MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SINGLES FINALS SET FOR SUNDAY
AT ORACLE CHALLENGER SERIES – INDIAN WELLS
Tennis Channel and RadioTennis.com to Provide Live Coverage
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – (March 3, 2018) – Qualifier Sara Errani of Italy will meet fourth-seeded Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine in Sunday’s women’s singles final of the Oracle Challenger Series. The match is scheduled for 10 a.m. (PST) on Stadium 4 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
On Saturday, Errani eliminated 16-year-old American Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-2 in semifinal action. On the other side of the draw, Bondarenko overcame Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia 7-5, 6-3.
The men’s singles final, which follows the women’s singles final on Stadium 4, will feature unseeded Martin Klizan against unseeded Darian King of Barbados.
King and Klizan both won three-set semifinal matches to advance to the singles final. Klizan held off third-seeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, while King came back to defeat fourth-seeded American Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2 in two-hours and 9 minutes.
After losing the first set in 38 minutes, King exchanged service breaks with Fritz midway through the second set, which later went to a tie-break. As he picked up the level of his game and extended the rallies, King won the first four points and proceeded to win the tiebreaker to even the match.
In the third set, with the momentum in his favor, King broke Fritz in the fifth and seventh game to take a 5-2 lead. He then served out the match with a love game.
“It’s a great performance for me, especially being down a set. Taylor played a great first set. I’m glad I stayed in the match and competed every point,” King said. “I like long matches and a lot of long points. That was basically my game plan, to compete and chase down every ball.”
Earlier in the day, Americans Bradley Klahn and Reilly Opelka – the second and third place finishers, respectively, in the inaugural Oracle Challenger Series, were awarded wildcards into the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open, which begins next week at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Fellow American Taylor Fritz finished with the most accumulated points in the Series, however he received direct entry into the BNP Paribas Open main draw on the basis of his current ranking. Klahn reached the singles final of the Oracle Challenger Series – Newport Beach in January, while Opelka advanced to the semifinals in Newport Beach.
In the women’s doubles final, unseeded American Taylor Townsend and Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium scored a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the third-seeded American team of Jennifer Brady and Vania King to win the championship.
An All-American match highlighted the men’s doubles final as Austin Krajicek and Jackson Withrow combined for a thrilling 6-7 (3), 6-1, 11-9 victory over Evan King and Nathan Pasha.
The top two female finishers in the Oracle Challenger Series, Danielle Collins, the winner of the women’s singles final at the Oracle Challenger Series – Newport Beach, and 2017 US Open girls’ singles champion Amanda Anisimova were awarded wildcards into the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open earlier this week.
Tennis Channel will broadcast Sunday’s action from the Oracle Challenger Series from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (PST). In addition, RadioTennis.com will provide live radio coverage of Sunday’s singles finals on Stadium 4. Radio coverage will begin at 10 a.m. (PST). Tennis broadcaster Ken Thomas will call the action at: https://radiotennis.com
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 were awarded wildcards in their respective singles main draws at the 2018 BNP Paribas Open, held March 5-18 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
About the Oracle Challenger Series – The Oracle Challenger Series was created to offer American tennis players more opportunities and builds on Oracle’s commitment to help support U.S. tennis for men and women at both the collegiate and professional level. The Series will feature equal prize money in a groundbreaking tournament format that combines the ATP Challenger Tour and WTA 125K Series.
Beyond expanding the number of chances to compete, the Series offers an unmatched potential prize of wild cards for top American finishers into the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open, which is widely considered the top combined ATP World Tour and WTA professional tennis tournament in the world.
Oracle Challenger Series Indian Wells
Indian Wells Tennis Garden
Indian Wells, Calif.
Saturday’s Results
Men’s Singles
Semifinals
M. Klizan (SVK) d [3] V. Pospisil (CAN) 61 36 61
D. King (BAR) d [4] T. Fritz (USA) 36 76(1) 62
Men’s Doubles
Championship
A. Krajicek (USA) / J. Withrow (USA) d [WC] E. King (USA) / N. Pasha (USA) 67(3) 61 11-9
Women’s Singles
Semifinals
[4] K. Bondarenko (UKR) d A. Tomljanovic (AUS) 75 63
[Q] S. Errani (ITA) d [Q] A. Anisimova (USA) 64 62
Women’s Doubles
Championship
T. Townsend (USA) / Y. Wickmayer (BEL) d [3] J. Brady (USA) / V. King (USA) 64 64
