Victoria Duval Leads Americans Into Main Draw at Oracle Challenger Series

VICTORIA DUVAL LEADS AMERICANS INTO MAIN DRAW
AT ORACLE CHALLENGER SERIES – INDIAN WELLS
Monday’s Main Draw Matches to Begin at 10 a.m. at Indian Wells Tennis Garden

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – (February 25, 2018) – On the final day of qualifying at the Oracle Challenger Series, Victoria Duval overcame fellow American Francesca Di Lorenzo 6-3, 6-2 on a sunny day at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to advance to the women’s singles main draw.

The 22-year-old Duval from Bradenton, Fla., used two service breaks to win the first set in 39 minutes and then built a 4-2 lead in the second set. She then broke Di Lorenzo at love in the seventh game before serving out the match.

“Today was pretty tough. I’m glad I got through it. Francesca is the kind of player that you have to earn it against her. She is not going to give you the free points, so I had to be patient and build the point today,” Duval said after the match. “She’s pretty consistent and a good mover so you have to hit five or six winners to win the point. That’s what it took today.”

Duval improved her singles ranking by more than 600 spots last year and is currently ranked No. 211 in the latest WTA rankings. “I’m really excited I got through the qualifying. Obviously, I would like to get a few rounds under my belt,” she said. “You go into every tournament hoping to win it. That is the ultimate goal. We’ll see how it goes.”

After reaching the main draw, Duval spoke about how happy players were to have the opportunity to play in the Oracle Challenger Series in Indian Wells.

“We’re really grateful to have tournaments like this. To have this tournament the first year here, all of us are pretty excited,” she said. “It’s a great build-up for (BNP Paribas Open) and there are a lot of great players here. It’s amazing how Oracle is backing the Americans and we’re super grateful.”

Duval will face top-seeded Magda Linette of Poland on Tuesday in her first-round main draw match.

Amanda Anisimova, who is ranked No. 175 in the world, also qualified for the women’s singles main draw as she defeated Korea’s Su Jeong Jang 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 in one-hour and 43 minutes. The 16-year-old from Aventura, Fla., takes on fellow qualifier Naomi Broady of Great Britain in the first round on Monday.

Fifth-seeded Frances Tiafoe withdrew from the men’s singles main draw due to a right bicep injury. His spot was taken by ninth-seeded Yannick Hanfmann of Germany. The remaining vacancy in the main draw will be filled by a Qualifying Lucky Loser.

Americans made a strong showing in the men’s qualifying draw as they swept all four qualifying spots. Mitchell Krueger, Christian Harrison, Alexander Sarkissian and Marcos Giron won matches in the Final Qualifying Round to advance to the main draw.

For Monday’s Order of Play, click here.
For men’s singles main draw, click here.
For women’s singles main draw, click here.
For men’s doubles main draw, click here .
For women’s doubles main draw, click here.
For men’s qualifying singles draw, click here.
For women’s qualifying singles draw, click here.
For live scoring, go to: http://oraclechallengerseries.com/

Main Draw matches will get underway on Monday, February 26. Play will start each day at 10 a.m. Gates will open at 9 a.m. Admission and on-site parking for spectators at the Oracle Challenger Series – Indian Wells is free. Attendees can enter Gate 2 from Washington Street. Selected concessions will open at 11 a.m. For additional event information, go to: oraclechallengerseries.com.

The tournament in Indian Wells is the second event of the Oracle Challenger Series. The first event was played on January 20-28, 2018 at the Newport Beach Tennis Club in Newport Beach, Calif. Taylor Fritz of Palos Verdes, Calif., captured the men’s singles title with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory over fellow American Bradley Klahn in the final. Former two-time NCAA singles champion Danielle Collins of St. Petersburg, Fla., defeated Sofya Zhuk of Russia 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the women’s singles final.

The top two male and top two female Americans with the highest accumulated points in the Oracle Challenger Series will be awarded wildcards in their respective singles main draws at the 2018 BNP Paribas Open, held March 5-18 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Oracle Challenger Series Indian Wells
Indian Wells Tennis Garden
Indian Wells, Calif.
Sunday’s Results

Men’s Singles
Final Qualifying Round
[1] C. Harrison (USA) d [7] M. Matosevic (AUS) 64 64
[2] M. Krueger (USA) d S. Fanselow (GER) 61 64
[3] A. Sarkissian (USA) d [6] N. Scholtz (RSA) 76(0) 36 63
[8] M. Giron (USA) d E. Song (USA) 64 75

Women’s Singles
Final Qualifying Round
Y. Wang (CHN) d L. Chirico (USA) 63 75
N. Broady (GBR) d J. Boserup (USA) 63 57 63
M. Doi (JPN) d V. Lapko (BLR) 76(1) 63
S. Errani (ITA) d C. Liu (USA) 63 36 63
V. Duval (USA) d F. di Lorenzo (USA) 63 62
A. Anisimova (USA) d S. Jang (KOR) 63 36 60