American Kevin King’s victory on Day 1 of the $100,000 NorthBay Healthcare Men’s Pro Championship was much more than just an opening tournament win.
The Georgia Tech alum was one of four players that worked their way into the main draw with final qualifying victories at Solano Community College on Monday. King beat Frederik Nielsen of Denmark 6-4, 6-3 to cap three straight wins over the extended weekend to lengthen his stay in Fairfield.
“It’s definitely an accomplishment,” King said of making the singles field of 32. “There are a lot of great players out here. Any of these guys can win and you have to be ready to play every day. I’ve had my ups and downs this year but overall my game is good right now and hopefully I can build some momentum.”
King is currently ranked 295th in the world. He has earned $101,543 in prize money this year. A successful continued run at the NorthBay event could build on that total.
In other final qualifying matches, Evan King of the U.S. worked his way into the tournament field with a 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over fellow American Tom Fawcett. Sebastian Fanselow of Germany made quick work of American Mitchell Krueger 6-0, 6-2. Tommy Paul of the U.S. gutted out a long 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Marc-Andrea Huesler of Switzerland.
The tournament’s only first round singles match in the afternoon ended early when Daniel Evans of Great Britain retired in the second set. Yuba City native Collin Altamirano was up 7-6(2) before Evans called the match. Altamirano played collegiately at the University of Virginia and was the 2013 USTA Boys 18 National Champion.
The first evening session in the tournament’s history came Monday night and featured 6-foot-11 American Reilly Opelka against Lucas Miedler of Austria in singles and a doubles match between Americans Daniel Nguyen and Matt Seeberger (USA) against Ruan Roelofse of South Africa and John-Patrick Smith of Australia.
Evan King and Nathan Pasha played JC Aragone and Mitchell Krueger in an all-American match in the late afternoon.
Most of the first day of competition was filled with high-powered doubles matches. Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland beat Ruben Gonzalez of the Philippines and Nathaniel Lammons of U.S. 7-6(2), 7-6(2) with two tiebreaks. Marc-Andrea Huesler of Switzerland and Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands beat Hans Hach Verdugo of Mexico and Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 6-4, 6-4 of Spain.
The Swedish team of Andre Goransson and Andreas Siljestrom had a long first set and rolled in the second over Jay Clarke of Great Britain and Donald Young of the U.S. 7-6(9), 6-2 in the final qualifying doubles match. Siljestrom is one of the tallest players on tour at 6-foot-9, just an inch under 10th-ranked John Isner and two inches under Ivo Karlovic and Reilly Opelka, who are at this tournament.
The NorthBay tournament is an ATP Challenger Series and a USTA Pro Circuit Tour event. Matches can be seen live online at procircuit.usta.com. The tournament runs through Sunday.
Tickets for evening sessions can be purchased on the tournament’s website at Fairfieldprotennis.com. Evening sessions Tuesday through Friday are just $5 with Saturday and Sunday tickets going for $15 all day. Monday through Friday day sessions are free.
The tournament benefits the Dr. Chris Cammisa Tennis and Educational Foundation, an organization that supports the women’s and men’s teams at Solano Community College and also introduces tennis and a related educational program to underserved youths in Solano County.
Tournament information is available on the website and also on Facebook. Search for it on Facebook at “Chris Cammisa Tennis and Education Foundation.”
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