LEXINGTON, Ky. — University of Kentucky commit Liam Draxl (CAN) had one of the most impressive opening-round performances of the 2019 Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships on Tuesday night, as he downed [Q] Keegan Smith (USA) in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6 (2) as play wrapped up inside the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center.
The Lexington, Kentucky area was flooded with rain showers for a majority of the day on Tuesday, with local rain fall reaching over 2.5 inches. However, that didn’t stop play as the tournament was moved to the indoor complex of the Boone Tennis Center.
On the men’s side, the day started with Borna Gojo (CRO) knocking off Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. All three matches in the morning wave of ATP matches went the three set distance, as both [Q] Vasil Kirkov (RUS) and Alexander Ritschard (USA) booked their tickets into the second round with three set wins, as well.
In the women’s draw, the qualifying portion of the tournament concluded with the final six spots locked into the field paced by the top two seeds, [1] Dabin Kim (KOR) and [2] Alycia Parks (USA). Peyton Stearns (USA) pulled off the lone upset via seeding of the entire women’s qualification draw on Tuesday with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Kennedy Shaffer (USA).
Play on Wednesday will begin at 10 a.m. ET at the Boone Tennis Center with main draw singles play for both the men’s and women’s draws, as well as doubles. The weather in Lexington looks spectacular for Wednesday, as the night session will feature Draxl in action against [2] Alex Bolt (AUS) as well as a doubles match. Wednesday is Big Blue Night Presented by NetGain Technologies, featuring a Kentucky Athletics exhibition at 7 p.m. ET.
To round out the night, a Kentucky-themed doubles match saw Eric Quigley (USA)/Jesse Witten (USA) def. William Bushamuka (USA)/Matt Halpin (USA) 6-2, 6-3 to advance into the second round of the doubles competition.
