No. 226 Gabriel Trifu pulls the upset.
Aug. 3, 1999
Two-time Grand Slam champion and former world doubles No. 1 Jonathan Stark fell, 7-6, 7-6, to 226th-ranked Gabriel Trifu on Monday night at the Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships.
Stark, the winner of the 1994 French Open doubles and 1996 Wimbledon mixed doubles titles, never lost his serve during the match, but dropped two heart-breaking tie-breakers to the up-and-coming Frenchman.
Trifu, who bombed serve after serve, was returning to the tournament scene after withdrawing from his last event with an injury.
“I was happy with the way I played tonight, especially since I had to pull out of my last tournament,” Trifu said. “I guess you’re always happy with a win.”
On the women’s side, Petra Rampre was a 7-5, 6-1 winner over Jing Quian Yi in the evening’s other feature match.
Also on Monday, the last two members of the UK contingent were eliminated, as both Carlos Drada and Carolina Mayorga were ousted in qualifying action. Drada fell, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, to former Georgia Tech All-American Robert Givone in a final qualification match, but not before besting 1997 Wimbledon junior champion Wesley Whitehouse, 7-6, 6-1, in round two. Mayorga fell, 6-2, 6-1, to Amanda Grahame, on Grahame’s way to a qualification final.
Both the men and women will battle in main draw matches on Tuesday, with former UK All-American Cedric Kauffmann battling Harel Levy in the evening’s 7 p.m. feature match.
Afternoon action kicks off at 2 p.m. at the Boone Tennis Center. Admission is $8 per session, with tickets available at the gate.
Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships
Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center
Men's Round Two Qualifying Carlos Drada d. Wesley Whitehouse 7-6 (3), 6-1Robert Givone d. Jaymon Crabb 0-6, 7-6 (7), 6-0Men's Round Three Qualifying Paul Kilderry d. TJ Middleton 6-3, 7-5aRobert Givone d. Carlos Drada 4-6, 7-5, 6-1Louis Vosloo d. Thomas Blake 6-1, 6-2Doug Flach d. James Blake 1-6, 6-1, 6-2Men's Main Draw First Round Todd Scheck d. Peter Carpenter 6-1, 6-1Michael Russell d. Arvind Parmar 6-4, 6-3Gabriel Trifu d. Jonathan Stark 7-6, 7-6Women's Round One Qualifying Linda Wild d. Jennifer Hopkins 6-1, 6-2 Katie Schlukebir d. Ding Ding 6-7 (4) 7-5, 7-5Maiko Inoue d. Jennifer Langer 6-4, 4-6, 6-0Amanda Grahame d. Carolina Mayorga 6-2, 6-1Jing Quian Yi d. Madoka Kuki 6-4, 6-4Women's Round Two Qualifying Eun-Ha Kim d. Julie Scott 7-5, 7-6 (6)Amanda Grahame d. Katie Schlukebir 6-1, 6-2Nannie DeVilliers d. Bryanne Stewart 6-3, 6-2Holly Parkinson d. Kylie Hunt 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3Linda Wild d. Maiko Inoue 6-3, 7-5Petra Rampre d. Jing Quian Yi 7-5, 6-1Shiho Hisamatsu d. Nikola Hubnerova 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 ret.
