Ram Moves to Second Round

After earning a Challenger victory in Germany, raising his ATP ranking to 78, and enduring a brutal travel schedule to arrive in central Illinois to compete at the JSM Challenger, tennis fans in Champaign-Urbana were curious to find out how much energy the No. 2 seed had left. The answer is enough to fight another day as Rajeev Ram defeated Luka Gregorc in straight sets to advance to the second round. Tomorrow will be a test for the former Illini as he plays both his second round singles match and first round doubles match with David Martin.

In other action, Ram's former Illinois teammate, Ryler DeHeart, was unable to pull out a tough three set victory against Kaden Hensel. Serving at 5-4 in the third set, Ryler was unable to put a first serve in play and ended up losing the set and the match, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. It was DeHeart's first match since the US Open where developed a back injury which has left him unable to compete. The only current Illini in the draw, Dennis Nevolo, faced the dubious task of trying to upset the No. 1 seed, Kevin Kim. After a slow start, Dennis settled down and traded breaks with Kim in the second set before falling in straight sets.

Other first round singles winners included Taylor Dent, Ryan Sweeting, Michael Russell, and wild card entry Nicholas Monroe. A pair of qualifiers, Ricardas Berankis and Bjorn Rehnquist, both moved to the second round with straight set victories. In doubles play, Jamie Delgado and John Paul Fruttero topped Kaden Hensel and Adam Hubble while Alex Kuznetsov and Jesse Witten defeated former Illini Kevin Anderson and Ruben Gonzales.

Wednesday, November 18 marks the final day of free general admission. Play begins at noon. Come see world class tennis professionals showcase their skills at the Atkins Tennis Center. Visit www.illinoischallenger.com frequently for the latest scores, tournament news, and schedules.