Americans Lead Assault On Day Two Of US Open Qualifying

The home crowd had much to cheer about on Wednesday at US Open qualifying, with American hopefuls Jared Donaldson, Reilly Opelka, Noah Rubin and Christian Harrison leading the second round charge.

Coming off a strong result at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, reaching the second round and taking a set off World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, Donaldson fought past Eduardo Struvay 6-3, 6-3. The Rhode Island native is seeking to qualify at the US Open for the first time, having received a wild card in each of the past two years.

“He didn’t play with a lot of rhythm, serving and volleying a lot,” reflected Donaldson, who awaits Spain’s Jordi Samper-Montana next. “It was a little difficult to find my rhythm, but I stayed mentally tough and played the big points well. I think that was the difference. I was controlling the match. I can play with these guys and beat them, so playing some qualies matches isn’t a bad thing.”

Fellow American #NextGen star Noah Rubin raced to a 3-0 lead before opponent Yan Bai retired with a right wrist sprain, while 18-year-old Reilly Opelka rallied from a set down to upset former World No. 35 Eduoard Roger-Vasselin 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. The big-serving American, who is fresh off a breakout semi-final run at the BB&T Atlanta Open, fired 14 aces and converted three of four break chances to prevail after one hour and 58 minutes.

Meanwhile, it was a successful return to the tour-level stage for Christian Harrison, who earned his first Grand Slam qualifying victory. Harrison saved two match points in upending Aussie Luke Saville 4-6, 6-0, 7-5. It was an emotional win for the 22 year old, who has been snake bitten by a slew of injuries, including hip and shoulder, over the past few years.

Other Americans registering victories on Day Two were University of Virginia standout Ryan Shane, who rallied past Kimmer Coppejans 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, and Sekou Bangoura, turning in a 6-2, 6-1 rout of Gonzalo Lama in 58 minutes. Teenagers Stefan Kozlov and Tommy Paul weren’t as fortunate, however, suffering defeats to veterans Michael Berrer and Steve Darcis, respectively.

“It’s a win and I’ll take it when you’re out for six or seven months,” said Darcis. “It’s a good feeling to come back here and to play well. I don’t think Tommy played a great match, but I was mixing it up a lot and he didn’t like it very much. I know Tommy and he’s a good player, but he’s still has time.”

Inching closer to a Top 100 return, former World No. 44 Darcis is coming off a title at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Trnava and will face Korean teen Duckhee Lee on Thursday.

In other action, #NextGen star Karen Khachanov, seeded third, fired eight aces and converted three of six break chances to advance past Mirza Basic 6-4, 6-4 in 69 minutes. Bidding to reach his first Grand Slam main draw, the Russian will face Adrian Menendez-Maceiras next, with a potential all-NextGen clash against Rubin looming large in the final round.

Fellow Russian rising talent Andrey Rublev, 18, was upset by Serbia’s Miljan Zekic 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-4 in a marathon two-hour and 32-minute battle. The 28-year-old Zekic saved five of six break points faced for his first Grand Slam qualifying victory. Last month, the Belgrade native streaked to his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Todi, Italy, as a qualifier.

“It was really tough, but I was serving well, so I knew I could come back,” said Zekic. “It was just a couple points that I won that made the difference. Andrey is very good on the hard courts and I’m more of a clay-court player, so it was difficult to play against him. I felt much more pressure, because I’m older, but I’m happy to get the win.”

Former Top 50 players Radek Stepanek, Santiago Giraldo, Mischa Zverev and Go Soeda also notched wins to open their qualifying campaigns.