Some of the world’s top young tennis talent assembled in Plantation, Florida, over the weekend.
The qualifying rounds of the USA F3 Futures Pro Circuit tournament, which pumps in competitors from all over the world, opened on Friday, with nine Florida men’s tennis players and one UF signee competing on the clay for a spot in the main singles draw.
And according to UF head coach Bryan Shelton, the pro tournament is a special test for his athletes.
“For us, being able to play these pro events gives us an opportunity for our guys to play against really good competition,” he said in a release. “We’ve got guys on our team that aspire to play professional tennis when they’re done with their college career, so we certainly want to give them a taste of it.”
Florida responded well to their first taste of action in 2017.
Eight of the nine Gators who competed won their first-round draw. However, as the weekend progressed, the field thinned and only four of those eight UF players advanced to the third round: senior Elliott Orkin, junior Chase Perez-Blanco and the doubles tandem of sophomore Alfredo Perez and freshman Johannes Ingildsen.
Future Gator Andres Andrade, who signed a letter of intent with UF in November, also made the third round. Andrade had an impressive run for an 18-year-old but was eliminated in the third round by Evgeny Korolev of Russia in two sets.
Orkin was also defeated in the third round, bounced by Argentinian Felipe Martinez Sarrasague, who went on to qualify for the main draw.
Ingildsen, Perez and Perez-Blanco then advanced to the fourth and final round before the main draw.
Ingildsen squared off against No. 2-seed Hunter Callahan (USA) for a berth in the main draw and defeated the American in two sets, 6-3, 6-1.
Ingildsen’s doubles partner, Perez, faced an American as well in Aleksandar Kovacevic. The sophomore also took care of his opponent in two sets, 6-2, 6-4, capturing a spot in the main draw.
While both Ingildsen and Perez claimed their spots in the main draw, Perez-Blanco was battling in a hard-fought, three-set match against No. 4-seed Genaro Alberto Olivieri of Argentina. Despite winning the first set (6-4), Perez-Blanco dropped the last two sets (2-6, 2-6) and was denied entrance into the main draw by the Argentine.
Despite only two of his players remaining in the tournament, Shelton is optimistic that the F3 Futures has been a valuable experience for his team.
“The competition has been great here and is certainly helping us prepare for our upcoming dual season,” Shelton said.
The F3 Futures tournament marks the end of any action the men’s tennis team will see until the start of the dual season on Jan. 21, when Florida begins its season with a doubleheader against Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State at the Ring Tennis Complex.
As for Ingildsen and Perez, action resumes today in the main draw with Ingildsen facing Venezuelan Ricardo Rodriguez and Perez taking on Olivieri.
Contact Mark Stine at mstine@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @mstinejr.
Alfredo Perez returns a serve during Florida's 6-1 win over Troy on Jan. 17, 2016, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
