Early Rounds Not Kind to Past Stars as Anderson, Schnur Crash Out at New York Open

By Brent Shearer

(February 12, 2020) UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – An affinity for the black courts of the New York Open at NYCB Live’s Nassau Memorial Coliseum was no help to last year’s runner up, Brayden Schnur, and the 2018 winner Kevin Anderson, in early round action on Tuesday.

Schnur, who was given a wild card based on his run last year, lost to Germany’s Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-3.

The German said, “I think the biggest difference was that he was playing with a lot of pressure after making the finals last year. I came out a little tight, but I tried to go for it.

At one point Schnur fell and was forced to take a medical time-out to deal with his injuries. Despite the interruption, his game didn’t seem to be affected by his tumble.

Koepfer also said both he and his opponent played a Challenger event in Dallas last week. “We both had to adjust to the different speed and composition of the court here.”

In an evening match, South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, was beaten in straight sets by qualifier Jason Jung 7-6, 6-4.

Anderson, who has been ranked as high as #5,, is a former Wimbledon and U.S. Open finalist. Since his peak two years ago, he has struggled with injuries. In Uniondale on Tuesday, his potent service, delivered from the stratosphere courtesy of his 6’8’’ frame wasn’t the weapon it often was in his best year on tour in 2018. In particular, he had problems hitting wide in the ad court. Most of his aces came with bombs down the T.

Jung took care of his own service games and capitalized on the few break points he got. The Torrance, Calif. resident, originally from Taiwan, is a player who wasn’t jinxed by his past successes at the New York Open. His only two previous ATP tour level wins came on the black courts last year.
In other results, Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund beat Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama 7-5, 6-4 while fan favorite Ivo Karlovic lost to Australia’s Jordan Thompson 6-3, 7-6. Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi beat Danilo Petrovic of Serbia, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in match between qualifiers.

In doubles action, Tennys Sandgren and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden beat local wild cards and Hofstra University team members Shawn Jackson and Ostap Kovalenko 6-1, 6-0.