Aug. 29, 2000
Cary Franklin and Graydon Oliver comment on their upcoming U.S. Open match.
New York, N.Y. -
Senior Graydon Oliver is missing the first few days of the fall semester at Illinois, but he has a good reason and a note from his coach.
Oliver is in New York preparing for his first-ever performance in the prestigious U.S. Open Tennis Tournament. He and doubles partner Cary Franklin, who graduated in May, earned their berth in the Open by winning the NCAA Division I Men's Doubles Tournament championship at Athens, Ga. in May.
"It's all I've expected it to be and a lot more," said Oliver, who has been in the Big Apple since last Thursday. "Playing here and being in the locker room with all the players I have watched since I was a beginning tennis player--it's a dream come true."
"We're so excited. It's a great feeling to be here," said Franklin. "We're ready to get it going."
Oliver and Franklin will take on two players from South Africa, Robbie Koenig and Marius Barnard, in their opening-round match tonight. That matchup, in itself, is quite ironic, in that UI Head Coach Craig Tiley is also the Davis Cup coach for his native South African team.
Tiley, naturally, is very familiar with Barnard and Koenig. "I'm very aware of the way Koenig and Barnard play tennis," he said. "They're both around 30 years old, and they're seasoned, experienced professionals. But at the same time, Cary and Graydon certainly have a chance to beat them."
With Tiley's ties to both Illinois and South Africa, the question is obvious: who will Tiley be coaching tonight?
"I'm here to Coach Graydon and Cary, and I made that very clear to the South Africans at the very beginning," said Tiley. "I know their tendencies, so I can give Cary and Graydon some good advice on how to play. I'll do everything I can to help them win the match. But they will have to play their match and execute well to have a chance to beat Koenig and Barnard."
If Franklin and Oliver do, indeed, win tonight's match, they'll move on to the Round of 32 on Thursday or Friday (the schedule has not been finalized yet).
