Tennis Panorama Archives

Archives of TennisPanorama.com 2008-2013

TennisPanorama.com 2008-2013
  • Home
  • Tennis Panorama
You are here: Home / Front Page News / Former French Open Boys’ Finalist Alex Kuznetsov Claims USTA French Open Wild Card

Former French Open Boys’ Finalist Alex Kuznetsov Claims USTA French Open Wild Card

May 1, 2013 By Tennis Panorama News

Alex Kuznetsov

Alex Kuznetsov

(May 1, 2013) USTA Player Development announced that Alex Kuznetsov, 26, of Richboro, Pa., and Tampa, Fla., has earned a main draw wild card into the 2013 French Open by winning the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge. This year, the USTA awarded one men’s singles main draw wild card into the French Open to an American player based on his results on the USTA Pro Circuit. The USTA and the French Tennis Federation have a reciprocal agreement in which wild cards into the 2013 French and US Opens are exchanged.

 

The winner of the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge was determined by the player who amassed the greatest number of ATP ranking points at two of three USTA Pro Circuit clay-court challengers—a $100,000 event in Sarasota, Fla., and two $50,000 events in Savannah, Ga., and in Tallahassee, Fla. Kuznetsov has earned at least 115 points in the Wild Card Challenge, winning the title in Sarasota to collect 100 points and earning 15 points by reaching the quarterfinals in Savannah. (Kuznetsov has also earned 15 points thus far in Tallahassee and could add to that number if he defeats fellow American Tim Smyczek in tomorrow’s quarterfinals.) Wayne Odesnik, who was in second place behind Kuznetsov in the Wild Card Challenge entering Tallahassee, lost today to Facundo Arguello, 6-3, 6-3, eliminating Kuznetsov’s lone remaining challenger from contention.

 

“It was hard not to think about the wild card this week,” said Kuznetsov, following his win today. “I’ve been focusing on my matches and just playing my tennis. I have never played the French Open main draw before, only in the qualifying. Anytime you play in a Grand Slam, it is a really special event, it is always a great experience playing three of five sets in front of tons of people. It will be a lot of fun.”

 

Kuznetsov was a qualifier in Sarasota and won seven consecutive matches to take the title. The Sarasota Challenger was Kuznetsov’s fourth career USTA Pro Circuit Challenger crown. With his win in Sarasota, Kuznetsov climbed back into the Top 200 and is currently ranked No. 176—his highest ranking since February 2012. Kuznetsov finished 2012 strong, reaching two USTA Pro Circuit finals at the $75,000 Charlottesville (Va.) Challenger and the $15,000 Futures in Mansfield, Texas. However, prior to competing in Sarasota last month, Kuznetsov had not won a match in five straight tournaments and fell to No. 267 in the world.

 

A native of Kiev, Ukraine, where his grandfather was a handball champion, Kuznetsov was a standout junior and the boys’ runner-up at the 2004 junior French Open, where he lost to Gael Monfils. Following a severe leg injury suffered in a 2005 car accident, Kuznetsov came back to play in his first US Open main draw in 2006. In 2007, he won his first Grand Slam match at the Australian Open, reached the round of 16 in doubles at the US Open and posted career-best rankings of No. 158 in singles and No. 78 in doubles. Kuznetsov qualified for the 2012 Australian Open for his first appearance in a Grand Slam main draw since 2007 and faced Rafael Nadal in the first round. Kuznetsov has played in French Open qualifying on four occasions.

 

Kuznetsov joins Brian Baker as the second consecutive French Open junior boys’ finalist to earn a USTA wild card into the French Open. Baker, who reached the boys’ final of the French Open in 2003, advanced to the second round at last year’s French Open after earning the USTA wild card and subsequently broke into the Top 100. He followed up his clay-court run on the USTA Pro Circuit by reaching his first ATP Tour final at the French Open tune-up event in Nice, France, as a qualifier, and advancing to the fourth round of Wimbledon and the second round of the US Open.

 

Shelby Rogers is currently atop the standings for the French Open women’s wild card after winning the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Charlottesville, Va., this past weekend and is currently ranked a career-high No. 190 after her win in Charlottesville. Rogers claimed one additional singles title on the USTA Pro Circuit in 2012, beating US Open junior girls’ champion Samantha Crawford in the final of the $50,000 event in Yakima, Wash. Despite missing much of the spring and summer of 2011 due to injury, Rogers managed to reach the quarterfinals at three USTA Pro Circuit events that year. As a junior player, she won the USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships to earn a wild card into the main draw of the 2010 US Open for her only appearance in a Grand Slam main draw. Rogers trains at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla. Former US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin won last year’s USTA wild card into the French Open.

 

 

MEN’S HAR-TRU USTA PRO CIRCUIT WILD CARD CHALLENGE STANDINGS – FINAL

*The men’s wild card is awarded from the best combined results in two of the three events below.

Player Name

$100K Sarasota

$50K Savannah

 

$50K Tallahassee

Total
Alex Kuznetsov

100

15

15^

115

Wayne Odesnik

60

15

7

75

Donald Young**

0

29

15^

36

 

^Advanced to quarterfinals in Tallahassee and will receive at least 15 points.

**Unable to surpass Kuznetsov

 

WOMEN’S HAR-TRU USTA PRO CIRCUIT WILD CARD CHALLENGE STANDINGS – THRU TWO EVENTS

*The women’s wild card will be awarded from the best combined results in two of the three events below.

 

Player Name

$50K Dothan

$50K Charlottesville

$50K Ind. Harbour Beach

Total*

Shelby Rogers

18

70

Held this week

88

Allie Kiick

10

50

60

Madison Brengle

10

32

44

Irina Falconi

32

10

44

Alison Riske

32

10

44

 

 

Filed Under: Front Page News, tennis news Tagged With: 2013 French Open, Alex Kuznetsov, Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge, tennis, tennis news, Tennis Panorama News, USTA, USTA Player Development

Archives

  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • March 2009
  • December 2008

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in