EDWARDSVILLE – The final opening-round singles matches and the doubles quarterfinals highlighted Wednesday's play in the $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit Edwardsville Futures tennis tournament presented by the EGHM Foundation at Edwardsville High School's Tennis Center.
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The big result of the day was top-seeded Nicolaas Scholtz of South Africa being eliminated by Or Ram-Hamel of Israel in their first-round match 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, while second seed Ante Pavic of Croatia was ousted by fellow countryman Borna Gojo in their match, Gojo advancing by 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
“He's (Pavic) a really good player,” Gojo, who hails from Split, Croatia, and plays for Wake Forest in the ACC, said following his win. “He played this year for the Davis Cup team as well; it was really tough for me, the whole match, but I gave it my best and it came out good.
“I'm just taking it match by match and trying to focus on every single point.”
Gojo took up tennis at age 12. “I got started late; I'm 19 now, so it's been six years,” Gojo said of his tennis career. “It's (the ACC) really hard; it was us and Virginia who were the two best teams in the country and North Carolina also. It was a great experience and I'm happy to go back.”
Gojo felt his win turned on saving break points throughout the match. “The first set wasn't really good for me or him,” Gojo said. “But I managed to get a break and save some break points and then, in the second set, I was up a break; I didn't really manage it well, but in the end, I guess I got more lucky in the tiebreak and won.”
Australian Harry Bourchier, making his return to the tournament along with his brother Edward, moved into the second round with a 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 win over Guy Orly Iradukunda of the west-central African nation of Burundi, who plays for Florida State, . “I started off really well and went up 5-1 (in the first set), then I hit a bit of a curve and lost the first set 7-5,” Bourchier said. “It was tough to regroup after the first set; I happened to sneak the second set and the third set was tough also.
“It's never easy (Bourchier took a love-40 lead on Iradukunda in a second-set game, only to see him win five straight points to take the game); it's never over until the last point, really. I didn't play too badly; he was a tricky player to play out here; he made the semifinals last week (in Decatur), so I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I thought I did well to win that match.”
Bourchier will meet Venezuela's Ricardo Rodriguez in the second round today. “I played him last week and won in three sets,” Bourchier said. “It'll be another battle, but I'll be ready for it.”
Play begins at 9:30 a.m. today and includes all eight singles second-round matches and the doubles semifinals later in the day, with the feature match at 5 p.m. between fourth-seeded Hunter and Yates Johnson meeting Robert Galloway and Alex Lawson, the top seed in the draw.
Updated information on the tournament can be found at www.edwardsvillefutures.com; live scoring updates on matches in progress are on the International Tennis Federation web site at itfprocircuit.tennis-live-scores.com/scoreboard.aspx.
USTA PRO CIRCUIT EDWARDSVILLE FUTURES
PRESENTED BY THE EGHM FOUNDATION
WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
SINGLES – FIRST ROUND
Or Ram-Hamel (Israel) def. Nicolaas Scholtz (South Africa) 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-3; Harry Bourchier (Australia) def. Guy Orly Iradukunda (Burundi) 5-7, 7-5, 6-3; Liam Caruana (Italy) def. Edward Bourchier (Australia) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5); Alfredo Perez (USA) def. Ezekiel Clark (USA) 6-2, 6-3; Gustav Hansson (Sweden) def. Gabriel Friedrich (Brazil) 7-5, 6-0; Kevin King (USA) def. Hunter Johnson (USA) 6-3, 6-2; Genaro Alberto Oliveri (Argentina) def. Simon Friis Soendergard (Denmark) 6-4, 6-2; Ullses Branch (USA) def. Aziz Dougaz (Tunisia) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1; Robert Galloway (USA) def. Joshua Peck (Canada) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4; Bona Gojo (Croatia) vs. Ante Pavic (Croatia) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
DOUBLES – QUARTERFINALS
Robert Galloway/Alex Lawson (USA) def. Charlie Emhardt/Alfredo Perez (USA) 6-2, 6-4; Hunter Johnson/Yates Johnson (USA) def. Ezekiel Clark/Aleksander Kovacevic (USA) 6-4, 2-6, 10-4; Hunter Callahan (USA)/Gustav Hansson (Sweden) def. Nathaniel Lammons/Keegan Smith (USA) 7-6 (11-9), 6-4; Aziz Dougaz (Tunisia)/Guy Orly Iradukunda (Burundi) def. Farris Fathi Gosea (Great Britian)/Ante Pavic (Croatia) 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 10-6
THURSDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
9:30 a.m.: Hunter Callahan (USA) vs. Alex Rybakov (USA), Court 2; Ricardo Rodriguez (Venezuela) vs. Harry Bourchier (Australia), Court 3; Robert Galloway (USA) vs. Borna Gojo (Croatia), Court 5
NOT BEFORE 11 a.m.: Aron Hiltzik (USA) vs. Gustav Hansson (Sweden), Court 2; Or Ram-Harel (Israel) vs. Chris Haworth (USA), Court 3; Liam Caruana (Italy) vs. Alfredo Perez (USA)
NOT BEFORE 1 p.m.: Keegan Smith (USA) vs. Kevin King (USA), court TBA; Genaro Alberto Oliveri (Argentina) vs. Ullses Branch (USA), court TBA
NOT BEFORE 3 p.m.: Hunter Callahan (USA)/Gustav Hansson (Sweden) vs. Aziz Dougaz (Tunisia)/Guy Orly Iradukunda (Burundi), court TBA (After rest period – Doubles Semifinal)
5 p.m.: Robert Galloway/Alex Lawson (USA) vs. Hunter Johnson/Yates Johnson (USA), Court 2 (Doubles Semifinal)
