Men’s professional tennis came to the San Joaquin Valley for the first time on Sunday, as the qualifying rounds of the USTA Stockton ATP Challenger kicked off at the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center on the campus of the University of the Pacific.
The day saw only three of the eight seeded qualifiers and three wildcards advance to round two of qualifying, which is slated for Sunday with play starting at 10:00 am.
In the marathon match lasting three hours and ten minutes, the number one seed in the qualifying round, Trungelliti, fought back after losing the first set 5-7 to beat Lucas Gomez 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(6), while the number two seed and American, Austin Krajicek, fell to his unseeded opponent Brydan Klein 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.
Saturday also brought the hot serve of Australian Sam Groth, who has been clocked at over 160mph. Groth, a seven seed, would lose to Edoardo Eremin from Italy 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.
An impressive showing from the local wildcard, Jenson Brooksby, was the highlight on Stadium Court for the day. The 15-year-old from Carmichael, California, took down University of the Pacific men’s tennis student-athlete, Miguel Diaz 6-3, 6-3. It was a well fought battle between the wildcards, which drew the biggest crowd on the day. Brooksby will play in the third round of matches for the day tomorrow facing Trungelliti.
Only five of the 16 players to advance to the second round of qualifying are American, with Germany, Australia, Great Britain, Italy, Argentina, Canada, Ecuador, Denmark, and Latvia also being represented in second-round matchups.
Doubles qualifying begins tomorrow following the second round of singles qualifying. For full draw information, fans are encouraged to visit Evezimmermantenniscenter.com
The event will represent the first time that the San Joaquin Valley has seen a professional men’s tennis event and will continue a commitment to bringing high-profile sporting events to Stockton and San Joaquin County. Stockton is the second of three consecutive men’s hard-court tournaments (joining $100,000 events in Tiburon, Calif., and Fairfield, Calif.) that are a part of the ATP Challenger Tour.
Admission to the USTA Stockton ATP Challenger is free for qualifying and all other ticket information can be found at Evezimmermantenniscenter.com or by calling the University of the Pacific Box Office at (209)-946-2474.
More detailed information about scheduling, ticketing and live streaming will become available when the main draw begins. Fans are encouraged to visit Evezimmermantenniscenter.com for the latest updates on the tournament. Interested parties may also follow the tournament via twitter @StocktonMensATP or "Like" the "Stockton Men’s ATP Challenger" Facebook page.