TALLAHASSEE, April 18, 2017
The USTA announced that 26-year-old Bradley Klahn of Poway, California, and 20-year-old Aziz Dougaz from La Marsa, Tunisia, have been awarded wild card entries into the singles main draw of the 2017 Tallahassee Tennis Challenger. This $75,000 USTA Pro Circuit men’s event will take place April 22-29 at the Forestmeadows Athletic Center in Tallahassee.
Klahn is currently ranked No. 600 in the world and is back on tour after surgery sidelined him for much of 2015 and 2016. Following his pro debut in 2012, he received a wild card into qualifying at the 2012 US Open and subsequently won three matches to advance to the main draw, where he upset Top 50 player Jurgen Melzer in the first round. In doing so, Klahn became the first men’s qualifying wild card to win a round at the US Open.
In March 2014, Klahn peaked at No. 63 in the world after winning two ATP Challenger Tour events early on in the season. Klahn attended Stanford University and won the 2010 NCAA men’s singles title and was a collegiate All-American in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Klahn holds nine ATP Challenger Tour singles and doubles titles overall (five in singles, four in doubles).
Dougaz, a sophomore at Florida State University, is currently ranked No. 820 in the world. He joined the Seminoles in January 2016 and went 18-9 in singles and 20-6 in doubles. He finished the season with a 7-5 ACC record and recorded wins against doubles teams from University of North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Baylor.
In 2015, Dougaz reached the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships Boys’ Doubles event. Dougaz has represented Tunisia in the Davis Cup and holds two futures doubles titles on the ITF Pro Circuit.
The proceeds from this tournament benefit the Vogter Neuro-Intensive Care Unit at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, which cares for patients of all ages who suffer neurological trauma or require surgical intervention for life threatening illnesses. Contributions from ticket sales are donated to the Maria Yealdhall Challenger Tennis Fund at the Tallahassee Friends of Our Parks Foundation. This endowment aims to improve the Tallahassee tennis community.
