CARY, September 10, 2019 (Press Release)
Past Atlantic Tire Champions returned to Cary to vie for the 2019 title. Inaugural Atlantic Tire Championships champion, Dennis Novikov, entered the tournament as an alternate and faced wildcard Ulises Blanch. Blanch, a successful junior player, won his first ATP Challenger title in 2018 and is looking to capture his first title of 2019. In a battle that lasted just over an hour, Blanch was able to overcome Novikov in straight sets due in part to winning over 75 per cent of his service points.
In Monday’s final match, 2017 Champion Kevin King took on Strong Kirchheimer in an attempt to be the first player to win multiple tournament trophies. Both players have strong connections to Cary: King trained at Cary Tennis Park and Kirchheimer, who played at Northwestern, is from Cary. In a three set match, King defeated Kirchheimer to advance to the second round. King served strong in the third set to end the match just under the two hour mark. King will face the No. 5 seed, Enzo Couacaud, on Tuesday.
Other US-Americans advancing to the second round include Danie Nguyen, Evan Song, Connor Farren as well as Martin and Michael Redlicki. Michael Redlicki played for the local Duke Blue Devils while Martin placed for the UCLA Bruins. Michael will take on the No. 3 seed, Bjorn Fratangelo, in Tuesday’s action.
Monday September 9 – RESULTS
Singles – First Round
Evan Song, United States, def J.J. Wolf, United States, 6-4, 6-3
(Alt) Liam Caruana, Italy, def Jordi. Arconada, United States, 7-6(8), 1-6, 6-2
Michael Redlicki, United States def (WC) Alex Rybakov, United States, 6-4, 6-2
Filip Peliwo, Canada, def Roy Smith, United States, 5-4 Retired
Renzo Olivo, Argentina, def Alexander Ritschard, United States, 7-6(6), 6-3
Kevin King, United States, def Strong Kirchheimer, United States, 6-4,2-6, 6-2
Daniel Nguyen, United States, def (WC) Benjamin Sigouin, Canada, 6-1, 6-3
Ulises Blanch, United States, def (Alt) Dennis Novikov, United States, 6-4, 6-2
Ben Patael, Israel, def Harrison Adams, United States, 7-5, 6-4
Martin Redlicki, United States, def (WC) Omni Kumar, United States, 6-3, 6-1
Alexander Sarkissian, United States, def Gabriel Petit, France, 6-3, 6-2
Ryan Peniston, Great Britain, def Evan Zhu, United States, 6-2, 6-3
Mens
Qualifying Singles – First Round
(WC) Connor Farren, United States, def (1) Felix Corwin, United States, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Petros Chrysochos, Cyprus def (2) Christian Langmo, United States
