Day-2 of the 2015 Memphis Open delivered some gutty American wins, including Autin Krajicek’s victory over Mikhail Kukushkin. Austin easily took the first set, but failed to convert three match points up 5-4 in the second. After dropping the tie-break, they moved onto a third and eventually, another tie-break. Kukushkin would save two more match points. Krajicek saved two of his own, then won the tie-break and match 10-8.
Austin’s doubles partner and fellow qualifier Ryan Harrison played two tie-break sets of his own with Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri, coming out on top to reach the Round of 16. From the fan’s perspective, Ryan’s intensity on the court can be both uncomfortable to watch, or wildly entertaining. During the match with Jaziri, the chair umpire called a let during play when a ball boy dropped a ball. Frustrated, having earlier complained about the struggling ball kids, Ryan launched one up and embedded it in the ceiling. “That one won’t drop,” he muttered. Code violation. Ball abuse. Brilliant line.
Ryan took the match in a second set tie-break, then he and Austin Krajicek completed the day with a doubles win over Dustin Brown and Marinko Matosevic.
Ivo Karlovic served 23 aces in his First round win over Lukas Lacko of the Slovak Republic, leaving him one shy of 9200 career aces. He is now 984 aces away from reaching the all-time record held by fellow Croatian Goran Ivanisevic. After the win, Ivo revealed that the airline had lost his bags in the trip to Memphis from Zagreb…so he had to borrow a pair of shorts from Ivan Dodig for Sunday’s practice. Needless to say, being nearly a foot taller than Dodig – the shorts were a little snug…though Ivo says he kind of liked the “hot pants” look. See for yourself. Ivo has a photo of it on his twitter stream.
In Tuesday’s night session, Sam Querrey picked up a solid first win of the year over Benjamin Becker. Sam dropped the first set, but dominated the final two 6-2, 6-1. A former champion here in 2010, Sam said he’s always felt comfortable on this court and looks forward to finding his rhythm and regaining positive momentum heading into Spring. Earlier this week, he and Robby Ginepri competed in a free-throw shooting contest at the Memphis Grizzlies game. Thanks to Robby’s three air-balls, Querrey picked up an easy win on the hardwood.
Day-2’s final match saw Steve Johnson advance to the Round of 16 with a straight sets win over lucky loser Filip Krajinovic. Filip had been eliminated by Ryan Harrison in the final round of qualifying Monday, but reentered the draw when Dudi Sela withdrew with an illness. Steve will now face Dustin Brown on Thursday for a spot in the Quarterfinals. Wednesday, he and Sam Querrey will start their doubles campaign versus Donald Young and Artem Sitak.
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DAY-2 RESULTS: Stadium Court
[5] Ivo Karlovic def. Lukas Lacko 7-6(7), 6-3
[Q] Ryan Harrison def. Malek Jaziri 7-6(3), 7-6(1)
[Q] Denis Kudla def. Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-4
[3] Eric Butorac and Rajeev Ram def. Michael Mmoh and Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 6-4
Sam Querrey def. [7] Benjamin Becker 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
[6] Steve Johnson def. [LL] Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-3
DAY-2 RESULTS: Grandstand
Bernard Tomic def. Igor Sijsling 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
[Q] Austin Krajicek def. Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-6(8)
Sam Groth def. Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4, 6-3
Ryan Harrison and Austin Krajicek def. Dustin Brown and Marinko Matosevic 6-3, 6-2
Ivan Dodig and Max Mirnyi def. Johan Brunstrom and Nicholas Monroe 7-5, 7-7(7)
DAY-3 SCHEDULE: Stadium Court (11:00a start)
1R: Stefan Kozlov and Denis Kudla vs. John Patrick Smith and Michael Venus
R16: [Q] Austin Krajicek vs. [5] Ivo Karlovic
R16: [WC] Jared Donaldson vs. Sam Querrey
R16: [Q] Ryan Harrison vs. [1] Kei Nishikori
R16: [3] John Isner vs. Ivan Dodig
1R: [4] Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Gonzalez vs. Mikhail Kukushkin and Yen-Hsun Lu
DAY-3 SCHEDULE: Grandstand (4:00p start)
1R: [2] Sam Groth and Chris Guccione vs. Treat Huey and Scott Lipsky
1R: Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey vs. Artem Sitak and Donald Young
