TALLAHASSEE, April 23, 2021
Second round action at the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger concluded on Thursday with Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Bjorn Fratangelo, Denis Kudla and Filip Cristian Jianu rounding out the quarterfinals.
In the first singles match of the day, No. 2 seed Kudla took on fellow US-American and qualifier Alexander Ritschard. Kudla was able to grab the opening set 6-3, but Ritschard fought back and took the second 6-2. In the third set, the two stayed with each other throughout, ultimately going to the tie-break, where the 28-year-old Virginia resident prevailed 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5) after two hours and 28 minutes.
Meanwhile on Court 1, 19-year-old Romanian Jianu hit the court against Joao Menezes of Brazil. The qualifier broke his opponent’s serve and was able to take the first set 6-4. After falling behind in the second, he was able to get back on track and reach his first career ATP Challenger quarterfinal with a 6-4, 6-4 win after one hour and 16 minutes.
A breakthrough week for 🇷🇴 Filip Cristian Jianu at @TallyChallenger.
The 19-year-old becomes the first Romanian teen to reach an #ATPChallenger QF since 2010 (@MariusCopil).
📸 @JacobMStuckey pic.twitter.com/8jXOyslRb9
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) April 22, 2021
Next up, US-American Kwiatkowski took on No. 4 seed Jason Jung of Chinese Taipei. Kwiatkowski was able to
take hold of the match in quick fashion, and took the opening set 6-3. In the second he continued to dominate, closing out the match with a final score of 6-3, 6-2 after 75 minutes. With the win, he reaches his first ATP Challenger singles quarterfinal since Newport Beach in January 2020.
Quarterfinal action gets underway on Friday, April 23 at 12:00 p.m. local time with #NextGen US-American Jenson Brooksby taking on compatriot Michael Mmoh and Mikael Torpegaard of Denmark facing Argentine Facundo Mena. Later in the day the remaining quarterfinals will take place and the doubles semifinals will also be played.
Your 2021 #TallyChallenger quarterfinals 👇
🇺🇸 Brooksby vs Mmoh 🇺🇸
🇩🇰 Torpegaard vs Mena 🇦🇷
🇺🇸 Fratangelo vs Kwiatkowski 🇺🇸
🇷🇴 Jianu vs Kudla 🇺🇸— Tally Challenger (@TallyChallenger) April 22, 2021
Thursday, April 22 – RESULTS
Men’s Singles – Second Round
[2] D. Kudla (USA) d [Q] A. Ritschard (USA) 63 26 76(5)
T. Kwiatkowski (USA) d [4] J. Jung (TPE) 63 62
B. Fratangelo (USA) d Y. Watanuki (JPN) walkover
[Q] F. Jianu (ROU) d J. Menezes (BRA) 64 64
Men’s Doubles – Quarterfinals
[1] O. Luz (BRA) / R. Matos (BRA) d P. Sakamoto (BRA) / T. Seyboth Wild (BRA) walkover
N. Pasha (USA) / M. Schnur (USA) d [2] T. Huey (PHI) / S. Verbeek (NED) 63 67(1) 10-7
F. Mena (ARG) / J. Menezes (BRA) d [3] M. Ebden (AUS) / D. Novikov (USA) 64 67(3) 10-7
[WC] S. Bangoura (USA) / D. Young (USA) d A. Pavic (CRO) / R. Roelofse (RSA) 36 64 10-6
Friday, April 23 – SCHEDULE
STADIUM COURT start 12:00 noon
J. Brooksby (USA) vs [8] M. Mmoh (USA)
[Q] F. Jianu (ROU) vs [2] D. Kudla (USA)
[WC] S. Bangoura (USA) / D. Young (USA) vs N. Pasha (USA) / M. Schnur (USA)
COURT 1 start 12:00 noon
M. Torpegaard (DEN) vs F. Mena (ARG)
B. Fratangelo (USA) vs T. Kwiatkowski (USA)
[1] O. Luz (BRA) / R. Matos (BRA) vs F. Mena (ARG) / J. Menezes (BRA)
