©Colette Lewis 2026--
Bloomfield Hills MI--
I was fortunate that Michael Zheng, the two-time NCAA champion while a student at Columbia, was on Monday's schedule at the
ATP Challenger 125 Cranbrook Tennis Classic, because I'm only here for a brief visit and often miss the marquee matches. I watched the final round of qualifying and the three first round singles matches(more on that later), one of which was No. 6 seed Zheng's 6-4, 6-1 win over former Florida Gator Abdullah Shelbayh of Jordan.
I spoke to Zheng after not just his match, but his lengthy post-match practice session with coach Ruan Roelofse, about his qualifying at Wimbledon and his two main draw wins there, despite his failure to win a match in the two grass Challengers he played prior to Wimbledon.
"I was playing solid, playing with confidence, even though I lost in first round, I was serving really good," said the 22-year-old from New Jersey, who lost in third-set tiebreakers to Mark Lajal of Estonia in Ilkley and Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan in Nottingham. "I got through in Roehampton, and in the main draw anything can happen. You're playing well, with a lot of confidence because you've won three matches against good players, and I had that upset against (Cam) Norrie, so it was a great tournament for me."
Zheng, who is 120 in the current ATP rankings, will not receive direct entry into the US Open, with the ranking cutoff today, but he has qualified for all three majors this year, and he still has an opportunity to win the USTA's US Open wild card challenge, which began last week and runs through August 16 for the men. A title here in Bloomfield Hills would go a long way toward winning that wild card, but Zheng has played all four years that it's been on the calendar for other reasons.
"I think it's one of the best Challengers in the US," Zheng said. "There are a lot of people who come out to support, the DeMuths (David is tournament director) they just do such a good job with the even, getting the people out, they make you feel really comfortable here. The food is great, it's very convenient to get around, not hard to get to for me. It's a great tournament, a great Challenger, the level's really high, and they moved it up to a 125, deservedly so, because the level's been going up every year."
I'll have more from Zheng about his final collegiate season, his decision to skip the USTA US Open Collegiate Playoff, his tentative schedule for the US hard court season, signing with a agency, and other topics soon.
Former University of Tennessee star Adam Walton of Australia, the No. 2 seed this week, does not have to worry about playing in the US Open, as he moved back into the ATP Top 100 after reaching the final of the Newport Challenger 125 two weeks ago.
In today's match against Blaise Bicknell(Florida, Tennessee), Walton got off to a slow start, but quickly took control in the second set, and an increasingly disinterested Bicknell ended up retiring in Walton's 3-6, 6-1, 3-1, ret. victory.
Lloyd Harris, the big-serving, oft-injured South African, was the third main draw winner today, beating Moez Echargui of Tunisia 6-4, 6-4.
The fourth main draw match was cancelled after Alexis Galarneau of Canada withdrew. Galarneau(NC State) was scheduled to play No. 5 seed Pablo Llamas Ruiz of Spain, who now will play qualifier Bruno Kuzuhara in the first round. No. 3 seed Bu Yunchaokete of China also withdrew, with DK Suresh(Wake Forest) of India, and Stefan Kozlov receiving main draw entry as lucky losers.
In addition to Kuzuhara,today's qualifiers are: Evan Zhu(UCLA), Sebastian Gorzny(TCU, Texas), Alan Magadan(UTSA, Texas A&M) of Mexico, Masamichi Imamura of Japan and Roger Pascual(TCU) of Spain.
Cranbrook Tennis Classic - Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States
$225,000
19 - 26 July 2026
Results - Monday, 20 July 2026
Men's Singles - Round of 32
[2] Adam Walton (AUS) d [Alt] Blaise Bicknell (JAM) 36 61 31 Retired
[6] Michael Zheng (USA) d Abdullah Shelbayh (JOR) 64 61
Lloyd Harris (RSA) d Moez Echargui (TUN) 64 64
Men's Qualifying Singles - Qualifying Round 2
[12] Roger Pascual Ferra (ESP) d [1] Stefan Kozlov (USA) 64 64
[3] Masamichi Imamura (JPN) d [Alt] Darian King (BAR) 75 61
[11] Bruno Kuzuhara (USA) d [4] [Alt] Dhakshineswar Suresh (IND) 67(5) 63 64
[9] Alan Magadan (MEX) d Aidan Mayo (USA) 76(3) 36 76(4)
[Alt] Sebastian Gorzny (USA) d [10] Gavin Young (USA) 57 75 63
Evan Zhu (USA) d Patrick Maloney (USA) 46 63 62
Cranbrook Tennis Classic - Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States
$225,000
19 - 26 July 2026
ORDER OF PLAY - TUESDAY, 21 JULY 2026
Center Court - start 11:00
[Alt] Andres Martin (USA) vs [7] Dane Sweeny (AUS)
[Q] Evan Zhu (USA) vs [WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)
Mark Lajal (EST) vs [NG] Darwin Blanch (USA)
Not Before 17:00
[1] [WC] Alex Michelsen (USA) vs Arthur Gea (FRA)
Court 2 - start 10:00
[8] Jacob Fearnley (GBR) vs Remy Bertola (SUI)
[Q] Bruno Kuzuhara (USA) vs [5] Pablo Llamas Ruiz (ESP)
[WC] Spencer Johnson (USA) vs [4] Coleman Wong (HKG)
Colton Smith (USA) vs J.J. Wolf (USA)
Bernard Tomic (AUS) vs Tristan Boyer (USA)
Court 3 - start 10:00
[Q] Roger Pascual Ferra (ESP) vs [Q] Masamichi Imamura (JPN)
[LL] Stefan Kozlov (USA) vs [Q] Alan Magadan (MEX)
[Q] Sebastian Gorzny (USA) vs Borna Gojo (CRO)
[LL] Dhakshineswar Suresh (IND) vs Billy Harris (GBR)
I reviewed the sweep of the
Bogota Colombia J200 titles for Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann in
my post Saturday; only one other American junior earned a title on the World tennis junior circuit last week: 15-year-old Dylan Meineke of Texas.
Meineke won the singles and doubles titles at the
J30 in Jamaica, beating Kale Dalla Costa of Trinidad and Tobago 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 for his second World Tennis junior singles title. Meineke partnered with Vaclav Barina of Czechia in doubles, with the top seeds defeated No. 2 seeds Logan Rey and Canada's Yanis Roch 7-5, 6-3 in the final.
At the
J100 in the Domincan Republic, qualifier Achyuth Binu reached the final, losing to unseeded Darsh Sachin Patel of Great Britain 6-4, 6-0; No. 2 seed Aarini Bhattacharya lost to No. 6 seed Julianny De La Cruz Champagne of the Dominican Republic 6-7(6), 7-5, 7-6(3).
The World Tennis junior circuit returns to the United States this week with a
J60 in Providence Rhode Island. It's the round robin to knockout format, with Payton Dith of Canada and Mikaeel Ali Baig of Pakistan the top seeds.
Craig Tiley was welcomed today by the USTA as its new Chief Executive Officer with this release:
Incoming USTA CEO Craig Tiley Begins Today on a Mission to Advance the Growth of American Tennis and the US Open
ORLANDO, Fla. (July 20, 2026) — The United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced that incoming Chief Executive Officer Craig Tiley arrived in Orlando today to begin his tenure leading the organization’s focus on growing American tennis and the US Open. Tiley’s appointment to CEO was first announced February 24, 2026.
“The USTA has created a great platform to inspire further growth in tennis participation,” Tiley said on his first day on the job. “We want to work with everyone within the tennis family to grow the sport beyond what anyone thought possible.”
USTA Board Chair and interim Co-CEO Brian Vahaly, who was integral in bringing Tiley to the USTA, is delighted with his arrival.
“Craig has spent his career at the forefront of our sport and brings a unique global perspective to the USTA,” said Vahaly. “We are fortunate to have him guide the organization into its next chapter as we build on six consecutive years of participation growth and continue our mission to grow tennis in America. I am confident his leadership will take both American tennis and the US Open to new heights.”
Tiley joins the USTA after a 21-year career at Tennis Australia where he most recently served as CEO and Tournament Director of the Australian Open. During that time, he was responsible for driving explosive tennis growth, both for recreational tennis and at the Australian Open. His distinguished career spans successful leadership in collegiate coaching, running community tennis, and administration of the Australian Open.
“I want to thank Brian and the USTA Board for their support. I am excited by the incredible opportunities in front of us and the tremendous team we have to go get them,” Tiley said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment