Rising sophomore tennis player Marcos Giron and his doubles partner, recent graduate Nick Meister, were defeated by USA’s Rajeev Ram and Michael Russell, ending UCLA’s run in the Farmers Classic tournament.
Bruin tennis legends have played their part in the annual professional tournament held on campus, but in order to join the ranks of Arthur Ashe and Jimmy Connors, current and former UCLA players would have to make their way through qualifying first.
UCLA had four participants ““ two former and two current members of the tennis team ““ compete at the Farmers Classic this past week. All four competed in qualifying to get into the main draw of the tournament.
Recent graduate Nick Meister was the lone Bruin to make it through the singles qualifying draw and was also joined in the doubles draw by his former teammate and rising sophomore Marcos Giron.
After winning his group in the qualifying draw, the main draw of the tournament wasn’t as friendly to Meister. He was eliminated in straight sets in the first round of both the singles and doubles draws.
The qualifying draw opened on the UCLA campus’ Sycamore Courts with a match between two current Bruin teammates, rising junior Clay Thompson and Giron.
Thompson ended up defeating Giron, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
In spite of the large crowd and intense rallies, Thompson said that the match felt like a practice.
“(There) was a little added element of pressure because it was like “˜which teammate is going to win when it really counts,'” Thompson said. “But at the same time, when I was out there it was like we were just doing another daily practice at Sycamore.”
Kevin Kim, a former Bruin, still seemed comfortable playing at Sycamore Courts. He defeated Egor Puntus in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-0.
Thompson said some of the Bruins’ success can be attributed to the benefits of playing at home: being able to sleep in their own beds and enjoying a home crowd.
“I always feel like I am going to be the crowd favorite when I’m playing here, and that is such an advantage,” Thompson said. “When you’re feeling down, (the crowd) will pull you through.”
But the crowd could not pull him through the second day of qualifiers, when Thompson was matched against Ricardas Berankis, who defeated the rising junior in straight sets.
Berankis ended up reaching the singles final of the main tournament draw.
Kim also lost in the second round, to Uruguay’s Marcel Felder in two quick sets, 6-3 and 6-0.
Following Kim and Thompson’s second-round eliminations, any hopes of a UCLA representative making the main draw rested with Meister, who experienced leg cramps in the midst of a tightly contested third set.
“I didn’t know what was going on, I’ve never cramped before during a match,” Meister said. “(There’s) no medical time out for cramping so you have to play on.”
Meister’s perseverance paid off, as he clinched the match.
Less than 15 hours later, Meister defeated Jimmy Wang in two sets, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to advance to the tournament’s main draw.
“I have had a lot more confidence in myself in the past couple of days,” Meister said following his win Monday. “If I started playing with these guys tomorrow I’d be a little less assured, but I did it. I deserve to be there.”
In the main draw, Meister was matched against Xavier Malisse, the No. 5 seed in the tournament.
Meister was able to keep up in a close first set, losing just 6-4, but was handled in the second by Malisse, who defeated Meister 6-1 and ended his singles run in the tournament.
However, Meister’s loss Tuesday didn’t mean he was finished playing in the Farmers Classic.
He paired with fellow Bruin Giron in the doubles draw after the two were issued a wildcard spot last Saturday to compete with the 15 other doubles teams in the tournament.
In their first match, despite multiple lead changes, the Bruin pairing fell in straight sets, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
Although he lost in the main draw, Giron was excited about the opportunity to gain experience so close to home.
“It was a great experience to be in the main draw. It was very special being able to play at the home court, at UCLA, with the home crowd in a way.” Giron said. “Actually playing on a big stage, and playing two pros that have been playing on the tour for many years.”