NEW YORK – Columbia's
Michael Zheng,
Alex Kotzen and
Ishaan Ravichander are getting the summer started by playing in tournaments across the country.
Following a run to the round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championships, the first-year All-American Zheng qualified for the 2023 UAMS Little Rock Open. The event is part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour, which is the second-highest tier of tennis competition.
Zheng started off in the qualifiers bracket where he won two matches to earn a spot in the main draw. Zheng defeated former ATP No. 56 Marius Copil (Romania), 6-3, 6-4 before downing former ATP No. 484 Duarte Vale (Portugal), 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3 to advance to the main draw.
In the first round of the main draw, Zheng faced former ATP No. 39 Mikhail Kukushkin (Kazakhstan). Kukushkin won a close tiebreaker to win the first set. Kukushkin followed that up with a second set win to take a 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Zheng.
Ravichander and Kotzen traveled to California to participate in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) M15 San Diego Tournament. Ravichander started in the qualifying draw, where he won two matches to earn a spot in the main draw. Ravichander posted a 6-7, 6-1, 10-6 win over Patrik Trhac (United States) in the first round before taking a 7-5, 7-6 win against Jody Maginley (Antigua and Barbuda) to advance to the main draw.
Ravichander's run came to an end as he dropped a 2-6, 6-7 contest to Justin Roberts (Bahamas) in the first round of the main draw.
Kotzen earned a spot in the main draw of the M15 San Diego and avoided having to play qualifying matches. Kotzen got the tournament started with a statement win over the No. 1 seed and former ATP No. 434 Govind Nanda (United States). The two-set, 7-5, 6-1 win sent Kotzen to the second round to face Connor Farren (United States). Kotzen dropped a 3-6, 1-6 match to Farren to end his run in San Diego.
Ravichander and Kotzen paired up to play in the doubles tournament as well. The duo earned a spot in the main draw, where they posted a 6-0, 6-4 win against Jack Vance and Jamie Vance (United States) in the first round. Ravichander and Kotzen were defeated in the quarterfinal, 5-7, 6-7 by Daniel Little and Joe Tyler (Great Britain).
Before heading to the tournament in San Diego, Ravichander played in another M15 tournament in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Ravichander went 1-1 in the qualifying draw as he defeated Pranav Kumar (United States), 6-3, 6-4 in the first round. Ravichander was defeated by Trevor Svajda (United States), 2-6, 4-6 in the second round of qualifying.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
Stay up to date on all things Columbia Men's Tennis by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsMTEN), Instagram (@culionsmten) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
