Levine Advances at Wimbledon
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 | Men's Tennis
In first-round Wimbledon action on Tuesday, Former Gator Jesse Levine downed No. 14 Marat Safin 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, advancing to the tournament's second round for the second-consecutive year.
The win over Safin, who was a semifinalist at last year's Wimbledon Championships, marks Levine's first career victory over a top-50 opponent and propels him into the second round to face Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay. The time of the match has not yet been announced.
In the match, Levine scored 44 winners to Safin's 30, while converting four of eight break point opportunities.
Levine entered the tournament as a qualifier ranked 133rd in the world.
During the 2007 season with the Gators, Levine compiled a 24-1 overall mark and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals both in singles and in doubles with partner Greg Ouellette. Levine was named ITA National Rookie of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-SEC that season.
-UF-
