By Hanlon Walsh
The second and final day of qualifying weekend at the 2024 Fayez Sarofim U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship concluded with four winners advancing to the main draw, including one U.S. player - Patrick Kypson.
Kypson, the No. 2 qualifying seed and former Texas A&M standout, led fellow American Brandon Holt 4-1 in the first set before Holt was forced to retire due to a back injury. As a result, Kypson will take on Zizou Bergs of Belgium in Monday’s main draw action on Stadium Court.
Two other players with Texas ties advanced to the main draw. Houston-born Gijs Brouwer, who represents the Netherlands, defeated American Mitchell Krueger 6-3, 7-6(3). Yibing Wu, 2023 Dallas Open champion, won both of his qualifying matches in straight sets to set up a first round popcorn matchup against No. 6 seed Jordan Thompson.
The fourth qualifier to advance was No. 5 seed Alexander Ritschard of Switzerland, who defeated Valentin Vacherot 7-6(4), 7-6(5). Ritschard is a former collegiate standout from University of Virginia, where he helped his alma mater win three consecutive NCAA team championships from 2015-2017. He will take on American JJ Wolf in Monday evening’s slate on Stadium Court.
Main Draw Monday: Four First-Time Matchups
All four singles matches on Monday feature first-time career matchups versus their respective opponents. Additionally, four of eight players competing on Monday are Americans with collegiate backgrounds: No. 5 Chris Eubanks (Georgia Tech), Wolf (Ohio State), Brandon Nakashima (Virginia) and Kypson (Texas A&M).
Eubanks, 27, comes into Houston riding a career-best season in 2023 that included a career-high ranking of No. 29, his first ATP title in Mallorca and a surprise run to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. In his main draw debut at River Oaks, he will face a tricky opening match against Australian Rinky Hijikata, the 2023 Australian Open doubles champion who was a former All-American at University of North Carolina.
Tiafoe Kicks Off with Doubles
Last year's singles champion, Frances Tiafoe, will kick off his 2024 Houston campaign with doubles on Monday alongside fellow American Michael Mmoh. The American duo (“Team Mmoh-Foe”) will take on the Indian team of Anirudh Chandrasekar and Vijay Sundar Prashanth.
Tiafoe, 26, is looking to win his 4th ATP career title and become the first singles player to win back-to-back titles at River Oaks since Steve Johnson in 2017-2018.
Purcell Eyes Doubles Three-Peat
Australian Max Purcell, a 2022 Wimbledon doubles champion, headlines doubles action on Monday alongside partner Jordan Thompson. Purcell will attempt to become the first doubles player in more than a decade to win the U.S. Men’s Clay doubles title for three consecutive years. The last team to accomplish this feat was Bob and Mike Bryan, who won the three-peat at River Oaks from 2009-2011.
Additionally, Purcell and Thompson will look to win back-to-back doubles titles at River Oaks and capture their third doubles title of 2024 together. The Australian pairing leads the field with most doubles match wins on the year and an impressive 13-2 record in 2024.
Monday’s matches will begin at 2 p.m. on both Stadium Court and Court 3. Singles matches will be played on Stadium Court while doubles matches will be played on Court. Stadium Court matches will be broadcast from first to last ball this week on the ESPN App and Court 3 matches will be broadcasted on RadioTennis.com.
