent, who had won two matches in one tournament for the first time since October 2005. The injury does not appear to be related to the back problems that have sidelined him for the past two years.

In the doubles draw, former Illini Rajeev Ram continued his string of semifinal appearances in Champaign-Urbana, by teaming with Bobby Reynolds in a 6-1, 6-1 victory over University of Illinois freshmen Dennis Nevolo and Ruan Roelofse. Ram has now been in the doubles semis here for six straight years. He has two titles during that time, in 2004 and 2006.

Admission in to the $50,000 2008 JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana for Saturday's semifinals will be $5 for general admission, and $3 for students. Play will begin at 3:30, with admission only $1 for fans who bring an Illinois football ticket stub. For Sunday's finals, tickets will run $7 and $5. Tickets are available at the door, or by calling (217) 244-3318. More tournament information can be found at www.illinoischallenger.com.

Friday's Results:
Main Draw Singles, Quarterfinals:
#5 Kevin Kim (USA) def. Ramon Delgado (PAR) 6-0, 6-4
Sam Warburg (USA) def. Taylor Dent (USA) w/o
#6 Wayne Odesnik (USA) def. Frank Dancevic (CAN) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
#8 Kevin Anderson (RSA) def. Carsten Ball (AUS) 6-4, 6-4

Main Draw Doubles, Quarterfinals:
Olivier Charroin/Nicolas Tourte (FRA) def. Brian Battistone/Dann Battistone (USA) 6-3, 6-3
Somdev Devvarman (IND)/Izak Van Der Merwe (RSA) def. Ilia Bozoljac (SRB)/Chris Haggard (RSA) 7-6 (6), 6-4
#1 Rajeev Ram/Bobby Reynolds (USA) def. Dennis Nevolo (USA)/Ruan Roelofse (RSA) 6-1, 6-1

Saturday's Semifinal Matches: (all times after 3:30PM approximate)
3:30PM - #5 Kevin Kim vs. Sam Warburg
5:00PM - #1 Rajeev Ram/Bobby Reynolds vs. Somdev Devvarman/Izak Van Der Merwe
6:30PM - #8 Kevin Anderson vs. #6 Wayne Odesnik

Quotes:
Wayne Odesnik: "He was returning really well, so I was just trying to mix up my serves as best I could. I don't even remember how I won that game right now. But I had never beaten him before, so I just tried to make a lot of balls, and hopefully he was going to make some mistakes."
On trying to qualify for the Australian Open: If I can make the cut, it sets me up for the next year. That's been one of my goals for this year, to make the top 100. I still have my work cut out for me. But this is a great situation for me."

Kevin Anderson: "I'm happy about the results. I've had a few quarterfinals in the weeks before this, and it feels great to break through in to the semis. It's just one more opportunity to play a match tomorrow, which is what you always work for."