Former ATP Player Francisco Clavet Advances at USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships

Former ATP Player Francisco Clavet Advances at USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships

LA JOLLA, Calif. – (December 2, 2019) – When Spain’s Francisco Clavet competed on the ATP Tour from the late 1980s through the early 2000s, he reached a career-high No. 18 in the singles rankings and won eight career ATP singles titles.

During his professional career, the steady Spaniard scored wins over notable players such as Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Lleyton Hewitt, Marcelo Rios and Gustavo Kuerten.

This week, the 51-year-old Clavet is playing the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. On Monday afternoon, Clavet, who is seeded fifth, eliminated hard-hitting Scott Manoogian, Arlington, Va., 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the second round.

Clavet first heard about the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships from his friend, Fernando Zuliani, a resident of Newport Beach, Calif., who has played the tournament multiple times.

“My friend (Zuliani) told me this was a very nice tournament in La Jolla. He invited me. It wasn’t easy getting here from Spain. It took 16 hours. I’m very happy to be here. It’s always difficult to play the first match, especially after a long flight,” said Clavet, who arrived in Southern California last Friday. “The environment, hotel and the club are amazing. It’s like a professional tournament. The level of the tournament for a senior event is unbelievable.”

Clavet added, “It’s a tough tournament. When you play, you want to win. If I have a chance, I will go for the title, but for now I want to focus on every match day by day. It’s not easy after a long trip. I’m still getting used to the time change.”

On Tuesday, Clavet will play his second-round match against unseeded John Gallelli of Seattle at 11 a.m. In other men’s first-round matches, fourth-seeded Brett Masi of Long Beach, Calif., eliminated San Diego’s Joseph Zerboni 6-1, 6-1. Masi is head coach of the men’s tennis program at the University of Southern California.

Men’s defending singles champion and top seed Stuart Ross Duncan of Laguna Hills, Calif., had a first-round bye and will face unseeded Jeffrey Weinstein of Long Beach, Calif., in Tuesday’s second round at 10 a.m. Second-seeded Jeff Greenwald of San Anselmo, Calif., also received a first-round bye. He is scheduled to meet unseeded Greg Failla of Ramona, Calif., at 1:30 p.m.

Play in the women’s singles draw will begin Tuesday. Second-seeded Amanda Parson Siegel of Santa Ana, Calif., will take on Leora Grimshaw of Novato, Calif., at 9:30 a.m. Three-time defending singles champion and top-seed Hiromi Sasano of San Diego received a first-round bye and will play her first match on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

Updated player draws for each division can be viewed here.

The starting times for each day of the tournament are as follows:
8 a.m. – Tuesday, December 3 through Friday, December 6
9 a.m. – Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8
(All times are PST)

La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club welcomes tennis spectators to the tournament with free admission. Onsite parking is available for a nominal fee.

The USTA National Father/Son and Grandfather/Grandson Hard Court Doubles Championships will be contested at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club from Friday, December 6 through Sunday, December 8. The Father/Son Championship has been held continuously at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club since 1959, and attracts the top father and son tennis teams in the nation. The Grandfather/Grandson Championship is a relatively new competitive division that started at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club in 2003.

Fans can tune-in to RadioTennis.com on Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8 to listen to live audio play-by-play of the day’s matches on Court No. 1. Tennis broadcaster Ken Thomas will provide live web cast commentary at https://radiotennis.com/.

Designated one of the Top 100 Tennis Resorts in the world by Tennis Resorts Online, the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club’s reputation as a top tennis destination started in 1942, when it attracted its first major tournament, the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship. The Club will be hosting the 131th edition of this popular tournament March 5-8, 2020, as well as both the USTA National Hard Court Championships for Womens’ 50-90 age groups and the 47th Annual Men’s Senior Championships May 11-17, 2020.

USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships
La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club
La Jolla, Calif.
Monday’s Results

Men’s Singles
First Round
Francisco Clavet (5), Madrid, Spain, def. Scott Manoogian, Arlington, Va., 6-2, 6-2
Brett Masi (4), Long Beach, Calif., def. Joseph Zerboni, San Diego, 6-1, 6-1
Kerry Safdie, San Diego, def. Eric Schantz, Laguna Niguel, Calif., 6-0, 6-0
Jeffrey Weinstein, Long Beach, Calif., def. Jawad Bisharat, La Jolla, 6-2,6-1
Ryan Pang (9), Mercer Island, Wash., def. Omar Morgades, Los Angeles, 6-0, 6-1
Samuel Schroerlucke (5), Memphis, Tenn., def. Michael Peltz, Irvine, Calif., 6-1, 6-2
Cornel Catrina (9), Costa Mesa, Calif., def. Kevin Mallery, San Diego, 6-1, 6-0
Bruce Ives, San Diego, def. Eric Alm, Watsonville, Calif., 6-1, 6-2
Matthew Semler (9), Portland, Ore., def. James Lievers, Escondido, 6-3, 6-2
Michael Chang, Anaheim, Calif., def. Rand Hogen, La Jolla, 6-0, 6-1
Dan Hiddleson (5), Corte Madera, Calif., def. Gregory Gerken, San Diego, 6-2, 6-0
Sergio Rico, La Jolla, def. R. Ferman, New York, 6-3, 6-2
Per Nordstrom, Hong Kong, def. Eddie Fensler, Santa Ana, Calif., 7-5, 6-2
Valter Paiva (9), Long Beach, def. David Evans, San Diego, 6-0, 6-1
Bach Nguyen, Garden Grove, Calif., def. Michael Zarraonandia, San Diego, 6-1, 6-0
Guillermo Cosson (9), Houston, def. Aaron Stark, Carlsbad, 6-1, 6-0
Jeffrey Owens, Simi Valley, def. Allen Rabinovich, San Diego, withdrew (ill)
Kevin Smith, Chula Vista, def. Diego Arriola Jimenez, Mexico City, 6-1, 6-3
Steven Vanderwesthuyzen, Lexington, Ky., def. Teo Ortuno, Spring Valley, 4-6, 6-3, retired (injury)
John Gallelli, Seattle, def. Kosei Ohno, Kirkland, Wash., 6-4, 6-0
Justin Work, Culver City, Calif., def. Micah Oliver, La Verne, Calif., 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Andrew Cheney (9), Scottsdale, Ariz., def. Erik Johnson, La Jolla, 6-0, 6-1
Ramin Pejan (5), Laguna Beach, Calif., def. Jose Calvo Sotelo, San Diego, 6-2, 6-0
Bo Johnson, Portland, Ore., def. Daniel Williams, El Centro, Calif., 6-4, 6-4
Pavel Levitanus (9), Laguna Niguel, Calif., def. Brian Jensen, Chandler, Ariz., 6-0, 6-2
Greg Failla, Ramona, Calif., def. Rajen Mahal, Victoria, B.C., 6-4, 6-1