Who cares about rankings?
Not DK Suresh. The Wake Forest Deamon Deacon used his homecourt advantage to upset the No. 7 seed, Alexey Zakarov, in the qualifying draw 7-6, 6-2. Suresh is currently ranked 1,089 in the world. Zakarov is 337.
“I’m happy about this. It’s my first ATP match, and I’m really happy to get through that round today. I’d like to do more damage in this tournament,” Suresh said after his win.
Only one other Deac has won a round at the Winston-Salem Open. Fans may remember Croatian Borna Gojo getting through the first qualifying round back in 2017.
“It’s special because you know everyone in the crowd, and they give you really great energy,” a smiling Suresh added.
Suresh will take on Lerner Tien on Sunday in another qualifying match. Tien is the fourth seed and ranked just outside the world’s top 200.
A battle of former collegiate national champions was also on display as former University of Virginia Cavalier Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and former Wake Forest Demon Deacon Skander Mansouri battled for nearly three hours on Stadium Court. Kwiatkowski came away the winner 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-6(5).
Kwiatkowski won the NCAA singles championship in 2017 and helped take Virginia to three national titles during his time as a ‘Hoo. Mansouri was part of the Wake Forest team who won the national championship here at the Wake Forest University Tennis Complex in 2018.
Mansouri is currently making his way up the ATP doubles rankings, but Kwiatkowski, a Charlotte native, has decided the Winston-Salem Open will be his last tournament as an ATP pro.
“It’s always amazing to play in North Carolina in front of my family and friends. I’m just glad I didn’t have to play on Court 4 - which is one of the Wake [Forest] dual match courts. I never won when we played them over there,” he reflects.
“I chose Winston-Salem to retire, so my family could watch me one last time.”
Kwiatkowski, the No. 6 seed, plays Strong Kirchheimer, who beat fellow American Ryan Fishback 6-1, 7-5.
Other winners were Americans Zach Svajda and Omni Kumar, Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate, and Columbia’s Nicolas Mejia.
Tomorrow’s first round matches begin at 3pm with Borna Coric verses Sumit Nagal. Reilly Opelka and Zizou Bergs kick off the evening session at 6:30 with Chris Eubanks and Adam Walton as the night cap.
