Sports
UCLA Player Makes Farmers Classic Draw
Daniel Kosakowski secures a wildcard berth in singles at the pro tennis event.
Daniel Kosakowski had the home-court advantage during the qualifying rounds of the Farmers Classic and he capitalized on the familiar surroundings to earn a wildcard into the 28-player singles main draw at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on the campus of UCLA.
Having just completed his freshman year with the Bruins, Kosakowski secured a spot in the $1-million ATP Tour event by defeating fellow American Denis Kudla, 6-4, 7-6 (4), on Monday morning at Straus Stadium and he will take on fellow qualifier Tim Smyczek on Tuesday at 2 p.m. on the grandstand court.
The winner of Tuesday's first-round match advances to play either fifth-seeded Xavier Malisse of Belgium or Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in the round of 16.
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Kosakowski was the Bruins' No. 1 singles player in 2011 and had to win three qualifying matches to make his first ATP Tour event. In the first round of qualifying on Saturday he swept Karlis Lejnieks of Latvia, 6-1, 6-2, and in Sunday's second round he routed Japan's top-seeded Tatsuma Ito, 6-0, 6-2.
"I've grown up watching this tournament and it feels amazing," the 19-year-old from Downey said. "My whole family and a bunch of my friends came out to watch. They have seen me play since I was 10. I'm sure it means a lot to them too."
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To gain entry into his first ATP event, Kosakowski had to overcome deficits of 4-2 in the first set and 4-1 in the second set against Kudla. Serving at 5-6 in the second set, Kosakowski faced a set point before holding to force the tiebreaker.
The Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and first team All-Pac 10 selection was rated as the No. 1 recruit in the nation in 2010. Kosakowski went 23-11 overall in singles (15-9 in dual matches) and was 20-9 overall in doubles in his first season with the Bruins, winning the consolation singles title at the Southern California Intercollegiate Championships.
Fellow UCLA sophomore-to-be Clay Thompson lost in the first round of qualifying, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to fourth-seeded Yuichi Sugita of Japan and Bruins' incoming freshman Marcos Giron lost to New Zealand's Artem Sitak, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the first round of qualifying Saturday.
