Fairfield, October 4, 2024: The wildcard qualifier rounds for the Taube/Kennedy-Grossman Solano Challenger men’s professional tennis tournament will be held Saturday, bringing together a longtime college rivalry as University of California Berkeley and Stanford players square off in one singles and one doubles match vying for slots in the tournament.
The action begins at 3:30 p.m. at the Green Valley Country Club, 35 Country Club Drive in Fairfield. The event is free and open to the public.
Phil Cello, co-director of the Solano Challenger (Oct. 6-13) at Solano Community College, is enthusiastic about filling the wildcard slots, noting that wildcard player Nishesh Basavareddy, from Stanford, made it to the finals of the singles championship at Solano last year. Basavareddy, is now ranked 199 on the ATP tour and will be returning as one of the main draw pros for the Solano Challenger this year.
“It just goes to show that these qualifiers are a great opportunity for the players,” Cello said. “You’re in a shootout one year and then you rise up in the challenger series and one day you could see them in the U.S. Open!”
He added that the action on Saturday will be well worth watching.
The coaches from Cal and Stanford couldn’t agree more.
“The rivalry between the schools tends to bring out the best in us and hopefully the best in them,” said Kris Kwinta, who coaches the Cal Bears teams. “It’s a love-hate thing but we appreciate what they bring to the table and it makes us better and it makes the college sport better.”
Berkeley senior Derrick Chen will square off against Stanford senior Max Basing in the singles match.
“Derrick is an all-around player with an aggressive mindset,” noted Kwinta. “He likes to apply the pressure with his forehand and has a big serve.”
Chen missed last season with a wrist injury but his coach says he is more than ready for the match. “He has done an amazing job getting into shape, especially mentally and he continues to get better and better.”
Basing is “one of the more consistent players in all of California,” said Stanford Coach Paul Goldstein. “He is one of the elite players.”
Ranked 663 on the ATP Challenger tour, Basing is also just coming off a tournament win at the International Tennis Federation M25 in Bali, Indonesia.
Basing will have to bring his stamina to the Solano wildcard qualifier because he will also be part of the Stanford doubles team, along with Stanford graduate student Harsh Parikh.
“It’s definitely hard to play a singles match and then turn around a play a doubles match but it’s something he has done before,” said Goldstein.
On the Cal side, Berkeley natives Mikey Wright and Alex Chen will square off for the doubles match.
Kwinta said the Cal Bear’s doubles team is having amazing success, making it to the quarterfinals of last fall’s ITA All American Championships. The team is now ranked 13th in the ITA college rankings and Kwinta credits that to their long-time doubles experience.
“They are the highest ranked team for the Bears and it’s all about the chemistry. They understand each other without saying a word, they go on feeling and the relationship they have built playing from high school through college. You must be that way in doubles.”
Both Wright and Chen attended Berkeley High School and entered Stanford together.
Wright is the son of Peter Wright, who coached the Berkeley team for more than 30 years.
The qualifying tournament begins Sunday with the main tournament to follow Monday and throughout the week until “Champion Sunday” on Oct. 13. The field after qualifying will feature 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams.
Tickets are available at the tournament’s official website, solanochallenger.com. All seats are in close proximity to the court.
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