Aug. 6, 2009
DECATUR, Ill. – Returning Kentucky men’s tennis sophomore Eric Quigley advanced to his first singles quarterfinal on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit Thursday by knocking off former UK standout Tigran Martirosyan 7-5, 6-4, in a second-round match at the Futures 20 tournament in Decatur, Ill.
Quigley picked up two Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) tour points, the first of his career, by defeating third-seeded Martirosyan who is ranked No. 415 in the world.
The current Wildcat star has rattled off six straight wins through both the qualifying and main draws this week without surrendering a set. Quigley’s next opponent is UCLA’s Nick Meister, a fellow American qualifier who also earned his first tour points Thursday by defeating Ole Miss’ Robbye Poole in the second round.
A round earlier, Quigley toppled Virginia Tech’s Patrick Daciek by the same score of 7-5, 6-4 to advance and face Martirosyan. Prior to his first round win, the Pewee Valley, Ky., native defeated four foes in the qualifying draw to advance to the main bracket. Quigley won all four of those matches in straight sets, yielding an average of just six games per match.
“It is a great win for Eric,” said UK men’s tennis head coach Dennis Emery. “He continues to make really good progress against tough opponents. He has had a very impressive summer.”
Quigley and doubles teammate Brad Cox drew the top-seeded team of Luis Diaz-Barraga and Juan-Manuel Elizondo of Mexico in a first-round tussle. The Wildcat duo stayed close in a first set 6-4 loss but could not hold on as the Mexican team clinched the match 6-1 in the second.
Cox, a returning UK junior, also made a qualifying run to make the singles main draw by dispatching three fellow Americans. After two three-set wins, the Duluth, Ga., native rolled over Marek Czerwinski 6-2, 6-1 to earn his main draw entry.
In the first round of the main draw Cox defeated Italy’s Andrea Falgheri, ranked No. 821 in the world, 7-6(2), 4-0, ret. to advance to the round of 16 and pick up one tour point. After an impressive run, the Wildcat fell to sixth-seeded Matt Reid of Australia in the second round. Reid ranks No. 671 in the world. Cox now has four tour points after securing three in Ireland in June. Cox stood at No. 1,411 in the rankings coming into the tournament.
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