Daily Court Report
by Walt Reese
The first round of men’s qualifying wrapped up Sunday at the Cary Tennis Classic, featuring a full day of action from college stars, international talents, and local names looking to punch their ticket to the main draw. With perfect weather and great energy at Cary Tennis Park, fans were treated to a strong start to tournament week.
Former world No. 19 Hyeon Chung made a confident return to tour-level play, cruising past Leo Vithoontien 6-2, 6-4 on Stadium Court. The Korean veteran played a clean, focused match and will be one to watch moving forward. Local favorite and Cary native Strong Kirchheimer impressed with a hard fought three-set win over No. 8 seed Kris Van Wyk, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Local fans also turned out to support NC State’s Braden Shick, who pushed No. 7 seed Daniil Glinka deep into a third set before falling 6-3, 2-6, 4-6.
Collegiate players also made some noise on Sunday. Duke’s Saahith Jayaraman delivered one of the day’s biggest results, upsetting No. 10 seed Ryuki Matsuda of Japan 6-4, 6-4. Fellow Blue Devil Alexander Visser faced off against Michael Zheng, the NCAA Division I Singles Champion from Columbia University. Zheng looked sharp throughout his 6-4, 6-4 win and continues to build on a remarkable year. Former Florida State standout Alex Rybakov, seeded fifth, advanced with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Nicolas Ian Kotzen, while TCU’s Nick Chappell pulled off a comeback victory over Tristan McCormick, a Georgia alum, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 in a nearly three-hour battle.
Qualifying top seed Moerani Bouzige from Australia made a strong opening statement with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Naoki Tajima, and Antoine Ghibaudo—a rising sophomore at Kentucky and First Team All-SEC honoree from France—came from behind to beat James Watt, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Japan’s Hiroki Moriya also moved through with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Reece Falck.
The final round of men’s qualifying and the start of men’s main draw play begin tomorrow. Women’s qualifying also gets underway, bringing even more high-level tennis to Cary Tennis Park. For schedules, draws, and ticket info, visit https://carytennisclassic.com/.
