Montes Advances to Second Round of Charlottesville Challenger
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Current and former members of the Virginia men’s tennis team will be in action this week on the indoor courts of the Boar’s Head Sports Club competing at the Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger.
Sophomore Iñaki Montes, who advanced through qualifying to earn a spot in the 32-player singles main draw. He won his first-round match on Tuesday to advance to the second round. Sophomore Jeffrey von der Schulenburg was awarded a wildcard entry to the main draw. Alum Thai-Son Kwiatkowski is also competing in the singles draw.
Montes faced alum JC Aragone in his opener. Aragone won the first set 6-3, but Montes roared back with 6-1 and 6-0 wins in the second two sets to advance to Monday’s qualifying final. In the final, he faced Malek Jaziri, who has been ranked as high as No. 42 in his career but is currently ranked No. 303. Montes won the first set in a tiebreaker 11-9 after saving two set points in the frame. Montes won his second set 7-5 to advance to the main draw. On Tuesday, he faced No. 279 Peter Polansky of Canada. Montes won the first set 6-3, but dropped the second 6-4. The third set was knotted 6-6, forcing a tiebreaker which Montes won to take the match and advance to the second round. Montes fell 6-1, 7-5 against No. 184 Prajnesh Gunneswaran of India in the Round of 16.
Von der Schulenburg took on Jason Kubler, who is currently ranked No. 213, on Monday. The first set went to a tiebreaker that Kubler won 7-5. Kubler edged von der Schulenburg 7-5 in the second set to take the match.
Senior Gianni Ross also played in the 16-player qualifying tournament, falling 6-2, 6-4 to Nick Chappell in the qualifier.
Sophomores Alexander Kiefer and Chris Rodesch earned a wildcard entry into the doubles main draw and faced Kwiatkowski and his partner Denis Kudla in their opener, falling 6-1, 6-3.
Alum Treat Huey and his partner Frederick Nielsen are the No. 3 seed in the draw. They played Aragone and his partner Dennis Novikov in the opener, winning 6-4, 6-1.
The main draws run Nov. 1-7. Admission is free and open to the public through the quarterfinals. Semifinals and finals entry Is $15 per ticket. A COVID vaccination card or proof of a negative test is required to attend.