Tagged with: Aleks Vukic, Cameron Norrie, Yannick Hanfmann

Yannick Hanfmann (USC ’15) started off 2017 by playing a pair of Futures events in his old college stomping grounds of Los Angeles but seven months later he’s two sets away from winning his first ATP singles title. Hanfmann came into the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open in Gstaad, Switzerland, with just three career main draw ATP wins but after breezing through two qualifying matches he’s won four straight main draw matches with all four going the full three sets. Hanfmann started off the week with 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4 win over Facundo Bagnis (ATP 109) and then in the second round he knocked out the defending champ Feliciano Lopez (ATP 27) 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-1. In the quarterfinals, Hanfmann dispatched Joao Sousa (ATP 61) 6-7(10), 6-2, 6-2 which set up his match today against Robin Haase (ATP 50). 

Haase jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the opening set but Hanfmann broke, held, and broke to put it back on serve at 4-3. Haase would break back from 30/40 and then serve out the set from 40/30 to take it 6-3.

Haase broke Hanfmann from 15/40 to start the second set but Hanfmann broke back from 30/40 to even it at 1-all. The rest of the set would be all holds with only two of the next ten service games reaching deuce (Hanfmann held on both occasions). In the second set tiebreak, Haase had a pair of match points after going in front 6-4 but Hanfmann took the next four points to take the tiebreak 8-6 and force a third and deciding set.  

There were no breaks of serve in the final set although Hanfmann had to fight off two match points when serving at 5-6. Hanfmann led the third set tiebreak 4-2 at the changeover and would go on to take it 7-4 to book his spot in the final against Italy’s Fabio Fognini (ATP 31).  

 

 

Hanfmann is guaranteed a $53,620 payday by making the finals and if he wins he’ll earn $101,004 (career earnings going into the week were $96,582). Hanfmann entered the week with an ATP singles ranking of 170 and with a win over Fognini he’d jump to 101; if he falls to Fognini he’d still be looking at a new career high of 125. 

 

 

Aleks Vukic won his first career pro title on Saturday with a three set win over Deiton Baughman in the finals of the USA F25 Futures in Champaign, Illinois. The Illinois rising senior served for the first set up 5-2 but Baughman won 12 of the next 13 points to knot it at 5-all. Vukic broke back from 30/40 to go up 6-5 and then he closed the set out by holding in a one-deuce game (fought off a break point at 30/40).

In the second set, five of the first six service games went to at least one deuce but none resulted in a break with each fighting off five break points. After three quick holds Baughman broke Vukic from 30/40 to take the set 6-4.

Vukic broke Baughman to start the third set and he would add another break to go up 4-1. Baughman broke for 4-2 but Vukic broke back and then served it out from 40/30 to win it 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.

Vukic picked up 27 ATP points with the win and when those points are added in a week from now he should jump from 960 to around 640. 

Quote from Illinois’s recap – “That was an unbelievable crowd,” said Vukic. “I was not expecting that. Brad and the staff did a great job of setting it up and it was a pleasure to play in front of them like I do in the college season. It is a different playing a professional tournament.”

 

 

Cameron Norrie (TCU ’17) will play in his second-career Challenger singles final after a 6-2, 6-2 win over Christian Harrison (ATP 276) at the $75K Levene Gouldin & Thompson Challenger in Binghamton, New York.

Norrie had a dominating day all around with the former TCU Horned Frog winning 76% of the points on his serve while he won 55% of the points on Harrison’s serve. 

Norrie’s opponent in Sunday’s final will be the top seed Jordan Thompson (ATP 79) after the Aussie came back from a set down to defeat North Carolina rising sophomore William Blumberg. Blumberg took the opening set 6-4 but Thompson won the second 6-3. Thompson claimed the only break of the third set after breaking Blumberg’s 2-2 service game and then a few games later he fought off a break point to serve out the 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win.

Blumberg picked up 29 ATP points for the semifinal appearance and when the new rankings come out on Sunday he’ll have a new career high of right around 647.

The ATP had an article on Blumberg earlier in the week which also has some quotes so check that out here.

 

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BB&T Atlanta Open – John Isner (Georgia ’07) vs. Ryan Harrison; Mike/Bob Bryan (Stanford ’98*) vs. Wesley Koolhof/Artem Sitak

Prague Open Challenger – Yannick Maden (Clemson ’13) vs. Andrej Martin

Binghamton Challenger – Daniel Nguyen (USC ’12)/Denis Kudla vs. Jarryd Chaplin (Tennessee ’14)/Luke Saville

Cairo, Egypt F22 Futures – Mazen Osama (Alabama Rising Jr) vs. Youssef Hossam 

Idanha-A-Nova, Portugal F13 Futures – Nuno Borges (Mississippi State Rising Jr) vs. Andres Artunedo Martinavarr

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt ITF $15K – Mayar Sherif (Pepperdine Rising Sr) vs. Eleni Kordolaimi (Houston ’15)

Targu Jiu, Romania ITF $15K – Astra Sharma (Vanderbilt Rising Sr) vs. Belinda Woolcock (Florida ’17)

Evansville, Indiana ITF $15K – Ann Li (2018 LSU commit) vs. Marcela Zacarias