Nov. 19, 2010
Order of Play - Saturday, Nov. 20 
| Singles & Doubles Draw
URBANA, Ill. - Former Illini Amer Delic will look to end the year on a winning note Saturday, as the wild-card recipient rallied past Jesse Witten, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the semifinals earlier tonight to advance to the final round of the JSM Challenger at Atkins Tennis Center. Regardless of tomorrow's outcome, Delic will be satisfied with the progress he's made this week.
"It's absolutely been a success," Delic said. "I haven't played this many matches in the same tournament in over two years. I don't have anything to lose tomorrow. I didn't have anything to lose in any of the matches to be honest. It's the last tournament of the year, I'm going on vacation next week, so I'm just swinging away. Everything is a bonus."
Delic will face sixth-seeded Alex Bogomolov, Jr., who edged fifth-seeded Bobby Reynolds this afternoon in a grueling two and a half hours-plus three-setter, 2-6, 6-0, 7-6 (4).
"That was good tennis," Bogomolov, Jr. said. "The third set was a battle. We were holding each other's serves and both of us played at a very high level. I switched maybe one or two patterns, but mostly, I started serving a little better and starting making first serves so that gave me a little bit more confidence with the ground strokes."
The title match will mark the first finals appearance of the year for both Delic and Bogomolov, Jr. and the fourth all-time meeting between the two. Delic, who won the JSM Challenger singles title in 2006, will be vying to become the second two-time winner of the tournament and interestingly enough, his last Challenger singles title came against Bogomolov, Jr. in Carson, Calif., in May of 2008.
"We grew up together in Florida, so I know him well," Delic said. "Tomorrow is going to come down to who's going to put more balls in play. We know each other's games. There's not going to be any surprises."
In doubles semifinal action, current Illini Johnny Hamui and KU Singh fell in straight sets to third-seeded Raven Klaasen and Izak Van Der Merwe, 6-3, 6-4, while top-seeded former Illini Ryler DeHeart and teammate Pierre-Ludovic Duclos squeaked by in thrilling fashion and topped Delic and Reynolds, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 10-8.
"It's really nice that we have two Illini in the final," DeHeart said. "Hopefully we'll both be able to bring it home tomorrow and take two titles. That would be awesome for the crowd. It's always exciting to come back and play at our old stomping ground."
DeHeart has won four Challenger doubles titles on the year, including two with Duclos.
"This is our sixth or seventh tournament together this year and we just started playing together this year," DeHeart said. "I think we're getting better every match. We get along really well on and off the court and I feel like our games really complement each other well. This could be a good partnership for us in the future, so I'm excited about that."
The doubles final is set to begin at Noon tomorrow, with the singles final to follow. Visit IllinoisChallenger.com for additional tournament information. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for students.
Friday's Results
Singles - Semifinals
[6] A Bogomolov Jr. (USA) d [5] B Reynolds (USA) 26 60 76(4)
[WC] A Delic (BIH) d J Witten (USA) 36 63 64
Doubles - Semifinals
[1] R Deheart (USA) / P Duclos (CAN) d A Delic (BIH) / B Reynolds (USA) 63 67(5) 10-8
[3] R Klaasen (RSA) / I Van Der Merwe (RSA) d [WC] J Hamui (USA) / K Singh (IND) 63 64
Saturday, Nov. 20 // Finals
COURT 1 start 12:00 noon
[1] R Deheart (USA) / P Duclos (CAN) vs [3] R Klaasen (RSA) / I Van Der Merwe (RSA)
[WC] A Delic (BIH) vs [6] A Bogomolov Jr. (USA)
Additional Quotes
Amer Delic on the match:
"I came out a little flat. I still had chances in the first set, but I got kind of put to sleep by the way he plays. He misses a few, then he hits a few big serves and slaps a few shots and there's just no rhythm. I was able to get a break in the second and two breaks in the third and I was starting to get a better look on his serve. In the end, I just put a few more balls on the court."
Ryler DeHeart on facing a fellow Illini:
"You try to block that out, obviously, and we're all friends off the court, but on the court it's business. We all want to do well."
