Tallahassee Tennis Gonna Be Exciting, Strong Field Watch Out For Thanasi Kokkinakis

Written by: Staff on 10th April 2014

Tallahassee Tennis Gonna Be Exciting, Strong Field Watch Out For Thanasi Kokkinakis

epa04023873 Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia returns to Rafael Nadal of Spain during his second round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2014. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON |

Two Former Champions Headline Tallahassee Tennis Challenger Field

$50,000 USTA Pro Circuit Tournament set for April 26-May 3 at Forestmeadows Tennis Complex

Americans Donald Young, Michael Russell, Tim Smyczek and Alex Kuznetsov are expected to be seeded

The field for the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger was announced Thursday morning by tournament director Karen Vogter, as two former champions and nine players inside the top 150 will make the trip to the $50,000 event, the last stop on the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge, where players compete for a spot at the French Open.

“We have players from 13 countries thus far and two former winners in Tim Smyczek (2012) and Donald Young (2011) as well as past finalists Frank Dancevic (2012), Bobby Reynolds (2008) and Young (2009),” Vogter said. “About half of the players we have never hosted before which is exciting, and then we have a collection of guys we know and love from years past.”

Young (No. 91) and veteran Michael Russell (No. 97) are the two players inside the top 100 on the entry list.

World No. 124 Alex Kuznetsov will return to Tallahassee a year after he sealed the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card into Roland Garross with a quarterfinal appearance at Forestmeadows.

In 2013, the tournament made a switch from hard courts to Har-Tru green clay, making it the final stop of the Challenge and joining forces with other USTA Pro Circuit events in Sarasota and Savannah. In the Challenge, the American with the best two finishes in three events earns the U.S. wild card into the French Open.

“I am just hoping for a week of great tennis with less rain than last year,” Vogter said, referring to the delays and cancellations from the 2013 tournament. “I feel it was hard for fans to really get to see and feel the new clay tournament due to the weather. We are looking at a good forecast right now, however.

More about the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger:

The Tallahassee Tennis Challenger is a $50,000 event on the USTA Pro Circuit, April 26-May 3 at the Forestmeadows Tennis Complex. Players such as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Mardy Fish, James Blake, John Isner and Ryan Harrison have appeared at the event, which benefits the D. Mark Vogter, M.D., Memorial Endowment for the Neuro-Intensive Care Unit at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.

More about the USTA Pro Circuit:

The USTA launched its Pro Circuit 34 years ago to provide players with the opportunity to gain the professional ranking points needed to compete on the major pro tours. It has since grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, consisting of approximately 90 tournaments and nearly $3 million in prize money. The expanded schedule gives American players more competitive opportunities in the United States, thus making it easier and more affordable to earn a pro ranking.

Topics: Alex Kuznetsov, Donald Young, Sports, Tallahassee Tennis, Tennis, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Tim Smyczek, Usta

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10sBalls_com says:

April 10, 2014 at 5:41 pm

Tallahassee Tennis Gonna Be Exciting, Strong Field Watch Out For Thanasi Kokkinakis – http://t.co/UrfnpzzSid #tennis #sportsnews