It’s not surprising to see Daniel Kosakowski, UCLA’s No. 1 singles player as a freshman last season, triumph on the courts of the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
He certainly felt at home as he advanced to his first-ever ATP main draw Monday. The Downey native won one of four qualifying spots at the Farmers Classic by defeating fellow American Denis Kudla, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
But the 19-year-old won’t be calling the blue courts on the campus of UCLA home for much longer. Kosakowski moved up to the professional ranks last month, and a team spokesman confirmed that he is not expected to rejoin the team in the fall.
Kosakowski, the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, said qualifying for the main draw on tennis’ top professional circuit topped anything he had accomplished as a Bruin.
“I definitely have the confidence and know that I can do well here,” he added. “Who knows how well I can do? Hopefully I can keep going, play my game and see what happens.”
Kosakowski had to win three matches “”mdash; including one over Tatsuma Ito, currently ranked No. 104 in the world and the top seed in qualifying “”mdash; to make the field of 32. On Monday, Kosakowski came back from a break down in both sets to defeat Kudla in front of a vocal crowd of friends and family.
“I’ve grown up watching this tournament; it feels amazing,” Kosakowski said. “All these people who’ve been watching me, they’ve seen me grow up as a player. They’ve seen me play when I was like 10. I’m sure it means a lot to them too.”
Kosakowski’s decision to turn pro is a little less surprising when you consider that he was already having some success on the Futures Tour, the third tier of professional tennis. He made the final of one Futures event in September and broke through for his first tournament win in June in Sacramento. The opponent in that final was USC Trojan Steve Johnson, the 2011 NCAA singles champion, who Kosakowski took down, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
Kosakowski also stands to make some money by going pro ““ the top prize in Sacramento was $15,000, while reaching the first round of the Farmers Classic as a qualifier nets $7,440.
He moves on to play Tim Smyczek, another qualifier, on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Said a beaming Kosakowski, “I’ll just enjoy the experience and hang out with the pros in the locker room.”
With the success he’s having, he’ll feel comfortable as one of the club.