CARY, July 24, 2021
Friday was a day of three set battles at the Atlantic Tire Championships in Cary. All four quarterfinal matches were decided in three sets with almost all of them a come from behind victories.
The exception was US-American Mitchell Krueger who fought off Argentine qualifier Genaro Roberto Olivieri 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. The No. 6 seed capitalized on five of his 10 break-point chances to advance after two hours and six minutes.
Krueger will next take on compatriot Govind Nanda. The 20-year-old wild card entry and UCLA Bruin rallied past Christian Harrison from the United States 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 in two hours and 22 minutes. World No. 594 Nanda will appear in the stage of the final four on the ATP Challenger Tour for the first time.
What a win for Govind Nanda 🙌
The 20-year-old comes back from a set and double break down to defeat Harrison 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 and reach his first #ATPChallenger semifinal in Cary, NC! pic.twitter.com/k0ukYZCoKX
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 23, 2021
In an all-Indian quarterfinal match, No. 8 seed Ramkumar Ramanathan defeated second favourite and last year’s runner-up Prajnesh Gunneswaran 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. The World No. 227 struck five aces and won 78 per cent of his first-service points to prevail after two hours and eight minutes. Ramanathan will next face Stefan Kozlov, who beat fellow US-American and No. 7 seed Christopher Eubanks 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. The encounter lasted two hours and 18 minutes.
Friday, July 23 – Results
Singles – Quarterfinals
[8] Ramkumar Ramanthan (IND) def. [2] Prajnesh. Gunneswaran (IND) 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4
[6] Mitchell Krueger (USA) def. [Q] Genaro Alberto Olivieri (ARG) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
Stefan Kozlov (USA) def. Christopher Eubanks 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
[WC] Govind Nanda (USA) def. Christian Harrison (USA) 2-6, 7-6(2) 6-3
Doubles – Semifinals
[1] C. Harrison (USA) / D. Novikov (USA) def. L. Lacko (SVK) / R. Ramanathan (IND) 7-5, 6-3
P. Chrysochos (CYP) / M. Pervolarakis (GRE) def. [WC] A. Kovacevic / B. Shelton (USA) 6-4, 1-6, 10-2
Saturday, July 24 – Order of Play
Stadium start 2:00 pm
[1] C. Harrison (USA) / D. Novikov (USA) vs. P. Chrysochos (CYP) / M. Pervolarakis (GRE)
Not Before 3:30 pm
[6] Mitchell Krueger (USA) vs. [WC] Govind Nanda (USA)
Stefan Kozlov (USA)vs. [8] Ramkumar Ramanthan (IND)
