Levine Wins Challenger of Dallas

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Jesse Levine captured the 2012 yp Challenger of Dallas singles title with an upset victory over the No. 2 seed Steve Darcis.  Levine, the lefty from Florida, was clearly the crowd favorite as he mixed baseline rallies with occasional net volleys.  Darcis, from Belgium, appeared unsettled by the partisan crowd as he quickly began looking to his box and talking to himself.

The victory should move Levine at least 30 spots closer to the top 100 ranking.  

In an unusual turn of events, the singles final was anti-climatic to the electrifying doubles final which took place earlier in the evening.  The British duo of Chris Eaton and Dominic Inglot won the title after a long tiebreaker against the American team of Jack Sock and Nicholas Monroe.

Sock, a teenager best known for winning the 2011 US Open mixed doubles title with partner Melanie Oudin, and Monroe came from behind to win the first set.  Eaton and Inglot battled back to win the 2nd set and send the match into a tiebreak.  

With the crowd roaring for every point, Sock and Monroe fought off 8 match points.  Eaton and Inglot also had to overcome deciding points before finally getting the win with a score of 19-17.

The yp Challenger of Dallas, a $100,000 USTA Pro Circuit Event,  is the largest pro men’s tennis event in North Texas hosted at TBarM Club and is rated one of the top circuit stops by the USTA. The USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players, as well as a platform for established professionals. Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, James Blake and Andy Murray are among today’s top players who began their professional careers on the USTA Pro Circuit. The USTA Pro Circuit is world class tennis administered on the local level and played on local courts as part of the fabric of communities nationwide.

See our complete yp Challenger of Dallas photo gallery.

 

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