TOURNAMENT NOTES as of October 28, 2015 2015 CHARLOTTESVILLE MEN’S PRO CHALLENGER CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA • OCT. 31 - NOV. 8 USTA PRO CIRCUIT MEN’S TENNIS RETURNS TO CHARLOTTESVILLE; TOURNAMENT INFORMATION KICKS OFF AUSTRALIAN OPEN WILD CARD CHALLENGE Site: The Boar’s Head Sports Club The 2015 Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger Charlottesville, Va. is taking place in Charlottesville for the seventh consecutive year. It is the only USTA Websites: www.boarsheadinn.com Pro Circuit men’s event held in Virginia. procircuit.usta.com Charlottesville also holds a $50,000 women’s Facebook: Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger event in April. Dishman USTA/Ned Twitter: @CvilleTennis Charlottesville is the first of three consecutive Qualifying Draw Begins: Saturday, Oct. 31 men’s hard-court tournaments that make up the USTA Pro Circuit Australian Open Wild Monday, Nov. 2 Main Draw Begins: Card Challenge, which will award a men’s and Main Draw: 32 Singles / 16 Doubles women’s wild card into the 2016 Australian Open. The USTA and Tennis Australia have a Surface: Hard / Indoor reciprocal agreement in which wild cards into Prize Money: $50,000 the 2015 US Open and 2016 Australian Open are exchanged. The other tournaments in the Tournament Director: men’s portion of the wild card challenge are Ron Manilla, (434) 960-3364 the $50,000 events in Knoxville, Tenn., held [email protected] the week of Nov. 9, and Champaign, Ill., held Tournament Press Contact: the week of Nov. 16. Tim Smyczek peaked at No. 68 in the world Jacob Stuckey, (904) 687-6495 this April after qualifying for the main draw of the Australian Open and winning his first-round [email protected] The three men’s tournaments join three women’s tournaments—the Tennis Classic of match. Smyczek has won six USTA Pro Circuit USTA Communications Contact: Macon in Macon, Ga., held the week of Oct. Challenger singles titles. Amanda Korba, (914) 697-2219, [email protected] 26; the Bush’s $50,000 Waco Showdown in Waco, Texas, held the week of Nov. 2; and Matches from Charlottesville will be streamed the Copperwynd Pro Women’s Challenge in live on www.procircuit.usta.com. PRIZE MONEY / POINTS Scottsdale, Ariz., held the week of Nov. 9. SINGLES: Prize Money Ranking Points To follow the tournament, download the USTA Winner $7,200 80 The American man who earns the most ATP Pro Circuit’s new phone app by searching Runner-up $4,240 48 ranking points at two of the three USTA Pro “procircuit” in the app store. Semifinalist $2,510 29 Circuit hard-court events will receive a USTA wild Quarterfinalist $1,460 15 card to compete in the main draw of the 2016 Notable players competing in the main draw Round of 16 $860 7 Australian Open, which will be held Monday, Jan. include: Round of 32 $520 - 18, through Sunday, Jan. 31. Only players who did not receive direct entry into the Australian DOUBLES: Prize Money (per team) Tim Smyczek, who peaked at No. 68 in the Open are eligible for the wild cards. Winner $3,100 world this April after qualifying for the main Runner-up $1,800 draw of the Australian Open and winning his Semifinalist $1,080 first-round match. In the second round, he Quarterfinalist $640 became a top storyline after facing Rafael Round of 16 $360 Nadal and almost pulling off an upset, falling Jacob Stuckey to the Spaniard in a five-set thriller, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-5. During the match, Smyczek COMMUNITY EVENTS Sunday, November 1 USTA Mid-Atlantic Kids’ Day, 2:00 p.m. Teenager Frances Tiafoe won his first USTA Pro Circuit singles title earlier this year and competed Sunday, November 1 in the US Open and French Open as a wild card. Pro-Am to benefit Special Olympics Virginia, 5:30 p.m. As a junior, he peaked at No. 2 in the ITF World Junior Rankings last year and reached the boys’ singles semifinals at the 2014 junior US Open. *Player field subject to change TOURNAMENT NOTES was heralded for his sportsmanship after giving Nadal a first serve when a USTA Pro Circuit, reaching the semifinals of the $50,000 Challenger fan yelled out during Nadal’s service toss in the final game of the fifth set. in Tallahassee, Fla., and quarterfinals at the $100,000 Challenger in Following the Australian Open, Smyczek won his fifth USTA Pro Circuit Sarasota, Fla., and the $50,000 Challenger in Savannah, Ga. He also singles title at the $100,000 Challenger in Dallas and, this October won matches at three ATP events over the summer (Newport, Cincinnati won his sixth title at the $100,000 Challenger in Tiburon. Smyczek has and Atlanta). Last summer, Donaldson won back-to-back USTA Pro played in all four Grand Slam tournaments in his career, advancing to the Circuit singles titles at $15,000 Futures events in Tulsa, Okla., and second round or better at the US Open from 2012-14, highlighted by a Oklahoma City for the first USTA Pro Circuit singles titles of his career. third-round showing in 2013. Smyczek regularly trains at Saddlebrook As a junior player, he competed in the US Open Junior Championships Resort in Tampa, Fla., and once lived with fellow American Mardy Fish and represented the United States in Junior Davis Cup (16 and under). for a year while training there. He is coached by former Top 30 player Taylor Dent and has trained with Roger Federer in Dubai. Frances Tiafoe, 17, who won his first USTA Pro Circuit singles title earlier this year at the $15,000 Futures in Bakersfield, Calif. Tiafoe, Bjorn Fratangelo, who made his Grand Slam main draw debut at who recently turned pro, also reached three additional USTA Pro Circuit the 2015 US Open after winning the USTA Pro Circuit’s US Open singles finals (in Tallahassee, Fla., in May, in Calabasas, Calif., in March Wild Card Challenge this summer. Fratangelo finished the challenge and in Weston, Fla., in January). He made his Grand Slam debut at the with 83 points after reaching the final of the $50,000 Challenger 2015 French Open by winning the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card in Binghamton, N.Y., and semifinals at the $100,000 Challenger in Challenge and then competed in the 2015 US Open as a wild card. Aptos, Calif., and the $50,000 Challenger in Lexington, Ky. In 2011, Tiafoe also served as a practice partner for the U.S. Davis Cup team Fratangelo became the first American since John McEnroe in 1977 against Great Britain in Scotland this March. As a junior, he peaked at to win the French Open boys’ singles title. He peaked at a career-high No. 2 in the ITF World Junior Rankings last year and reached the boys’ No. 106 in the world this August in large part to his results on the singles semifinals at the 2014 US Open. He also won the prestigious USTA Pro Circuit. In addition to his results during the US Open Wild Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships in December 2013 Card Challenge, Fratangelo also reached a final and semifinal at ITF in Plantation, Fla., becoming the youngest boys’ champion in the 67- Pro Circuit Challengers in Italy this spring. Overall, Fratangelo has won year history of the event; took the title at the 2014 Easter Bowl junior nine USTA Pro Circuit and ITF Pro Circuit singles titles over the last tournament; and reached the final of the 2014 USTA International three years. He also reached three USTA Pro Circuit/ITF Pro Circuit Spring Championships. In 2012, he won two significant 14-and-under quarterfinals this fall. Fratangelo competed in US Open qualifying in tournaments (Les Petits As in Tarbes, France, and Teen Tennis in 2011 and 2013 but did not win a match. He has also competed in Bolton, England) and helped lead the United States to a gold medal Wimbledon and French Open qualifying. As a junior player, Fratangelo in World Junior Tennis—the premier 14-and-under team competition. ranked as high as No. 2 in the ITF World Junior Rankings and competed Tiafoe is a product of the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College on the Junior Davis Cup team. He is coached by USTA National Coach Park, Md., a USTA Certified Regional Training Center, where his father, Stanford Boster. an immigrant from Sierra Leone, worked as a custodian. Mitchell Krueger, who was the top-ranked American junior boy in Ryan Harrison, who earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2012, peaking at a career-high No. 5 in the world junior rankings. 2012 Games in London and has been a member of the U.S. Davis Cup Krueger advanced to the boys’ singles semifinals at the French Open team. He also has enjoyed success on the ATP World Tour, reaching and Wimbledon in 2012 and turned pro that July. He captured his first three semifinals in 2012 to peak at No. 43 in the world. (At the time, pro singles title in 2013 while competing overseas at a clay-court ITF he and Bernard Tomic of Australia were the only players aged 20 or event in the Netherlands, and this year he won his second title—and younger in the Top 100.) This year, Harrison earned a wild card into the first USTA Pro Circuit crown—at the $15,000 Futures in Los Angeles. US Open and competed in Wimbledon qualifying. He put together two He also had a strong spring on the USTA Pro Circuit, reaching the strong performances on the ATP Tour earlier this year, qualifying and quarterfinals at $50,000 Challengers in Savannah, Ga., and Tallahassee, reaching the second round at the Memphis Open, pushing eventual Fla., and the final at the $15,000 Futures in Wichita, Kan., this June.