Arizona State Senior Cassone Reflects on First Challenger Title; Kenin Takes Lead in Australian Open Wild Card Race; Bryan Brothers, Sharapova Elected to International Tennis Hall of Fame

Arizona State's Cassone with Calgary Challenger trophy

I had an opportunity to talk with Arizona State senior Murphy Cassone today, with his recent title at last week's ATP Challenger title in Calgary obviously a major topic of the conversation.  The 22-year-old from Overland Park Kansas, who is playing his second round match at the ATP Challenger 75 in Sioux Falls South Dakota tonight against Stefan Kozlov, said he is ready for more despite the intense week in Canada.

After getting through qualifying in Calgary, Cassone immediately went into clutch mode, saving five match points in his 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(13) first round win over Ryan Seggerman. After a 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 2 seed Patrick Kypson(Texas A&M) in the second round, Cassone then played three more tiebreakers in his 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 7-6(4) quarterfinal win over Alexis Galarneau(NC State) of Canada. A 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 3 seed Aziz Dougaz(Florida State) of Tunisia in his first Challenger semifinal earned Cassone a place in the final, against fellow qualifier Govind Nanda(UCLA). Cassone had to come back from dropping the opening set, but came away with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win and left Canada with an ATP ranking of 363, up 236 spots from when he began the tournament.

"It's pretty surreal, actually," Cassone said of his run in Calgary. "Most of the matches I though I was down and out and thought I was going to lose, but a part of me just kept sticking point to point, focusing on what I can, doing the best I can. That's a mindset shift that's helped me out lately."

Cassone, who reached a Challenger quarterfinal in 2022, in the summer after his freshman year, said he never doubted that he could compete at Challengers, but his mental game was lacking.

"I've always thought I have the level to do things like this," Casssone said. "But I've had a lot of close matches, more mental losses, whether I get up in the score and think about the moment too much, or just get in my own way, almost. So I knew it was bound to happen if I just kept getting to this level and training with these guys. I didn't expect it to be so soon, but you just never know in tennis."

Cassone, who reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA singles championship in May, losing to Colton Smith of Arizona, who is through to the quarterfinals of the Sioux Falls Challenger as a wild card, decided not to play the fall season this year. Although that means no NCAA participation this fall, Cassone was determined to leave Arizona State next spring with a Challenger-level ATP ranking, and the uncertainty about the US Open wild card the USTA had traditionally provided to an American champion was also a factor.

"We weren't sure if there would be any wild cards attached(to NCAA participation) and I wanted to set myself up for the summer," said Cassone, who is living and training in Tempe, although he is not enrolled this semester. "I didn't want to start from square one, so I wanted to give myself a chance to get ahead on my ranking, to build it a little easier and stress-free once school's done next spring."

Despite taking this fall off, Cassone is scheduled to graduate in the spring, although he will not devote himself exclusively to dual matches. 

"We want to hybrid my schedule, so I can get seven pro tournaments in next spring," said Cassone, who plans to build that schedule around the classes he'll need to graduate, although his results the rest of this year could change that. "Right now, I'm planning on going back."

Arizona State has the added benefit of being the home of his longtime coach David Fox, now a Sun Devils assistant coach. Fox, who travels with Cassone when his collegiate schedule allows, was Cassone's junior development coach at the Overland Park Racquet Club.

Although he is taking advantage of his special exemption into the main draw to play this week, Cassone is ready for a break, although he said that physically, he has no complaints.

"I definitely need a week or two, back at home just to spend time with my family, take time for me," said Cassone, who has played a Challenger in six of the past seven weeks. "I just need a week after this tournament to reset. I feel good other than that, my body's holding up well."

Cassone is planning to close his year playing a $25K and a $15K, which is in keeping with his determination to proceed as if he hadn't won the title last week.

"I'm trying to keep the same mindset, the same everything," Cassone said. "Before the Challenger, I just came in focusing on the process, what I need to do to get better. Winning it obviously adds extra thoughts and goals, but for me, I just want to keep the same frame of mind, keep plugging away and going on the path I'm going."

Today at the WTA 500 in Tokyo, wild card Sofia Kenin reached the quarterfinals with a 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-6(6) win over Clara Tauson of Denmark, and the 108 points she earns give her 179 points in the USTA's Australian Open wild card race. That puts her in second place, behind only Hailey Baptiste, who is not likely to need the wild card, with her current ranking of 82. Kenin is up to 121 in the WTA live rankings so she could still make the Australian Open field on her own with a few more good results; Ann Li lost in the first round of the WTA in Mexico, so she will finish with 104 points. At 109 in the live rankings, Li could also move into the Australian Open main draw on her own, so it won't be obvious who will get the wild card despite the final standings coming out next week.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame announced its inductees today, with Mike and Bob Bryan and Maria Sharapova selected as the Class of 2025. 

The Bryans, who are also in the ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame for their careers at Stanford, will be inducted in a ceremony next August in the weekend prior to the start of the US Open, as will Sharapova. The induction was previously in July, as part of the Newport ATP 250, but that tournament was eliminated after the 2024 edition.

For more on the Bryans many professional accomplishments, see this article from usta.com.