Round 1 Action At The Challenger of Dallas

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DALLAS, TX — Robby Ginepri may not have started Monday evening the way he would have liked, but the 30-year-old veteran was able to advance against another seasoned player. Ginepri dropped the first set 6-3 to 14-year pro Rik De Voest on Stadium Court during the first round of the Challenger of Dallas. But Ginepri evened things up with a 6-3 second set win and was able to close things out by holding serve and getting a break in a 6-4 third set.

Ginepri moves on to meet the two-time Challenger of Dallas Singles Champion Ryan Sweeting in the quarterfinals. Sweeting took the court earlier in the day and despite committing seven double faults, he was still able to knock out the No.3-seeded Tim Smyczek 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to begin the days main draw play.

Number 2 seed Michael Russell followed on Stadium Court and rallied back from dropping the first set against Taipei’s Jimmy Wang to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Rajeev Ram, a two-time Dallas Doubles Champion, had to overcome a slow start as well. Second-year pro Daniel Kosakowski grabbed the first set 6-2, but Ram’s service game helped him battle back as he took the following two sets 7-6(3), 6-4. Knoxville, Tennesee native Rhyne Williams managed to already surpass his 2012 Challenger of Dallas accomplishments by winning his first round match against Texas A&M alum Austin Krajicek 7-5, 6-2.

In main draw doubles, the No.4-seeded team of Alex Bogomolov Jr. and Steve Johnson looked strong early on in their 6-3, 7-5 victory over Carsten Ball and Bobby Reynolds. Americans Bradley Klahn and Denis Kudla had little trouble as well in their first round match, needing less than an hour to dispose of locals Neil Kenner and Andrew McCarthy, 6-2, 6-1.

Tickets to the event can be purchased online at www.ChallengerofDallas.com or at tickemaster.com