Daily Court Report
by Walt Reese
Semifinals Saturday lived up to the hype at the Cary Tennis Classic, with a full slate of men’s and women’s semifinal matchups, the men’s doubles final, and both the women’s doubles semifinals and championship match all packed into a lively day of action at Cary Tennis Park.
The men’s singles final is officially set after two sharply contested semifinals. Liam Draxl, the No. 2 seed from Canada, delivered a clinical performance in a 6-4, 6-2 win over China’s Yibing Wu. On the other side of the draw, Japan’s Rei Sakamoto survived a pair of tiebreaks to edge past Cary native Patrick Kypson, 7-6(1), 7-6(6), in one of the tightest matches of the day.
In the women’s draw, Darja Vidmanová, a former Georgia Bulldog, punched her ticket to the final with a 6-1, 7-5 win over YeXin Ma of China. Vidmanová has been locked in all week and looked as confident as ever down the stretch. She’ll take on Monika Ekstrand, an 18-year-old American qualifier who’s committed to play at Stanford. Ekstrand continued her incredible run with a dominant 6-4, 6-0 win over Canada’s Cadence Brace, proving once again she belongs at this level.
The first title of the day came in the men’s doubles final, where Finn Reynolds and James Watt held off Patrick Harper and Trey Hilderbrand in a three-set battle, 6-3, 6-7(2), 10-5.
In the women’s doubles final, Americans Ayana Akli and Abigail Rencheli took home the championship with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Gabriella Broadfoot and Maddy Zampardo, closing out the night in front of an enthusiastic crowd on Anthony Blackman Stadium Court.
With just one day left, Championship Sunday is shaping up to be the perfect finale to what’s been a packed and memorable week in Cary. For schedules, draws, and ticket info, visit https://carytennisclassic.com/.
