De Voest Downs Russell, to Face Kuznetsov in Final

After a slow start, Rik de Voest maintained his composure and defeated Michael Russell to advance to his first JSM Challenger singles final. In the second and third sets, the South African played intelligent tennis on his service game to minimize the possibility of being broken. On Russell's service games, de Voest consistently put returns in play and forced the No. 1 seed to play from behind which ultimately led to his ability to break serve and earn the victory.

De Voest will face American, Alex Kuznetsov (pictured), in the JSM Challenger singles final. Kuznetsov took advantage of his opponent's long week and raced to a straight sets victory. His opponent, Peter Polansky, was a qualifier for this week's tournament and won six matches in six days to advance to the semifinals. Kuznetsov has met de Voest four times previously, with the South African having won three of the four meetings.

In doubles, the No. 1 seeded team of Martin Emmrich and Andreas Siljestrom dominated John Paul Fruttero and Raven Klaasen to advance to the JSM Challenger doubles final. The duo is hoping to capture their third Challenger doubles title of 2011. They'll face Rik de Voest and Izak van der Merwe who defeated Australians Carsten Ball and Chris Guccione in straight sets. Both de Voest and van der Merwe are hoping to earn their second JSM Challenger doubles title. However, it would be their first as teammates.

The JSM Challenger singles final will begin at 1:30pm at the Atkins Tennis Center. The doubles final will follow after appropriate rest for de Voest. Admission to the final matches is $7 for adults and $5 for students. However, anyone presenting an Illinois football ticket stub will be admitted free of charge.