Update: #1 seeded Keegan Smith beat Coronado’s Ryan Seggerman 6-3, 6-3 to take the championship. Read the final summary of the tournament.
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San Diego, Calif. – Jessica Failla of Ramona, Calif., the top seed in the women’s singles draw and San Diego’s Keegan Smith, the No.1 men’s singles seed, captured victories on Thursday at the Balboa Tennis Club to advance to the quarterfinals of the USTA National Open Hard Court Championships.
Playing on Court No. 7 under gray, overcast skies, Failla controlled the tempo of her third-round match as she scored a hard-hitting 6-2, 6-2 victory over unseeded Anna Ustinoff of Encino, Calif. Failla, the defending singles champion, will meet fifth-seeded Kelly Chen of Cerritos, Calif., on Friday at 9 a.m. (PDT).
Smith, who will be attending UCLA this fall, faced his toughest test of the tournament as he took on ninth-seeded Mark Oljaca of Bradenton, Fla., in a fourth-round match. Smith needed three sets, but advanced with a hard-fought 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win. He will take on fellow San Diegan Timothy Sah in Friday’s quarterfinals at 10:30 a.m. (PDT).
“He (Oljaca) really upped his level in the second set. He started playing much better. He started going for the forehand and the slice was working for him. It was tough going three,” Smith said. “Tomorrow is going to be a tough one. Timmy is a good friend and it’s always hard playing a friend. He’s playing good. It should be interesting. It’s definitely going to be a battle. It’s going to be a good match.”
In the biggest upset of the tournament so far, unseeded Xavier Smith of Chula Vista, Calif., ousted second-seeded Stefan Menichella of Santa Barbara, Calif., 6-4, 6-3 in fourth-round action on Court No. 9. Smith is an assistant coach for the women’s tennis team at University of California, San Diego. Menichella was a singles finalist at last year’s USTA National Open Hard Court Championships.
Tournament officials have announced times for the men’s and women’s singles finals on Sunday, June 4. The women’s singles final will begin at 11 a.m. The men’s singles final is scheduled to begin at noon.
For complete scores and results, along with updated draws for each division, please go:
http://tennislink.usta.com/
Matches will begin at 9 a.m. Friday, June 2 and Saturday, June 3. Admission for spectators is free and open to the public. On-site parking is free.
The champions in each division will be awarded a USTA gold ball, while the runner-up receive a USTA silver ball. There will also be a 3rd/4th place playoff for the USTA bronze ball. Prize money will be distributed to both finalists as well as third and fourth place finishers in each division.
The USTA National Open Hard Court Championships, which was voted, “2011 Tournament of the Year” by the San Diego District Tennis Association, has had several distinguished participants in past events. U.S. Davis Cup star Jack Sock, who is currently at No. 15 in the ATP World Tour singles rankings (as of 5/29/17), won the Men’s Singles Championship in 2010. Coco Vandeweghe, a semifinalist at this year’s Australian Open, earned a USTA bronze ball at the 2007 Hard Court Championships. Former WTA touring professionals Gretchen Rush and Ros Nideffer won the Women’s Open Doubles title seven times, while Allison Bradshaw captured the Women’s Open Singles title in 2007.
The 2017 USTA National Open Hard Court Championships are sponsored by Wilson, San Diego District Tennis Association, United States Tennis Association, Graphic Interfaces, Clif Bar, Diadem, Minuteman Press of Mission Valley, CH Court Tech, Echo Sports & Third World Sports, Inc., San Diego Aviators, Kashi, and Martinis Above Fourth | Table + Stage.
About The Balboa Tennis Club
In addition to the USTA National Open Hard Court Championships, the Balboa Tennis Club is the site for many prestigious tournaments throughout the year, such as the Maureen Connolly Balboa Open, the San Diego District Championships, the San Diego Metropolitan Tournament. The club, which is also the home of the San Diego Tennis Hall of Fame, boasts over 1,400 members, and is visited by approximately 6,000 day pass visitors each year. As a nonprofit organization, Balboa Tennis Club is dedicated to offering the finest facilities at an affordable price to help foster and develop the great game of tennis in San Diego.
The history of the Balboa Tennis Club dates back to 1922 when a small group of tennis enthusiasts raised $5,000 among themselves, and with the cooperation from the City Recreation Department, constructed six tennis courts adjacent to the present War Memorial Building.
On April 24, 1924, the San Diego Tennis Association received a lease to operate the courts for the public. The following year, a small clubhouse with locker rooms was built, but it was not until June 1939 that Articles of Incorporation were drawn up, and the Balboa Tennis Club actually was formed as a public, nonprofit corporation to foster and develop the game of tennis in San Diego….and to encourage competitive play with other clubs of this and other communities.
The club flourished many years at its original location and aided many young players in developing their games. In June 1966, the club moved to its present location and in July, 1983, assumed all the operational responsibilities of the Morley Field Tennis Complex. In 1989 Balboa Tennis Club was rated as America’s Best Public Tennis Facility by the USTA. In 2000, the San Diego District Tennis Association named BTC as Club of the Year. In 2003, it received the Outstanding Tennis Facility award from the USTA for large facilities in the United States.
