Tennis Note #21
The College Scene at US Open‘15
Flushing Meadows —what is the last major of the year for many is so much more than that for others. It is a home game for former and current college players, regardless of nationality. Some of the players gave it a go in the qualifiers, whereas others are still in the preparation phase for their first round matches (doubles) or their upcoming second round matches (singles).
This year, college tennis has been represented by the following crowd of players in singles:
- 13 men in the singles qualifying
- 9 men in the singles main draw
- 5 women in the singles qualifying
- 3 women in the singles main draw
While covering the college scene at Wimbledon, we highlighted Aleksandr Nedovyesov’s and J.P. Smith’s success, both of whom qualified for the main draw. Once again, Smith managed to win all three matches and make his second consecutive appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam.
Due to the fact that it’s the US Open, we will do things slightly different this time. We will briefly touch upon the qualifying events, and instead focus more extensively on the main draws, providing information about the players’ age, current ranking, as well as their college team and the respective conference.
Men’s Qualifying
Just like in Wimbledon, 13 college players made the cut-off to start in the qualifying event. Here’s the list of participants and how they differ from London:
As stated before, John-Patrick Smith was able to qualify for the main draw. Not overly surprising, given he had two really successful weeks this summer prior to the US Open: 1 semifinal (lost to Rajeev Ram) & 1 final (lost to Dudi Sela).
Besides Smith, four other players won their first round match. Dennis Novikov and Noah Rubin had difficult tasks and eventually lost to higher ranked Pella (#94) and Ebden (#131), both of whom qualified for the main draw. Former 2014 Wimbledon Junior Champion Rubin played one season of collegiate tennis for Wake Forest University before deciding to turn pro this summer.
Let’s look at the results of the other college players, starting from round 2:
2nd round
- Guido Pella vs. #631 Noah Rubin (Wake Forest) 6–4, 7–6(6)
- Yoshihito Nishioka vs. #232 Daniel Nguyen (USC) 6–2, 2–6, 6–2
- Matthew Ebden vs. #204 Dennis Novikov (UCLA) 6–3, 6–7(3), 6–2
- #121 J.P. Smith (Tennessee) vs. Vincent Millot 7–5, 6–2
- Tommy Paul vs. #183 Jose Hernandez-Fernandez (UNC) 6–3, 7–5
3rd round
- #121 J.P. Smith (Tennessee) vs. Guilherme Clezar 6–3, 6–2
Women’s Qualifying
The setting for the last major has a positive effect on the number of former college players in the qualifying. While it has been the lone fighters Julie Coin and Maria Sanchez throughout the year, three additional players appeared in the roster:
1st round
- #179 Julie Coin (Clemson) vs. Misa Eguchi 2–6, 4–6
- #172 Maria Sanchez (USC) vs. Ipek Soylu 7–5, 5–7, 1–6
- #228 Katerina Vankova (Southern Methodist University) vs. Nigina Abduraimova 6–7, 4–6
- #194 Jennifer Brady (UCLA) vs. Elizaveta Kulichkova 2–6, 4–6
- #419 Robin Anderson (UCLA) vs. Kiki Bertens 2–6, 4–6
Robin Anderson is the only one of the 5 players who received a wild card. Fresh out of college, she finished her senior year with an impressive 19–2 record and the #1 rank in the nation. We are certainly looking forward to seeing much more of her in the near future.
Men’s Singles
The men’s singles main draw saw 9 college players, of which 1 qualified and 2 received a Wild Card:
A new name appeared on the draw: Ryan Shane. It is a tradition that the winner of the NCAA Singles Championships receives a wild card for the main draw in the US Open, provided the winner is an American citizen. Shane won the final of this year’s event 3–6 7–6, 6–1 against Noah Rubin, who has turned pro since then and tried his best in the qualifier instead (see above). Shane lost in four sets against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, and the “Cavalier” will return to collegiate tennis action for his senior year at the University of Virginia. Whether he is ready to go pro after graduating has not been determined, but winning the NCAA championship was definitely a step in the right direction.
In contrast to Shane, 25-year old Austin Krajicek won his first match in a Grand Slam singles main draw ever against Santiago Giraldo from Columbia. While Krajicek is ranked just outside the Top 100 in Singles, his Doubles career high sits at #61. This is not surprising since he proved his competence and ability during his time at Texas A&M, winning the NCAA Doubles Championships in 2011.
An interesting note: The Singles Champion in the same year was Steve Johnson!
The second round will be a wonderful face-off between him and another college player: Kevin Anderson, who won his first match in four close sets. Both have arrived in New York with a solid portion of self-confidence. While Krajicek was the runner-up in the Comerica Bank Challenger, Anderson took home the title of the ATP 250 event in Winston-Salem! Besides these two, John Isner and Rajeev Ram are also still competing in the main draw.
Women’s Singles
The women’s singles main draw includes 3 college players, of which 2 received a Wild Card:
Just like Ryan Shane, 20-year old Jamie Loeb received the Wild Card as a reward for winning the title at the NCAA Championships. Loeb lost in straight sets against No.4 seeded Wozniacki in her first match as a professional tennis player. She has decided not to return to college for final two years:
The other two contestants, Falconi and Gibbs, have recorded first round wins and move on to face spectacular second round opponents: Venus Williams and Petra Kvitova, respectively. This is definitely an extremely interesting pairings for us and all other college tennis fans to watch!
For a complete coverage of the main draws, including the highlighted players here, check out Tennis Note #20! As always, a lovely piece on all you need to know about the event and the draws.
Originally published at www.smarthlete.com and adapted for The Tennis Notebook. If you enjoy reading these tennis notes, make sure to follow the publication, ‘Recommend’ and share! Check us out on Facebook! Interested in certain topics and writing? Are you a tennis photographer? Comment, add notes, and check out the submission guideline. Cheers!
