Pro Media & News

Pro Circuit Round-up: Townsend claims Dothan title

Arthur Kapetanakis | April 23, 2018


Taylor Townsend was handsomely rewarded for her victory at the $80,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Dothan, Ala., this weekend. The Chicago native finished the Hardee's Pro Classic with not only a trophy and a winner's check, but also a commanding lead in the USTA Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge.  

 

The win puts her back into the Top 100 in the WTA rankings at No. 91, just two spots shy of her career-high ranking of No. 89, which she achieved in January. Despite her new Top 100 ranking, Townsend missed the rankings cut-off when the French Open direct-entry list was announced on April 16.

 

Townsend, who won the Wild Card Challenge in 2014 and 2016, has competed in the French Open each of the last four years, highlighted by a career-best major run to the third round in 2014 in what was her maiden Grand Slam appearance. 

 

The 22-year-old reached the final in Dothan as a qualifier in 2016. This time, she broke through as the No. 4 seed for her first singles title of 2018 and her seventh career USTA Pro Circuit singles title. 

 

The 5-foot-7 lefty was made to work in her final three matches, as they all went the distance, culminating with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 final victory over No. 5 Mariana Duque-Marino of Colombia.

 

Francesca Di Lorenzo sits third in the Wild Card Challenge standings after a semifinal run opposite Townsend. Sofia Kenin also had a strong week at the Alabama event, reaching the quarters in singles and the final in doubles, along with partner Jamie Loeb.

 

On the men's side, Reilly Opelka was a singles semifinalist at the Sarasota Open, a $100,000 USTA Pro Circuit and ATP Challenger event in Sarasota, Fla. Stefan Kozlov was a quarterfinalist in the event, while Evan King and Hunter Reese took home the doubles crown. Christian Harrison was a doubles finalist.

 

After his quarterfinal run, Opelka now holds a slim lead over Denis Kudla in the men's challenge standings.

Elsewhere in Florida, Noah Rubin was a singles finalist at the $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit Futures event in Orange Park. In an all-American doubles final, Christopher Haworth and Isaiah Strode defeated Nick Chappell and Raleigh Smith.

 

Other notable results for Americans last week include:

 

Women:

 

  • Danielle Lao was a singles quarterfinalist at the WTA $125,000 Series Event in Zhengzhou, China.
  • Chiara Scholl won the doubles title at the $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy.
  • Dasha Ivanova reached the singles final at the $15,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
  • Jessica Ho was a singles semifinalist at the $15,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Hammamet, Tunisia.


Men:

 

  • Chris Eubanks reached the singles final at the ATP $50,000 Challenger event in Guadalajara, Mexico.
  • Dusty Boyer was a singles quarterfinalist and doubles champion at the $15,000 ITF Futures event in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

 

Wheelchair:

 

  • Dana Mathewson reached the women's singles final, and Bryan Barten advanced to the men's quad singles semifinals at the
    Busan Open ITF 2 Series Event in Busan-City, South Korea.

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