Fairfield, Oct. 8, 2024: Following Qualifying rounds that wrapped up Monday, the field for the Taube/Kennedy-Grossman Solano Challenger men’s professional tennis tournament are set and key matches began Monday afternoon.
Early action on Monday included a tight match that pitted Stanford senior Max Basing against Michigan State sophomore Ozan Baris 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-3 in 100-degree temperatures on the Solano Community College courts in a second qualifying match that earned Basing a spot in the round of 32.
The heat played a pivotal role in the faceoff with Basing feeling like he was catching his stride.
"I wouldn't say I feel fresh, but it's still good to get the win," Basing said. "It's good for me to get some hours in the heat. I feel like I'm starting to get used to it. It was my match fitness. I felt like that was what helped me."
Basing was in the tournament after winning a wildcard qualifier on Saturday at Green Valley over Cal senior Derrick Chen, 6-2, 7-5. He then had to beat Colton Smith of the United States 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 on Sunday. Monday's match made it three straight days and three straight victories for the native of Oxshott, United Kingdom. Basing is also just coming off a tournament win at the International Tennis Federation M25 in Bali, Indonesia.
Results from Monday included:
In the Round of 32 matches: Alexis Gularneau (CAN) defeated American J.J. Wolf 7-6(2) and 6-4; Edas Butvilas (LITH) defeated Remy Bertola (SWIZ) 6-3, 6-2; Kiranpal Pannu (NZ) defeated Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc (FRA) 6-1, 6-4.
In the final qualifier rounds: Murphy Cassone defeated Cem Ilkel 6-2,6-3; Micah Braswell (USA) defeated Luke Saville (AUS) 6-4,6-4; Max Wiskandt defeated Quinn Vandecasteele 7-5, 6-4; Trey Hildebrand (USA) defeated Kyle Kang 6(9)-7; 6-4, 6-4 after completing is first round qualifier final set defeating Christian Langmo 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The ATP Challenger event features several players to keep an eye on, even a few that will be familiar to those who watched the grand slam US Open earlier this year including:
American Learner Tien, 18, of Irvine has earned his first two Challenger titles this year in Bloomfield, Michigan, and Las Vegas. He won the 2022 USTA Boys 18s Championship and earned a wild card to the U.S. Open, making him the youngest player to compete in the main draw since Donald Young did so at 16. In 2023, Tien won the Australian Open and U.S. Open junior championships, ranking him fourth in the world among young players.
Tristan Schoolkate, 23, from Australia. Currently ranked 169, Schoolkate, who made his ATP Tour debut in 2021, earned a wildcard spot in U.S. Open and came within a point of reaching the third round before losing to Jakub Mensik.
American Ethan Quinn, 20, ranked 235, was a unanimous No. 1 junior prospect in the nation before going to the University of Georgia. He was ranked No. 25 in the ITF junior world rankings in 2022. He turned pro in 2023.
Today’s round of 32 matches include:
TAD TAUBE COURT (start 10:00 am) Dimtry Popko (KAZ) vs Aidan Mayo (USA) followed by (not before noon) Learner Tien (USA) vs Gonzalo Oliveira, followed by Murphy Cassone (USA) vs Brandon Holt (USA) and then Bruno Kuzuhara (USA) vs Tristan Schoolkate (AUS)
EVE ZIMMERMAN COURT (start 10:00 am) Bor Artnak (SLO) vs Patrick Kypson (USA) followed by Bernard Tomic (AUS) vs Max Wiskandt (GER) followed by Etanh Quinn (USA) vs Carl Emil Overbeck (DEN) and then Eliot Spizzirri (USA) vs Trey Hilderbrand (USA)
KENNEDY-GROSSMAN COURT (start 10:00 am) Gabi Boitan (ROU) vs Ryan Seggerman (USA) followed by Max Basing (GBR) vs Jack Pinnington Jones (GBR) followed by Guy Den Ouden (NED) vs Rudy Quan (USA) and then Alexey Zakharov vs. Micha Braswell (USA)
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