Nov. 10, 2008
University of Illinois sophomore Roy Kalmanovich was humbled by 13-year ATP veteran Ramon Delgado on Monday, losing in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, in the second round of qualifying at the JSM Challenger at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana, Illinois. The loss means no players with Illinois ties will move on to the singles main draw.
"I think I came out and played pretty well," Kalmanovich said. "But he's just clearly better than I am. He's been out here for so long, and just knows how to play. He knows how to win. It just shows that I'm a little inexperienced at the moment."
While the Illinois contingent is now out of qualifying, the experience will pay off in the long run for University of Illinois Men's Tennis Coach Brad Dancer.
"What we saw the last two days is what we'll likely experience as a team this spring," Dancer said. "We have a lot of good players, but they're not quite ready to break through to this level quite yet. But they're fighting well and competing well. The key is whether we can have one or two guys step up and win at the top for us."
Dancer will have one more hope in the main draw, as freshman Dennis Nevolo prepares for his first round match with former Illini Kevin Anderson, the tournament's 7th seed. That headlines a full slate of matches set for Tuesday, in what should be a thrilling day and night at the Atkins Tennis Center. Their match will start at approximately 6PM. Following that match, fans will get a chance to see two talented, and emotional stars, as Amer Delic takes on Sam Warburg. The former Illini National Champion has lost his last two matches against Warburg.
Also in action on Tuesday are top seed Vincent Spadea, and defending champion Jesse Levine. Qualifying wraps up tomorrow with four matches beginning at 10AM.
The doubles draw was also announced on Monday, with former Illini Rajeev Ram teaming with Bobby Reynolds to earn the #1 seed. Delic is entered with former college rival Prakash Amritraj, and Kevin Anderson will play with former college opponent Jesse Levine. The current U of I team will be represented by freshmen Dennis Nevolo and Ruan Roelofse.
Admission in to the $50,000 2008 JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana is free until Friday. Tickets for the quarterfinals and semifinals on Friday and Saturday will be $5 for general admission, and $3 for students. For Sunday's finals, tickets will run $7 and $5. Tickets are available at the door, or by calling (217) 244-3318. More tournament information can be found at www.illinoischallenger.com.
Monday's Results:
Qualifying Singles, Second Round:
Michael McClune (USA) def. Tobias Clemens (GER) 3-6, 7-6 (3), ret.
#6 Izak Van Der Merwe (RSA) def. Scott Oudsema (USA) 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-3
Nikita Kryvonos (USA) def. Lester Cook (USA) 6-3, 7-5
#5 Frederik Nielsen (DEN) def. Romano Frantzen (NED) 7-6 (3), 6-4
Travis Rettenmaier (USA) def. #3 Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
#7 Ramon Delgado (PAR) def. Roy Kalmanovich (USA) 6-3, 6-4
Chris Klingemann (USA) def. #4 Luka Gregorc (SLO) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Frederic Niemeyer (CAN) def. Gastao Elias (POR) 6-2, 6-7 (1), 6-2
Qualifying Doubles First Round:
Harsh Mankad/Ashutosh Singh (IND) def. GD Jones (NZL)/Connor Roth (USA) 6-4, 2-6, (10-5)
Somdev Devvarman (IND)/Izak Van Der Merwe (RSA) def. Ramon Delgado (PAR)/Ivan Miranda (PER) 6-1, 6-2
Tuesday's Highlighted Matches: (all times after 12PM approximate)
10:00AM - Final round of qualifying
1:00PM - Kevin Kim vs. Jesse Witten
2:30PM - #4 Jesse Levine vs. Ilia Bozoljac
4:30PM - #1 Vincent Spadea vs. Carsten Ball
6:00PM - #7 Kevin Anderson vs. Dennis Nevolo
7:30PM - #8 Amer Delic vs. Sam Warburg
Quotes:
Roy Kalmanovich on his match today: "I think I came out and played pretty well. But he's just clearly better than I am. He's been out here for so long, and just knows how to play. He knows how to win. It just shows that I'm a little inexperienced at the moment."
On what he takes out of playing Ramon Delgado: "It's awesome because I don't usually get to see that kind of level. It shows me what I need to work on."
Brad Dancer on Roy's match: "I was disappointed today. I thought that he played better yesterday than today. I actually thought that he looked inexperienced today, and he is compared to Delgado. Roy had two poor service games, and then some of his tactics weren't what we talked about before the match. He kept giving Delgado the same ball over and over again to his backhand. He could have attacked his forehand better."
