CLEVELAND, February 14, 2020
Eight singles players punched their ticket into the quarterfinals of the Cleveland Open presented by Cleveland Clinic on Thursday.
Top seed Denis Kudla from the United States stormed to a decisive 6-1, 6-3 victory over compatriot Sebastian Korda to earn his spot in the stage of the final eight at the $54,160 ATP Challenger Tour tournament. His next opponent, fellow American and No. 9 seed Ernesto Escobedo, defeated No. 5 seed Alejandro Tabilo of Chile also in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
Former USC standout and World No. 431, Ray Sarmiento, continued his run by defeating JC Aragone from the United States in straight sets. The wild card entry will next take on No. 12 seed Mikael Torpegaard from Denmark, who fought past No. 8 seeded US-American Michael Mmoh 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(0) in two hours and 31 minutes.
In an all-US-American blockbuster, Ulises Blanch defeated defending Cleveland Open champion, Maxime Cressey, 7-6 (6), 5-7, 7-6 (4). The 21-year-old from Orlando, Florida withstood 30 aces from his opponent, firing 17 of his own to prevail after two hours and 13 minutes. Up next for Blanch will be Yosuke Watanuki of Japan. In the remaining singles quarterfinal, Thomaz Bellucci from Brazil will meet Frenchman Geoffrey Blancaneaux.
In doubles play, the top seeded doubles team of John-Patrick Smith and Luke Saville from Australia took down the US-American team of Maxime Cressey and James Cerretani 6-4, 6-4.
Friday’s action at the Cleveland Open presented by Cleveland Clinic will feature all four quarterfinal singles matches, as well as two doubles match ups. Admission to the Cleveland Open presented by Cleveland Clinic is free February 10-13, with tickets available for the quarterfinals (February 14), semifinals (February 15) and finals (February 16). Tickets are available by visiting the tournament website.
RESULTS – FEBRUARY 13, 2020
Men’s
Singles – Third Round
[1] D. Kudla (USA) d [15] S. Korda (USA) 61 63
[9] E. Escobedo (USA) d [5] A. Tabilo (CHI) 64 63
T. Bellucci (BRA) d [6] J. Wolf (USA) 63 64
[12] M. Torpegaard (DEN) d [8] M. Mmoh (USA) 76(3) 46 76(0)
Y. Watanuki (JPN) d S. Mansouri (TUN) 64 63
U. Blanch (USA) d M. Cressy (USA) 76(6) 57 76(4)
G. Blancaneaux (FRA) d R. Harrison (USA) 63 36 62
[WC] R. Sarmiento (USA) d J. Aragone (USA) 64 75
Doubles – Quarterfinals
[1] L. Saville (AUS) / J. Smith (AUS) d J. Cerretani (USA) / M. Cressy (USA) 64 64
R. Galloway (USA) / H. Hach Verdugo (MEX) d [2] J. Nam (KOR) / M. Song (KOR) 63 76(8)
T. Huey (PHI) / N. Lammons (USA) d [WC] I. Dempster (USA) / K. Lovett (USA) 76(8) 64
First Round
R. Cid Subervi (DOM) / S. Mansouri (TUN) d [3] L. Martinez (VEN) / M. Reyes-Varela (MEX) 76(8) 75
