Sandgren Survives Second Round Scare At Savannah Challenger

Tennys Sandgren (photo: Jacob Stuckey/St. Joseph’s/Candler Savannah Challenger)

SAVANNAH, May 1, 2019 (Press Release)

Second round action at the St. Joseph’s/Candler (SJ/C) Savannah Challenger got underway on Tuesday with a strong contingent of Americans advancing to the third round.

In the featured evening match, No. 1 seed Tennys Sandgren kicked off his 2019 campaign taking on fellow American Alexander Ritschard. The second round match kicked off with Sandgren playing commanding tennis and taking the first set 6-2 in rather routine fashion. In the second set though, Ritschard hung closely with the 2017 champion, and waited until late in the set to take the break and close out the set 6-3. In the deciding set, Sandgren found his groove again, closing out the match with a final score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 after two hours and 27 minutes.

Earlier in the day, 21-year-old Ulises Blanch upset No. 7 seed Marc Polmans with a 6-3, 6-3 win in the second round. With the win he is into his third ATP Challenger third round of the year.

Also advancing was wild card Christopher Eubanks. The No. 6 seed defeated Denis Yevseyev 6-3, 6-4. Another American wild card, Cannon Kingsley, won his first round match 6-2, 6-2 against Johannes Haerteis of Germany.

Play gets underway on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. with No. 8 seed Mats Moraing taking on Sumit Nagal. At 5:30 p.m. in the featured evening match, Tommy Paul kicks off his 2019 campaign against Sandro Ehrat. Paul is a semi-finalist (2017) at the SJ/C Savannah Challenger and is coming off the singles title in Sarasota and a finalist showing in Tallahassee. Paul is the leader of the USTA’s Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge and looking to secure a spot at the French Open.

Off the court, the tournament will host Ladies Day from 9:00-10:30 a.m. The event will feature oncourt tennis activities, retail shopping, food & wine specials, and player appearances. The event costs $8 and includes admission to Stadium Court.

Tuesday’s Results

Singles – Second round

(15) Federico Coria (ARG) d. Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) 6-2, 7-5

(1) Tennys Sandgren (USA) d. Alexander Ritschard (USA) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

Alexandre Muller (FRA) d. (11) JC Aragone (USA) 7-6(4), 7-6(4)

Ulises Blanch (USA) d. (7) Marc Polmans (AUS) 6-3, 6-3

Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) d. (13) Guilherme Clezar (BRA) 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-3

Sebastian Korda (USA) d. (9) Mihael Torpegaard (DEN) 6-3, 6-3

Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera (CHI) d. (10) Nino Serdarusic (CRO) 1-7, 6-3, 6-1

(6) Christopher Eubanks (USA) d. Denis Yevseyev (KZA) 6-3, 6-4

Singles – First round

Andrea Collarini (ARG) d. Evan Zhu (USA) 7-5, 6-4

Cannon Kingsley (USA) d. Johannes Haerteis 6-2, 6-2

Manuel Guinard (FRA) d. Denis Novikov (USA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

Nam Hoang Ly (VIE) d. Ricardo Rodriguez – Pace (VEN) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles – First round

Collin Altamirano and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (USA) d. Camilo Ugo Carabelli (ARG) and Denis Yevseyev (KZA) 6-1, 6-2

(3) Alex Lawson (USA) and Ruan Roelofse (RSA) d. Martin Cuevas (URU) and Juan Pablo Varillas (PER) 6-4, 7-6(0)