TOP-SEEDED ANTHONY PERKINS ADVANCES TO THIRD ROUND AT USTA
NATIONAL 40 HARD COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS AT LA JOLLA BEACH & TENNIS CLUB

Defending Women’s Singles Champion Hiromi Sasano Headlines Tuesday’s Schedule
LA JOLLA, Calif. – (November 29, 2021) – Despite having to take an early morning flight to San Diego, top-seeded Anthony Perkins of Lenexa, Kan., eliminated Leon Bax of Salinas, Calif., 6-2, 6-1 in second-round action at the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.  

Perkins is the Director of Tennis at Overland Park Racquet Club in Overland Park, Kan., where he spent last week helping run the USTA Boys’ 18s National Indoor Championships. That tournament concluded this past Sunday and he took a 1 a.m. flight to make sure he would arrive in time to play his opening singles match.

The top-seed dropped the first seven points of the first set, but rebounded to close out the match in approximately 80 minutes. “I flew in early this morning. It wasn’t the best preparation. The match was tougher than the score sounds. There were a lot of deuce games. He had some break point opportunities,” said Perkins, who is playing in San Diego for the first time.

“It’s cold in Kansas right now. I haven’t got to play very much the past couple of years and I haven’t played outside for about six or seven weeks. This is a good opportunity to come out and play some tennis,” Perkins added. “

The 41-year-old Perkins, a native of Great Britain, has lived in the United States for the past 21 years, but still represents Great Britain in International Tennis Federation Senior Championships.

When asked how he felt coming into this week’s tournament in La Jolla as the top seed, Perkins responded, “The seeding doesn’t matter. There are a lot of good players. I’m just glad to compete again after the last couple of years. Obviously, it would be great to win, but we’ll go one match at a time.”

Perkins, currently ranked No. 15 in the ITF Singles 40+ Rankings, will face unseeded Alan Regala of Seattle on Tuesday in a third-round encounter scheduled for 10 a.m. (PST).

Second-seeded Stuart Duncan of Laguna Hills, Calif., a former tournament champion, eased past Michael Hamilton of San Anselmo, Calif., 6-1, 6-2 to move into the third round.   

Top women’s seed Hiromi Sasano of San Diego will begin her quest for a fifth-straight singles title. Sasano, a tennis teaching professional at San Diego’s Balboa Tennis Club, received a first-round bye and will play her second-round match on Tuesday at 9 a.m. (PST) against Francesca Kornberg of La Jolla, Calif.

To view complete draws for each division, please click here.

The starting times for each day of the tournament will be as follows:
8 a.m. – Tuesday, Nov. 30 through Friday, Dec. 3
9 a.m. – Saturday, Dec. 4 and Sunday, Dec. 5
(All times are PST)

The USTA National Father/Son and Grandfather/Grandson Hard Court Doubles Championships will also be contested at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club from Friday, December 3 through Sunday, December 5.