Champaign and Decatur Futures Recap: First Singles Semifinal

After winning the doubles title the week before I didn’t get much time to adjust to the conditions in Champaign as the doubles final finished Friday at 6PM and I was playing the next day on Saturday. The Champaign Futures was held at the University of Illinois and they have a great setup. They  have one of the top 10 facilities in the country with 20 outdoor courts and 6 indoor courts. At a lot of Futures it can be tough to book practice courts as they are usually limited but in Champaign they didn’t even have a sheet to signup for practice courts since they had so many. I stayed at an AirBNB in Urbana for the week and it was only 10 minutes away from the site.

I played my first Rd of Qualifying against Myles Schlaet who just graduated from the University of Michigan. He played #3-4 singles his senior year. He has a big game with a good serve and big forehand and he likes to finish points at the net. It was very windy the first day with winds of 15-20 mph. It made a big difference depending on what side you were on. I started off strong by breaking him right away and holding to go up 2-0. I was doing a little bit of everything, playing solid when I needed to, coming to the net when it was there, and mixing in the serve & volley. I was serving decent considering the wind as you couldn’t go after your flat serve every-time. I broke him a few more times to take a good 1^st set 6-1. He started to adjust better in the second set as we broke each other a few times as it was even at 2-2. I got a good hold and broke him to go up 4-2. I closed out the match by breaking him again to take a good 1^st round win 6-1. 6-2.

In the second round I played Britton Johnston. He is younger and a good junior from Northern California. He is a good baseliner and has a good forehand, with also good hands at net. I didn’t get a great start to the match as I had break points in 2 of the first 3 return games and didn’t convert. Luckily I was holding my serve and it was still even at 3-3 after the first six games. I finally got a break by returning better and finishing a few points at the net. I broke him again to close out the first set 6-3. I continued to use my momentum and played better in the second set by jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead. I was serving well and mixing in aggressive tennis. I closed out the match 6-3, 6-1 and found my range after not the best start.

In the last round of Qualifying I played Alexander Ledvedev, who was the #5 seed. He played #1 for Notre Dame last year and is currently ranked #1250. He is an aggressive baseliner who hits big shots off of both sides. He also has a good serve but his main strength is hitting the ball big from the middle of the court. I had a few break points to start off the match but couldn’t convert in the first game. My opponent broke me first to take a 4-2 lead in the 1^st. Almost every game went to multiple Deuces in the first 6 games. I broke back and held to make it 4-4. We both got a few solid holds to get to a 1^st set tiebreak. He got off to a fast start by hitting a few unreturnable serves to go up 4-1. I then hit a good approach shot but he responded with a great running forehand crosscourt passing shot. I found myself in a 2-6 hole. My thought process here was to just win the 1 point on his serve and then get my 2 service points. After a long rally I forced an error to make it 3-6. I hit 1 big 1^st serve and then hit a backhand winner to cut his lead to 5-6. At 5-6 I hit a great 2^nd serve return to draw even at 6-6. We traded the next few points until it was tied at 8-8. The next point I came to the net and hit a good volley to lead 9-8. I served at 9-8 and hit a big 1^st serve and followed it up with a forehand down the line winner. I battled back to take a long 90 minute first set 7-6(8). My opponent didn’t go away as he started off strong in the 2^nd set by breaking me at 1-1. He was serving very well the first few games of the 2^nd and I wasn’t getting any looks. I finally played a good return game at 2-4 to get the break back. I held for 4-all. I had 2 match points on his serve at 5-4 but he came up with winners on both of the points. He held and I responded with a good hold to take a 6-5 lead. I had another match point in the next game at 30-40 but he again saved it with a winner. I converted on the next match point by forcing an error to win a tough 7-6(8), 7-5 to qualify for another singles main draw!

I didn’t have any days off so the next day I was back at it in both singles and doubles. I played singles first in the morning in the 1^st round of Main. I played against Harrison Adams, who was the 5^th seed in the Main Draw. He is ranked #695 ATP. He is a good player who is a baseliner with a huge forehand and good volleys. He plays big from both sides and really goes for his shots. I got off to a good start by breaking him in the 1^st game with a few good returns. I held for 2-0 by serving well and playing solid tennis. He held in the next game to get on the board. I got another solid hold before breaking him again to take a 4-1 lead. I closed out a good 1^st set 6-1. He started to play better in the second set and raised his level. I broke him early again to jump out to a 3-1 lead. He also started to serve a little better. I was serving at 4-2 in the 2^nd and lost a long Deuce game on my serve. That was disappointing as I had 2 game points but didn’t convert. I bounced back by playing a solid return game to thus serve for the match. I hit a few good serves and closed it out at 40-15 to get a good win 6-1, 6-3 in the 1^st round.

In the 1^st round of doubles I teamed up with Miles Seeman, who graduated two years ago from UC Santa Barbara. We faced off against Ian Dempster and Julian Zlobinsky who are both from Wake Forest. They complemented each other well as one of them had a big serve and decent volleys while the other was more of a solid player who returned well and made a lot of shots. We got broken on an unlucky shot on a Deuce point at 1-2 to lose our serve. However they were playing well by making a lot of 1^st serves and playing clean tennis. We would go on to lose another No-Ad point on our serve to go down 1-4. They closed out the first set 6-1. This was a strange set as I didn’t feel like we played bad, but they just won the big points. We got broken in the 1^st game of the 2^nd set but then we started to find our range. We started returning better and making more shots and broke them back to even it at 1-all. We played another good return game at 2-1 to go up 3-1. At 3-1 we held on a Deuce point when I hit a big serve up the T. Both teams got a few holds before we served for the set at 5-3. We served it out at 40-15 to take a high quality set. A 10-point match tiebreak would decide the match. We won the 1^st point on their serve but then split the next 2 points on our serve. We won the next point after hitting a solid return. We led 4-3 but it remained tight. Both teams won their service points and we switched sides at 6-6. My partner hit a good return to give us a 7-6 lead. We again split our service points after they hit a good low return. At 8-7 I hit a great 2^nd serve return and my partner crossed to give us a 9-7 lead. At 9-7 my partner hit a good return and they missed a tough low volley. It was a good comeback to win 1-6, 6-3, 10-7.

The next day in the Round of 16 I played Alexander Brown who is in his 2^nd year at University of Illinois. I knew that it would be a challenge to play him on his home courts and that he would have crowd support. He is a lefty with a very good lefty serve and he can hit all the spots. He likes to play big with his groundstrokes and play first strike tennis. We both held to start the match and I had 3 break points in his 2^nd service game but unfortunately didn’t convert. At 3-2 I played a good return game by making every return and putting a lot of pressure on him. I was serving solid and making a high percentage of 1^st serves to take a 5-2 lead. I played another good return game and hit 2 passing shots winners to take a great 1^st set 6-2. I continued my momentum by breaking him early in the 2^nd set to take a 3-1 lead. My opponent raised his level by returning better and not making as many errors. We both got a few holds to make it 4-3. I didn’t play a good game at 4-3 as I hit two double faults and got broken to make it 4-all. I didn’t panic and played another solid return game to get another break. I served out the match at 40-30 in the next game to win a good match 6-2, 6-4. I thought the keys in this match were that I returned well and neutralized his serve so he couldn’t play first strike tennis.

In the afternoon we played our quarterfinal match against the #1 seeds, Sebastien Boltz and J.P. Fruttero, who are both ranked #400 in doubles. One of them was more of a doubles player with a great serve and good hands while the other guy setup his partner with solid returns and groundstrokes. We got the first break of the match to go up 3-1 but we unfortunately lost a No-Ad point on our serve in the next game. Both teams got a few more holds to make it 5-4. We played a great return game to break them to take the first set 6-4. We continued to return solid as we broke them right away when they double faulted on break point. We jumped out to a 3-0 lead. We were doing a good job of taking care of our serves by making good first volleys. We broke them again to take a 5-1 lead. However, they kept fighting and held and then broke us in the next game to cut our lead to 5-3. We came back and played another good return game to take out the #1 seeds 6-4, 6-3! On to the semifinals, which also means more doubles points.

In the quarterfinals of singles I played against the #1 seed, Tom Farquharson, from Great Britain. He is currently ranked #450. He is an all court player with a high level serve and forehand. He likes to play aggressive and finish points at the net. I got off to a great start by returning and well and playing solid, I broke him in the 1^st game after a long Deuce game. I held for 2-0 with a good hold. I broke him again in the next game to stretch my lead to 3-0. In my next service game I saved a few break points before holding for 4-0. My opponent held for 4-1 before I got another hold as well. At 5-1 I broke him again to take a great opening set 6-1. In the second set, I started off serving. I had three game points in the 1^st game but unfortunately lost a long Deuce in which I had 2 double faults. This was a bummer to lose the first game of the 2^nd set after I had all the momentum. He held with a few big serves fo 2-0. He really stepped his game up and played more aggressive and starting hitting a lot of forehand winners. I got on the board with a hold but my opponent also held to lead 3-1. He played another good return game to go up 4-1. He held for 5-1 before breaking me for a 3^rd time to take the 2^nd set 6-1. He definitely raised his level and mine dropped a little bit as I wasn’t making as many 1^st serves in. I started serving in the 3^rd set and saved 2 break points before getting a big hold. This was important to get a good start to the 3^rd set. At 1-0 I played a tough return game and put a lot of pressure on him, I finally got the break after hitting a big forehand. I held in the next game for 3-0. He held to cut my lead to 3-1. At 3-1 I got broken at love after making a few errors including a double fault to make it 3-2. I played another good return game to break him for 4-2. I held for 5-2 by hitting a few big 1^st serves. He held for 5-3. I served out the match in the next to get a great win 6-1, 1-6, 6-3! It was an up-and-down match but I played solid tennis at times. This was huge to make my 1^st Futures semi-final and also get my best win in terms of ranking.

Later that day I played in the semifinals of doubles against Martin Joyce (Ohio State) and Max Cressy (UCLA). This was the same team I played against last week but with a different parter. We got off to a great start by returning well in the 1^st game to get the early break. However, they also played a good game to break us right back on the No-Ad point the next game. From then on, both teams were getting comfortable holds as both teams were serving well. We had one look on a No-Ad point at 4-3 but they saved it with a big serve. I saved one set point on my serve at 4-5 with a good serve on the No-Ad point. At 5-6, we got broken in a tough game. Our opponents hit 2 balls that clipped the net tape including one on set point. We lost a close 1^st set 5-7. They started serving in the 2^nd and continued to serve very well. Both teams held the first four games to make it 2-all. At 2-3, we came back from 0-40 in a big game to keep it on serve. We weren’t getting any looks on their serves as every game they were going up 30-0. At 4-5, we lost a No-Ad game on my serve to lose a tough match 5-7, 4-6. Credit to our opponents as they served at a high level by making 70% 1^st serves in and also returning well. We didn’t put enough pressure in the return games which made them loose. Still another good doubles result to make the semis and pickup 8 more points.

The next day I played in the semifinals of singles against Aziz Dougaz, the #5 seed. He is currently ranked #500 and plays #1 at Florida State. He is a lefty, clay court player who stands far behind the baseline. He likes to hit his forehand big from the middle of the court. He has a good lefty serve as well. I got of to a great start by playing a great return game to break him in the first game. I followed that up with a hold. In the next game, I had 0-40 on his serve but he came up with some big winners to save all 4 break points I had. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t convert because it would have been a huge momentum swing. I got broken back in the next game when he returned well a few points along with with me throwing in a double fault. He held for 3-2, then I responded with a hold for 3-3. He started to serve better as he was hitting quality 1^st serves. He held again to take a 4-3 lead. In the next game, we had a long back-and-forth game where we both had game points. He finally broke me with a forehand winner. He served out the 1^st set in the next game 6-3. He started strong in the 2^nd set and broke me in the 1st game. He also held to jump out to a 2-0 lead. At 0-2, I hit a few good serves and played a solid game to get on the board. In the next game I broke back by playing one of the best games of the match to even it at 2-all. I then held for 3-2. He played a good game to even it at 3-3. I had to battle in my next service game as I was down 15-40 and ended up coming back after saving 4 break points. This was a very important game to win. He held to even it at 4-4. I also had to save one break point in my next service game before holding for a 5-4 lead. The next game on his serve was a marathon game on his serve. It went to 8 Deuces. After the first Deuce, I would win the Deuce point and precede to lose the Ad point (which was also a set point) 4 times in a row. Credit to him as he was coming up with clutch winner shots on all of them. On my 5th set point I finally converted after he missed a drop shot. Thus, I won a tight second set 6-4.

In the 3^rd set, I unfortunately didn’t get off to the best start. I got broke in my first service game after making a couple errors along with my opponent hitting two winners. He held to extend his lead to 2-0. This really loosened him up after he broke me as he was freely going after his shots and playing some of his best tennis of the match. I held to make it 1-2. But he was serving well and I didn’t get many looks as he held to lead 3-1. He broke me again in the next game to take a 4-1 lead. I tried to hang in there and just get one break back but he hit 2 aces in the next game and held for 5-1. He went on to break me at 30-40 on his 2^nd match point after he hit a big forehand crosscourt. I lost a tough match to a good opponent in the semis 3-6, 6-4, 1-6. I thought I played a pretty good match, but I think after not getting a good start to the 3^rd set that really helped him. Overall it was a great tournament and my best one yet in making the semis in singles, along with the semis in doubles. Winning 6 matches in singles and 2 matches in doubles is always a good week on the pro tour. You also don’t take out the #1 seed in both singles and doubles very often.

For making the semifinals in singles ($1255) and doubles ($270), I earned a total of $1525, which is a great week. I also picked up 8 valuable singles points to give me a total of 11 currently. In doubles I also picked up 8 points as well.

After losing in the semis of Champaign, I had a very quick-turnaround as I had to play Qualies the next day in Decatur. The next tournament was held in Deactur, Illinois. It was held at a nice venue, Fairview Park Tennis Complex, which had 9 courts. The weather was pleasant as it wasn’t too hot with the highs only in the high 70s for the beginning of the week. Shoutout to my amazing host family in Decatur who took great care of me and cooked amazing meals!

I played my first Rd of Qualifying against Brandon Ancona, who plays at Valparaiso University. He is a solid baseliner who makes a lot of shots and also returns well. I broke him in the 1^st game and then lost a long Deuce game on my serve. I brought it back from 0-40 and had a few game points but he evened it at 1-all. We both broke each other another time before each holding to make it 3-3. He held for 4-3 and then broke me to go up 5-3. I had 2 break points to get it back on serve but he saved them and served out the first set 6-3. I wasn’t serving well and got broken 3 times in the 1^st set. The second set remained close in the first few games. Again we each broke each other a few times to make it 3-3. I held for 4-3 in a long game before he responded and held for 4-4. At 4-4, my opponent was serving up 30-0 but I came-back to win the next 4 points to get the break. I served out the 2^nd set in a tough game in the next game to take the set 6-4. I jumped out to a quick start in the 3^rd set. I started serving a little better and also returning solid. I broke in the 1^st game and held for 2-0. I then broke him again as it was key to jump out to a 3-0 lead. I held again in the next game and got another break to lead 5-0. This was by far the best tennis that I played in the match. He held to and thus it was 5-1, but I lost a little focus here and got broken to make it 5-2. He got another hold to cut my lead 5-3. But I closed out the match serving at 40-30 to get a tough 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. I had played a lot of tennis in the past 2 weeks, but it’s always good to get a win.

In my next Qualies match I played against Alexander Lee, who is top 16 year old from Illinois. He is ranked #3 in his class. He is an aggressive baseliner with good groundstrokes, while also returning well. Both of us held our first two service games until I broke him to go up 3-2. I held for 4-2. He held before breaking me in a long game to tie it at 4-4. At 5-5 I broke him again to serve for the 1^st set. Unfortunately I got broken at love to make it 6-6. I started off strong in the tiebreak and racing out to a 3-0 lead. I held my lead and won both service points to make it 5-2. I closed out the first set 7-6(4). I got an early break in the 2^nd set to get out to a 2-0 lead. Serving at 3-2, he broke back. We both traded holds in the next few games. With my opponent serving at 4-5, I won the match after coming to the net to finish the point. I played a decent match, did what I had to do to get through 7-6(4), 6-4.

In the last round of Qualies I played against Keegan Smith. He just finished his freshman year at UCLA and had a great year with a 26-2 record in dual matches. He has a huge first serve and also a big second. He plays big off the ground too and can finish points at the net. We both held in our first service games. I didn’t play the best service game at 1-2 and got broken. He was serving lights out that day and I wasn’t getting many looks on his serve. He held for 4-1. I got another hold to make it 2-4. But he held again and broke me in a long Deuce game to take the 1^st set 6-2. I needed to take better care of my service games. I broke him in the 1^st game of the 2^nd set to jump out to a 1-0 lead. I was serving at 40-15 in the next game but got broken. That was a big momentum swing as I needed to put some pressure on him. We both held for 2-all. He played a great game to break me by hitting some big returns and finish points at the net. He held for 4-2. I got broken again before he served out the match 6-2, 6-2. Credit to him as he played a great match. I couldn’t touch his serve and he was playing huge from the baseline. I needed to serve better as I didn’t have a great serving day.

In Decatur, I partnered with Sebastien Boltz who is ranked #400 in doubles. He returns very well and is solid with his groundstrokes. In our first match we played against Alexander Brown and Aleksander Kovacevic, who are both still at Univeristy of Illinois. They jumped out to the early lead by breaking us at 1-2 on a No-Ad point with a good return. They held in the next game to take at 4-1 lead. We bounced back by getting a hold and then returning well to get it back on serve. Both teams held their next service game until we lost another No-Ad point serving at 4-5. We lost a tough opening set 4-6 with only a few points being the difference. We knew we needed to play a little better and take care of our service games. We broke them in the 1^st game and held to jump out to a 2-0 lead. They held to make it 2-1. We got another hold before breaking them in the next game. We continued to return well and put a lot of pressure on them. We took the second set 6-1. We also jumped out an early lead in the 10-point match tiebreak. We lead 3-0 and then split their two service points to stretch it to 4-1. We continued to play well and make 1^st serves. We held both service points to make it 7-2. After switching sides at 9-3, we closed it out in the next point to win 4-6, 6-1, 10-3.

In the quarterfinals of doubles we played against Tim Kopinksi (Illinois) and Andres Andrade (Florida). This was a good team who returned well and made a lot of plays at the net. We started off playing well in the 1^st set and broke them to take a 3-1 lead. We were returning well and making a lot of volleys. We went on to break them again to go up 5-2. We saved two break points at 5-2 before closing out the first set 6-2. In the second set, they started to return unbelievable. We were hitting quality serves but it didn’t make a difference. Both teams broke each other a few times to start the 2^nd set. They got out to an early 3-1 lead before we broke back. However, they broke us again and held for a 5-2 lead. We had a few break points to get it back on serve but they took the second set 6-3. We didn’t get the best start as we lost a long point on our first service point. Then they won both of their service points to take a 3-0 lead. We found ourselves in a 2-6 hole but tried to take it one point at a time. They continued to hit quality shots and volleys and raced out to a 9-3 lead. We brought it back to 9-6 until they hit an unreturnable serve on match point. It was a little disappointing to lose this match, but our opponents played very well in the 2^nd set and the 10-point tiebreak.

For making the quarterfinals of doubles I earned $160 for the week. It was still a great 3 weeks playing Futures in the Midwest as there were a lot of firsts. After the points went in for winning Iowa City, I jumped 373 spots to #825 in the world in doubles.

Upcoming schedule:

August 11-17 - $15K Futures in Sintra, Portugal

August 18-24 - $15K Futures in Sintra, Portugal

August 25-29 - $15K Future in Piombino, Italy

August 30- Sept 2 – French money tournament in Saint Julien en Genevois, France

"I know for me too succeed and win I have to put all my focus in executing every tiny detail at the highest level point after point."  -Pete Sampras