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Californian lefty Omni Kumar capitalised on his lucky loser entry into the main draw of the Winston-Salem Open when he upset French World No. 73 Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 7-6(3) Monday night.
The 21-year-old came into the tournament without even a win an ATP Challenger Tour level to his name. He lost in the final round of qualifying to Illya Marchenko but came into the main draw Monday following the withdrawal of former US Open champion Dominic Thiem due to gastro.
World No. 385 Kumar, who on his backhand side use two hands on his backswing but releases his right hand at the point of contact ala Fabrice Santoro, said that he was stunned to claim an ATP Tour win before tasting success at the Challenger level.
“It’s surreal. It hasn’t even sunk in yet. I played the best tennis of my life and the crowd was behind me,” said Kumar, who has a heavy, wristy forehand and a lot of pop on his serve, despite being listed at a generous 5′ 9” in height.
“Right as I went on to practise today I got the text that I was in. I’m sorry that Thiem pulled out but I was really hyped and I had nothing to lose so I came onto the court with that.
“I’ve seen Arthur play a lot on TV and Tennis TV highlights. He’s got an insane game, so much power. Today everything clicked for me.”
Kumar on Tuesday will face eighth seed Botic van de Zandschulp.
Michael Mmoh fired 10 aces in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over qualifier Darian King to set a second-round meeting with fellow American and 13th seed Marcos Giron.
“It was mental resilience, staying tough,” Mmoh said of the key to his victory, his 10th of the year. “I came out really hot and played well in the first set before having a loose game in the second when he turned things around.
“First set I thought I served exceptional and in the third set I felt like it got me through some tough moments, a lot of tight service games. That was a big part of the reason I won today.”
Mmoh reached the third round at the ATP 500 in Washington earlier this month.
Richard Gasquet picked up the 601st win of his distinguished career when he defeated Switzerland’s World No. 87 Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-4, 6-4.
The 37-year-old Frenchman collected his first win of the North American hard-court swing, having lost to Adrian Mannarino in the first round of Cincinnati last week.
Seeded 12th, Gasquet faces a difficult third-round match against the winner of 19-year-old countryman Arthur Fils, seeded seventh, and Brandon Nakashima.
Sixth-seeded Argentine Sebastian Baez rallied from a set down to defeat Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and will next meet the winner of Australian ninth seed Aleksandar Vukic and #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche.
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