Sunday, Feb. 9 Daily Notebook
Top Things To Know
1) When You Know How to Win
Zachary Svajda, Ethan Quinn and James Trotter all won their first-round qualifying matches on Saturday. What do they have in common? They're all proven champions. Svajda is a two-time USTA 18s champion, Quinn was the 2023 NCAA singles champion for Georgia and Trotter won the 2023 NCAA doubles title for Ohio State. Quinn faces Svajda for a spot in the main draw, while Trotter plays Japanese countryman Taro Daniel for a spot. Four qualifiers will reach the main draw, with the other two matches pitting Americans Tristan Boyer and Murphy Cassone against each other, and American wild card Michael Mmoh against Dmitry Popko of Kazakhstan.
2) Fighting for First Tour-Level Main Draw
There is a lot on the line in the match between up-and-coming Americans Tristan Boyer and Murphy Cassone. If Cassone wins, he'll make his first ATP Tour main draw. If Boyer wins, he'll make his second Tour-level main draw - after last month's Australian Open, where he won his first round. Both were collegiate players - Boyer at Stanford, Cassone at Arizona State - and both have risen up the ATP rankings through the Challenger Circuit. Last year, Boyer tied the record for most Challenger match wins in a season for an American with 44. Cassone, through the ATP's Next Gen Accelerator Programme, received entries into the qualifying events of several Challengers and made the most of the opportunities, winning seven matches to win his first Challenger title last October in Calgary and almost repeating the feat last month in Thailand before falling in the semifinals.
3) Are the Bryan Brothers the Harlem Globetrotters of Tennis Exhibitions?
After losing to Bob and Mike Bryan in the Legends doubles on Saturday, Sam Querrey said he beat them three times on the ATP Tour out of 18 matches, but has lost to them about 100 times in exhibitions so he's about 3-115 against the best doubles team in history. The Bryans' Legends opponents must feel like the hapless Washington Generals, who famously lost to the Globetrotters more than 16,000 times while winning approximately 6 times over the last 70 years. Juan Martin del Potro and Tommy Haas will try to get an elusive win against the Bryans as they take on the brothers Sunday following Murphy Jensen/Ryan Harrison vs. Xavier Malisse/Steve Johnson. Good luck.
4) Another Super Three-Peat Quest
The Kansas City Chiefs aren't the only ones aiming for a three-peat as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday's Super Bowl. Taylor Fritz, two-time defending champion at the Delray Beach Open, is going for his own three-peat here while also trying to become the first player in the 33-year history of the tournament to win it three times. He'll open his defense on Thursday night.
5) Minimum of 10 Americans in Main Draw; Tommy Paul Out
There will be a minimum of 10 Americans in the main draw, with the possibility of 11 depending on Sunday's qualifying results. Second seed Tommy Paul has withdrawn due to a left shoulder injury. The draw will be updated on Sunday to reflect the change and add in the qualifiers and lucky loser.
Events on Sunday, February 9:
ACEing Autism clinic
11 a.m.-Noon
