Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Four seeds, including top two, fall in 100K Aptos

   All four seeds in action on Monday, including the top two, lost in the first round of the $100,000 Nordic Naturals Challenger in Aptos, Calif.
   U.S. qualifier Austin Krajicek, the runner-up two years ago, routed No. 1 Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 6-2, 6-1 at the Seascape Sports Club.
   Akira Santillan, 20, knocked off No. 2 Jordan Thompson 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in an all-Australian affair. Santillan, a Tokyo native, won last month's $75,000 Winnetka (Ill.) Challenger.
   Qualifier Liam Broady of Great Britain ousted No. 4 Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a battle of left-handers. Bemelmans won the Aptos doubles title in 2014 with Laurynas Grigelis of Lithuania.
   Also, Sam Groth of Australia downed No. 8 Bjorn Fratangelo of Orlando, Fla., 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3.
   Groth, 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters) and 220 pounds (100.0 kilograms), holds the unofficial record for the world's fastest serve. He reached 163.7-mph (263.4-kph) in the 2012 Busan (South Korea) Challenger.
   Fratangelo, 24, had reached the semifinals of the last two Aptos Challengers. He advanced to the semis on grass in Newport, R.I., on the ATP World Tour last month, losing to eventual champion John Isner.
   Jaziri is ranked No. 76, Thompson No. 78 and Bemelmans No. 97.
   Australia's John Millman, the 2015 Aptos champion, will take on Mackenzie McDonald, a 22-year-old wild card from Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the opening round today not before 4:30 p.m.
   Millman became the first No. 1 seed in the then-28-year history of the Aptos tournament, the longest-running Challenger in the United States, to win the title.
   McDonald and former Cal star Ben McLachlan of Japan reached last year's doubles final, losing to South Africans Nicolaas Scholtz and Tucker Vorster 6-7 (5), 6-3 [10-8].
   Aptos, located on the Pacific Ocean, is a 90-minute drive south of San Francisco.
   Here are the Nordic Naturals Challenger qualifying draw, singles and doubles draws, and today's schedule.

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