INDIAN WELLS/STARNBERG, January 21, 2024
Playing in a familiar setting in front of family and friends, former USC All-American Brandon Holt moved into the singles final of the Southern California Open with a close, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3), win over No. 6 seed Thai-Son Kwiatkowski.
Holt, 25, will go to sleep tonight not knowing who he will face in the final as the semifinal that followed his match between Paul Jubb and Mitchell Krueger was called for the day when the forecasted rainstorm hit the desert around 1 p.m. with Krueger leading 6-4, 3-2.
Holt from Rolling Hills Estates was playing free and errorless tennis taking the first set, 6-2, and went up a break for a 5-3 lead where it looked like he would serve it out at 5-4. But the 2017 NCAA champion from the University of Virginia Kwiatkowski had other thoughts and broke to even the match and eventually take the second set.
“It was a tough match,” Holt said. “It was going routine for me, and I served for it, but Thai doesn’t go away…He’s always there. He ended up playing well into the third set and I was able to scrap it out.”
Both players were locked in during the third set and it was anyone’s match once the tiebreaker rolled around. “It’s who can handle the pressure the most at that point,” said Holt, the No. 3 seed who needed three sets in three of his four wins all after winning the first set and dropping the second this week.
“That’s tennis,” he said. “It’s something that I’m good at. It would have been easy to be mad at yourself [after losing the second set]. If I felt like I was in control for a full two sets, then I think I can do it for a third.”
Sunday will be a full day with both finals, and qualifying beginning for Week 2 of the Southern California Open after the finals are played. In the doubles final, the top-seeded pairing of Ryan Seggerman and Patrik Trhac, both San Diego natives, will take on Kwiatkowski and fellow US-American Alex Lawson after the semifinal and before the singles final.
RESULTS – JANUARY 20, 2024
Singles – Semifinals
[3] [WC] B. Holt (USA) d [6] T. Kwiatkowski (USA) 62 57 76(3)
ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY, JANUARY 21, 2024
PC3 start 9:30 am
Semifinals – [PR] P. Jubb (GBR) vs [4] M. Krueger (USA) 46 23
Final – Doubles Final – [1] R. Seggerman (USA) / P. Trhac (USA) vs T. Kwiatkowski (USA) / A. Lawson (USA)
Final – Singles Final – [PR] P. Jubb (GBR) or [4] M. Krueger (USA) vs [3] [WC] B. Holt (USA)
