TIBURON, September 27, 2016

Monday drew record crowds for the start of the main draw at the $100,000 Wells Fargo Tiburon Challenger. The day’s excitement began with Junior Wimbledon champion Denis Shapovalov of Canada against US-player Michael Mmoh, with Mmoh coming out on top in the final qualifying round to earn a spot in the main draw.

Second-seeded Bjorn Fratangelo of the United States overcame up-and-comer Noah Rubin, also an US-American and a tournament wild card, in three sets, while Frances Tiafoe, seeded fourth, also took three sets to dispatch fellow US-American Alexander Sarkissian.

Slovenians Blaz Rola and Grega Zemlja got the better of David O’Hare of Ireland and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain in the final round of doubles qualifying. “O’Hare and Salisbury had their chances in the second set being up a service break on two occasions but could not convert,” said tournament director Brendan Curry.

The action on Tuesday begins with US-Americans Brian Baker and Austin Krajicek, and it’s a match to watch, along with the afternoon feature match. “Tomorrow’s feature match at 3 p.m. is sure to be a humdinger, with Germany’s Benjamin Becker, the Challenger’s number one seed facing off against American Tommy Paul,” said Curry.

Men’s Singles First Round

[2] Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) d [WC] Noah Rubin (USA) 67(5) 75 63

[4] Frances Tiafoe (USA) d Alexander Sarkissian (USA) 64 36 75

[6] Stefan Kozlov (USA) Guilherme Clezar (BRA) 62 62

[8] Quentin Halys (FRA) d Blaz Rola (SLO) 57 76(5) 61

Mitchell Krueger (USA) d Grega Zemlja 61 64

Men’s Qualifying Singles Third Round

Qualifying – Michael Mmoh (USA) d [2] Denis Shapovalov (CAN) 64 64

Qualifying – [8] Salvatore Caruso (ITA) d [3] Emilio Gomez (ECU) 60 63

Qualifying – [5] Lloyd Glasspool (GBR) d Dennis Nevolo (USA) 63 46 76(3)

Qualifying – [7] Brydan Klein (GBR) d Matt Reid (AUS) 63 75

Men’s Qualifying Doubles Final Round

Qualifying – Blaz Rola (SLO)/Grega Zemlja (SLO) d [1] David O’Hare (IRL)/Joe Salisbury (GBR) 63 75