After a lengthy rain delay that stretched into Monday afternoon, the first round of qualifying at the Greenview Development & Majestic Realty Men’s Pro Tennis Open wrapped up to a beautiful sunset. After hours of drying courts only to see the rain re-emerged, everyone appreciated clearer skies when they finally appeared (see photo, above).
Adrian Oetzbach of Germany, the No. 1 seed in qualifying, defeated American Lucas Hammond, 6-4, 6-2, in one of the final matches at the Texas Tennis Center. Oetzbach next faces No. 9 Rahul Dhokia, who defeated American Satyajit Simhadri, 6-1, 6-1. In the qualifying round, players need two victories to advance to the main draw.
Fourth-seeded Ryan Dickerson defeated Anton Shepp, 6-3, 1-6, 14-12, the only match to go past two sets and end in a championship tiebreak. Dickerson next faces Eshan Talluri, a University of Texas junior playing on his home courts. Talluri defeated Nathan Chavez, 6-3, 6-2, with aggressive play that put his opponent on the defensive.
Evin McDonald, another Longhorn, defeated No. 15 Drew Van Orderlain, 6-4, 6-3, in a match full of powerful crosscourt rallies. McDonald will face No. 8 Eric Hadigan, a Pepperdine senior who defeated fellow American Matthew Vos, 6-3, 6-3.
Even though the score doesn’t reflect it, one of the most heated matches was fifth-seeded Giacomo Revelli’s 6-2, 6-0 victory over Arman Zamani. Both sides were prone to outbursts over disputed line calls. Revelli, a Brit, will face Marko Mesarovic, an 18-year-old from Round Rock’s Westwood who advanced when No. 14 Credit Chaiyarin of Thailand retired after losing the first set by 6-3. Mesarovic got a wild card into qualifying.
Second-seeded Warren Wood, a 29-year-old from Del Mar, California, defeated Alex Cairo, an 18-year-old from Dallas, 6-3, 6-1. Wood will face another Metroplex player, No. 10 Pranav Kumar, who defeated Piotr Pawlak, 6-1, 6-1. Kumar is a graduate senior at Southern Methodist University.
No. 3 Noah Schacter, a Texas A&M senior, defeated American Lazar Markovic, 6-1, 6-4. Schacter will go against Edison Ambarzumjan of Germany, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Hans Christian Bustiman Gonzalez, a 19-year-old Chilean.
One unseeded matchup in qualifying pits two Big 12 players. Sebastian Gorzny defeated No. 6 Chad Kissel, 6-2, 6-2. The TCU freshman, who looked comfortable in his service and return games, will face Nevin Arimilli, a Texas senior who defeated No. 11 Stefan Menichella, 6-3, 6-4,
Christopher Bulus of Nigeria defeated No. 7 Trey Hilderbrand, 6-3, 6-2.Throughout the match, the Aggie senior, became visibly frustrated, slamming and throwing his racket, but Bulus, a 21-year-old who played at UNLV, kept his composure and won the match comfortably. Bulus will face No. 12 Hamish Stewart, a Georgia graduate from Great Britain who routed 18-year-old Brayden Michna, 6-1, 6-0. Stewart’s strong and consistent play was key to dominating the American teenager.
Article by Lindsey Plotkin/Photo by Madison Morris