Alabama Men’s Tennis Summer Update: Week One
6/19/2018 11:51:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Crimson Tide begins the summer season with strong play from multiple players
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama men's tennis players are spread out all across the world playing in different tournaments this summer. Weekly updates of the results will be provided on RollTide.com.
Riccardo Roberto | Padova, Italy | F14 $15k Futures | Sassuolo, Italy
Roberto started the summer in his hometown of Padova, Italy, playing in the F13 $15k Futures qualifying draw, and defeating Augusto Virgili (Italy) in the first round before falling to the No. 9 seed in qualifiers Giovanni Oradini (Italy) of Mississippi State, 6-2, 6-3. Most recently, Roberto is playing in the F14 $15k Futures in Sassuolo, Italy, and qualified for the main draw after winning in the first two rounds. Roberto took down the No. 1 seed of the qualifiers Florian Fallert (Germany), 7-6(5), 6-1. Roberto's win over Fallert was a big one as the German has a career-high No. 412 ATP Ranking. The rising sophomore followed up the victory with another one over Moritz Trocker (Italy), 6-1, 7-5, to make the main draw of the tournament. Roberto will take on Alexander Weis (Italy) in the first round of the main draw beginning today.
Edson Ortiz | Chihuahua, Mexico | Rick & Bubba Super Slam | Pelham, Alabama
Ortiz started off his summer right here in Alabama, after he won the Advantage Realty Cup at North River Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa, before most recently cruising through the Rick & Bubba Super Summer Slam at Pelham Racket Club in Pelham, Alabama. The rising junior beat a familiar SEC-foe in Preston Touliatos of Tennessee in the final, 7-5, 6-2. Ortiz will be competing on the ITA Summer Circuit for the majority of the summer, and plays in the ITA event at the University of Illinois from June 30 – July 2.
Thibault Cancel | Toulouse, France | France F10 Futures $25k | Toulouse, France
Cancel most recently qualified for his first tournament of the summer in his hometown of Toulouse, France. In the first round of the qualifying draw, the rising junior took down Loic Blanco (France) formerly of Stetson, 6-4, 6-2, before besting Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (France), 7-5, 6-4, to advance to the main draw of the France F10 Futures $25k. Earlier this morning, Cancel fell to Amaury Delmas (France) in the main draw, 6-3, 6-7(2), 0-4, ret. Next up, Cancel will play in the qualifying draw of the F11 Futures 25k in Montauban, France, with the tournament beginning on June 25.
Zhe Zhou | Tianjin, China | China F8 $25k Futures | Yinchuan, China
Zhou earned a spot in the main draw of the China F8 $25k Futures event in Yinchuan, China, after he dominated Kaiwei Wang (China), 6-0, 6-0, and then defeated Bingyu Yu (China) in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. In the main draw, Zhou advanced to the second round when he pushed past Ye Cong Mo (China), 6-1, 6-4, before he had to retire in the first set against the No. 2 seed Zhe Li (China) due to injury. This week, Zhou is playing in the Chinese Nationals Tournament.
Patrick Kaukovalta | Espoo, Finland | Kuopion 60v Juhlakisa | Kuopio, Finland
Kaukovalta won the men's open Kuopion 60v Juhlakisa event in Kuopio, Finland, this week. The rising sophomore defeated Eero Vasa (Finland) of UCF in the finals, 6-1, 6-3. Next up for Kaukovalta is the Finnish Nationals beginning on June 25.
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Players Mentioned
