Tennis players from all over the world have descended on Columbus this week, vying for $50,000 in prize money at an ATP Challenger Tour tennis tournament, hosted by the Ohio State University.
Players from Australia, Russia, France, and Switzerland, among several other nations, many with Grand Slam tournament experience, will be visiting the Ohio State University Varsity Tennis Center on Henderson Road this week trying to earn valuable ATP tour points.
Tim Smyczek, ranked #107 in the world and competitor in each of the four Grand Slam events this year, is the top seed. Austin Krajicek, John-Patrick Smith, Bjorn Fratangelo, and Ryan Harrison, each of whom participated in the US Open in New York City earlier this month, are some of the others competing.
The tournament is also a great opportunity for many current and former Ohio State Buckeye tennis players. Former Buckeye All-American and the 139th ranked player in the world, Blaz Rola, is the 6th seed in singles and is partnered with another former Buckeye All-American and Columbus native, Chase Buchanan, in the doubles. Buchanan, ranked #330 in the world, is also in the singles event, as are former Buckeye All-American and Columbus native Peter Kobelt, former Buckeye Connor Smith, and current Buckeye Hugo Di Feo. In addition, Smith and Kobelt are partnered in the Doubles draw, along with former Buckeye Hunter Callahan, who is partnering with current Buckeye Herkko Pollanen.
It has been a big week overall for the tennis community in Columbus. This weekend, Ohio State sophomore tennis player Mikael Torpegaard represented his native Denmark in the Davis Cup, where he had the opportunity to face two of the best players in the world, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer of Spain.
The ATP Challenger Tour event is FREE. Matches begin Monday through Wednesday at 10:00am, Thursday through Saturday at 11:00am, culminating in Sunday’s finals which begin at 12:00pm.
Location: 880 W. Henderson Road
Tournament Draws can be found below:
Singles: http://www.protennislive.com/posting/2015/7318/mds.pdf
Doubles: http://www.protennislive.com/posting/2015/7318/mdd.pdf
