USTA Announces Men’s Wild Cards for US Open

August 13, 2019 | By Press Release
Escobedo 2018 US Open 2
Photo Credit: Brian Coleman/NY Tennis Magazine

 

The USTA today announced that Americans Bjorn Fratangelo, Marcos Giron, Denis Kudla and Jack Sock join US Open Wild Card Challenge winner Ernesto Escobedo and 2019 USTA Boys’ 18s National Champion Zachary Svajdaas 2019 US Open men’s singles main draw wild card recipients. Antoine Hoang was awarded a main draw wild card by the French Tennis Federation as part of its reciprocal agreement with the USTA, and Tennis Australia’s reciprocal agreement main draw wild card will go to a player to be announced.

The 2019 US Open main draw will be played Aug. 26-Sept. 8 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Both the men’s and women’s singles champions this year will earn $3.85 million.

Escobedo, 23, of Los Angeles, earned his wild card by winning the US Open Wild Card Challenge. Ranked as high as No. 67 in the world as a 21-year-old, Escobedo won his first ATP Challenger Tour title in nearly three years this July.

Fratangelo, 26, of Pittsburgh, was the second-highest-ranked American in US Open Qualifying, at No. 121. Fratangelo has played in the US Open main draw three times, from 2015-17, reaching the second round in 2017.

Giron, 26, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., was the 2014 NCAA singles champion at UCLA. He spent nearly a year away from competition following two hip surgeries in 2015 and 2016 and has had a career resurgence this year, including a run through qualifying to the third round at Indian Wells.

Kudla, 26, of Arlington, Va., has been ranked as high as No. 53 in the world and is the first player out of the US Open’s direct-acceptance field. He has played in the main draw of the US Open five times, reaching the second round twice.

Sock, 26, of Kansas City, Mo., is a former world No. 8 who missed six months with a thumb injury sustained at the Australian Open. Sock has played in every singles main draw of the US Open since 2010, reaching the fourth round in 2016, and is a former US Open champion in men’s doubles (2018, with Mike Bryan), mixed doubles (2011, with Melanie Oudin) and boys’ singles (2010).

Svajda, 16, earned his wild card by winning the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championship on Sunday. A San Diego native, Svajda regularly trains at the USTA National Campus and has counted Roger Federer, John Isner and Taylor Fritz among his hitting partners.

Hoang, 23, of Aix-En-Provence, received the French Federation’s reciprocal wild card. He is ranked No. 101 and reached the third round at Roland Garros this year.

The USTA also announced the nine men who have been awarded wild card entries into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, taking place August 19-23 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, as part of US Open Fan Week.

The recipients are: JC Aragone (24, Yorba Linda, Calif.), part of three NCAA championship teams at the University of Virginia; Jenson Brooksby (18, Carmichael, Calif.), the 2018 USTA Boys’ 18s national champion and incoming freshman at Baylor; Maxime Cressy (22, Hermosa Beach, Calif.), a four-year player and 2019 ITA All-American at UCLA; Sebastian Korda (19, Bradenton, Fla.), a former junior world No. 1 and son of former Australian Open champion Petr Korda; Stefan Kozlov (21, Pembroke Pines, Fla.), a former junior standout who earned his wild card through a playoff held at the USTA National Campus last month;Govind Nanda (18, Redlands, Calif.), the 2019 USTA Boys’ 18s national runner-up and rising sophomore at UCLA; Sam Riffice (20, Orlando, Fla.), an ITA All-American as a freshman at the University of Florida in 2019; Alex Rybakov (22, Coral Springs, Fla.), a two-time ITA All-American over four standout seasons at TCU; JJ Wolf (20, Cincinnati), who recently turned pro following three First Team All-Big Ten seasons at Ohio State.

 


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