Back to the USA 2010 - Update #10

Greg's next tournament is the Challenger in Champaign, Illinois. After his disappointing 1st round loss last week Greg elected to stay at his family billet in Knoxville, who he said were great folk, and train at the tennis centre there for the remainder of the week.

He then drove to Champaign on Saturday, getting to see a bit of the USA by road. 

Uni of Illinois - Atkins Tennis Centre



Greg's 1st round match was against 24 year-old Russian Andrey Kumantsov, currently ranked 319, whose steady rise up the ranks over the past years has seen him achieve a ranking high of 261 in September.

The first set was a close affair, with serves dominating on the slick indoor hard court surface, games going with serve to the tie-break. Serving first Greg got a mini-break and was able to serve out the tie-break 7-5, giving him the 1st set 7-6. Very close indeed.

The 2nd set followed much the same pattern, with games again going with serve all the way to the tie-break. But this time it was Kumantsov who asserted his game and won the tie-break a little easier at 7-3, winning the 2nd set 7-6 and sending the match into a 3rd set. Greg said that up to that point Kumantsov had already had two injury time-outs, for differing ailments.

In the 3rd set Greg held serve and then upped the ante. He started picking Kumantsov's serve and broke him to go to a 2-0 up Greg the held serve to consolidate the break and lead 3-0. Kumantsov then took another injury time-out, again with a different ailment, ostensibly to try and break Greg's concentration. Kumantsov held serve but was unable to break Greg, who went to a 4-1 lead.
Greg then got Kumantsov to 15-40 and had an opportunity to go a double break up. Kumantsov saved the first break point with a good first serve and played another good point to deny Greg the break. However at this point, at 1-4 down and deuce on his own serve, Kumantsov walked over to Greg and conceded the match. Kumantsov had had enough and retired injured (reason unknown as yet), gifting Greg, who was leading at that point, the 3rd set and the match, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 4-1. Strange indeed.

Greg is entered in the doubles and will play his doubles match today as well.