Damm, Zheng and Perez Reach Columbus Challenger Quarterfinals; Qualifiers Kotzen, Zamora Post Wins at M15 Fayetteville; New Orange Bowl Venue Update; Noah Johnston Feature

Four of the second round matches at the ATP Challenger 75 this week in Columbus Ohio were played today, along with the two first round matches that weren't scheduled Monday or Tuesday. Three Americans are through to Friday's quarterfinals: No. 7 seed Martin Damm, Michael Zheng and Alfredo Perez.

Perez, who got a first-set retirement from top seed Juan Pablo Ficovich in the first round, defeated former Ohio State star Justin Boulais of Canada, a qualifier, 6-3, 6-3 today.  The former Florida All-American will face Columbia senior and 2024 fall NCAA champion Michael Zheng, who beat Andre Ilagan(Hawaii) 6-3, 7-6(1). Zheng led 6-3, 4-2, but lost three straight games to give Ilagan an opportunity to serve for a third set. But Zheng broke and then dominated the tiebreaker to reach his fifth Challenger quarterfinal of the year. This is Perez's fourth Challenger quarterfinal, all coming this year; he has yet to reach a semifinal. 

Damm defeated qualifier Antoine Ghibaudo of France, a sophomore at Kentucky, 6-3, 6-4 and will play the only Buckeye remaining, No. 3 seed James Trotter of Japan. Trotter defeated Patrick Maloney(Michigan) 6-2, 6-3.

In the two first round matches played today, Virginia sophomore Rafael Jodar of Spain defeated No. 4 seed Nicolas Mejia of Colombia 6-3, 6-2 and Daniel Masur of Germany beat fellow qualifier Preston Stearns, a junior at Ohio State, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5).

In doubles, only one seeded team remains, No. 2 George Goldhoff(Texas) and Theo Winegar(Columbia, Duke). Benjamin Kittay, a senior at Michigan, and partner Joshua Sheehy(Abilene Christian) beat No. 4 seeds Scott Duncan and Tom Hands of Great Britain 6-3, 6-2 and will play Ohio State's wild card team of Aidan Kim and Bruce Nakashima. Kim and Nakashima defeated Ilagan and Australia's Moerani Bouzige 6-3, 6-4.

Thursday's schedule:

Columbus Challenger - Columbus, OH, United States
$100,000
14 - 21 September 2025

Court 1 - start 10:00
Darwin Blanch (USA) vs [Q] Samir Banerjee (USA)
Rafael Jodar (ESP) vs Alex Rybakov (USA)
[WC] Aidan Kim (USA) / Bryce Nakashima (USA) vs Benjamin Kittay (USA) / Joshua Sheehy (USA)
Jody Maginley (ANT) / Alfredo Perez (USA) vs [2] George Goldhoff (USA) / Theodore Winegar (USA)
Court 3 - start 10:00
Tyler Zink (USA) vs Abdullah Shelbayh (JOR)
[Q] Daniel Masur (GER) vs [6] Andres Martin (USA)
Nicolas Mejia (COL) / Abdullah Shelbayh (JOR) vs Sai Karteek Reddy Ganta (IND) / Ryuki Matsuda (JPN)
Federico Bondioli (ITA) / Carlo Alberto Caniato (ITA) vs Patrick Harper (AUS) / Johannus Monday (GBR)

Rain disrupted play at the M15 in Fayetteville Arkansas, but both American qualifiers won their opening matches before the rain arrived. Alex Kotzen(Columbia, Tennessee) beat UCLA sophomore Rudy Quan 7-5, 6-3 and Noah Zamora(UC-Irvine) defeated No. 6 seed Strong Kirchheimer(Northwestern)  3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Keaton Hance lost to Orel Kimhi, a sophomore at Oklahoma, 7-6(7), 6-3.

Texas's two qualifiers, Timo Legout of France and Sebastian Eriksson of Sweden, had opposite results, with Legout falling to Oklahoma senior Luis Alvarez of Mexico 7-6(4), 6-0 and Eriksson beating Noah Schachter(Texas A&M) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Eriksson's second round opponent Thursday will be No. 2 seed Micah Braswell, the former Texas All-American, who beat Ryan Fishback(Virginia Tech) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in his first match since February.

A brief update on the renovations to the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center in Fort Lauderdale Florida, the new venue for the ITF J500 Orange Bowl this December.

I'm told they are on schedule, with the courts likely to be ready for play next month. There is a ribbon-cutting scheduled for Monday December 8th, the first day of the ITF main draw, with Chris Evert expected to be in attendance. Representatives of the Orange Bowl committee, the USTA and the City of Fort Lauderdale will be on hand to celebrate the new era for the tournament, which is moving from nearby Plantation. The Orange Bowl was held at Plantation's Frank Veltri Tennis Center from 2011 through 2024.

Georgia's athletic website georgiadogs.com has published a feature on freshman Noah Johnston, currently No. 27 in the ITF junior rankings. Johnston, who has made two junior slam doubles finals this year, is one of five new players for the Bulldogs this season.