Oct. 17, 2010
MANSFIELD, Texas - After the second day of qualifying action at the Futures of Mansfield tournament, three Baylor players remain in contention for one of the eight spots into the event's main draw as Sergio Ramirez, Roberto Maytin and Robert Verzaal all captured victories on Sunday at the Walnut Creek Country Club.
Ramirez was involved in a back and forth battle with Pavel Krainik, before pulling out another straight set win, 6-4, 6-3. The Baylor senior jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first set, but Krainik made things interesting by closing the gap to 5-4. Ramirez then won the next game to finish off the set. In the second, Krainik started fast, but Ramirez ended by winning five straight games to take the match. Ramirez will now face American Nick Chappell, who is ranked as the 42nd-best junior by the ITF on Monday. The winner of the matches will earn spot into the Futures of Mansfield main draw that is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
"Sergio is just winning a ton of matches," head coach Matt Knoll said. "He is just competing well. It was just an up and down match where he got way ahead in the first and then had to battle to close it out and then in the second he got way behind and was able to gather himself to win it."
Maytin succeeded by improving on Saturday's win by knocking out the ITF's 40th-ranked junior, Dennis Novikov of the United States, 7-6(9), 6-2. Maytin, who is seeded ninth in the tournament, will now play teammate Verzaal in the next round.
"Roberto was way more aggressive today," Knoll said. "He was going for his shots. He was more balanced on his serve and I thought he competed a lot better. He was just better in all respects."
Verzaal had the most impressive win of the day with a three-set victory over Christian Guevara, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Guevara was the event's second-seeded player and is currently listed as 959th player in the world by the ATP. With Verzaal matching up against Maytin in one of eight qualifying draw finals, Baylor is assured that at least one of its players will be in the main draw.
"That was the biggest win of Robert's life," Knoll said. "Beating a guy ranked No. 959 is a big deal for him. I am just so happy to see all of his hard work is paying off. He played exceptionally well in the first set. I think part of what happened in the second set was a bit of a function of him being surprised at how well he played at the beginning, but he did a great job of competing well and winning the third."
The only Baylor player to lose on Sunday was junior Kike Grangeiro. Playing against the 10th-seeded Antoine Benneteau of France, Grangeiro dropped the first set 6-0, before falling 6-3 in the second.
"Benneteau played really well in the first," Knoll said. "He just was really hot. I was proud of Kike for fighting all of the way to the end. He was down in the second and managed to get his toes into the match, but Benneteau played exceptionally well. Kike battled hard, but it just didn't go his way."
For complete results and a schedule of Monday's matches visit here and look under the heading Futures of Mansfield.
Sunday Results
Sergio Ramirez def. Pavel Krainik 6-4, 6-3
(9) Roberto Maytin def. Dennis Novikov 7-6(9), 6-2
Robert Verzaal def. (2) Christian Guevara 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
(10) Antoine Benneteau def. Kike Grangeiro 6-0, 6-3
Monday Schedule
Sergio Ramirez vs. Nick Chappell 10 a.m.
(9) Roberto Maytin vs. Robert Verzaal 10 a.m.
Robert Verzaal vs. (9) Roberto Maytin 10 a.m.
