Riffice snags wild card for ATP Orlando Open Challenger
Sunday, December 30, 2018 | Men's Tennis
LAKE NONA, Fla. – Despite falling in the semifinals in the USTA Blizzard Wild Card Challenge, freshman Sam Riffice has earned a wild card into the ATP Orlando Open Challenger, which starts on Monday (Dec. 31).
Riffice was one of 16 collegiate players invited to the USTA National Campus for the Blizzard Wild Card Challenge. The men's winner was competing for a main-draw wild card to the Orlando ATP 80 Challenger event. Along with wild cards, the student-athletes were also playing for a guaranteed spot on the 2019 Collegiate National Team.
Eight men and eight women were divided into two groups for round-robin play, which started on Saturday, Dec. 15. Riffice went 2-1 in the round-robin with wins over Georgia's Emil Reinberg and Tanner Smith of USC and a loss to Alex Rybakov of TCU. The freshman advanced to the semifinals and lost a tough three-set match to USC's Brandon Holt, 2-6, 6-3, 6-7 (9).
However, prior to playing in the Blizzard Wild Card Challenge, Riffice was invited to participate in an internal Player Development event at the USTA National Campus. He won an 8-man wild card tournament with players that had already graduated from college and with that win, Riffice was awarded a wild card for the ATP Orlando Open Challenger.
Riffice is currently ranked No. 664 in the ATP and was a finalist at the Tulsa $25k in June and got through to at least the quarterfinals in two other $25K events this year. In 2017, he won eight consecutive matches to get to the finals of the Vero Beach $15K, before winning seven straight matches to reach the finals of the Bucharest (Romania) $15K.
The 48-player draw for the inaugural Orlando Open begins play on Dec. 31 and continues through Jan. 6. The field will be comprised of 37 ATP direct acceptances, four ITF entries, five wild cards and two qualifiers.
Riffice will square off against Jan Choinski (ATP No. 292) of Germany in the first round.
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Riffice was one of 16 collegiate players invited to the USTA National Campus for the Blizzard Wild Card Challenge. The men's winner was competing for a main-draw wild card to the Orlando ATP 80 Challenger event. Along with wild cards, the student-athletes were also playing for a guaranteed spot on the 2019 Collegiate National Team.
Eight men and eight women were divided into two groups for round-robin play, which started on Saturday, Dec. 15. Riffice went 2-1 in the round-robin with wins over Georgia's Emil Reinberg and Tanner Smith of USC and a loss to Alex Rybakov of TCU. The freshman advanced to the semifinals and lost a tough three-set match to USC's Brandon Holt, 2-6, 6-3, 6-7 (9).
However, prior to playing in the Blizzard Wild Card Challenge, Riffice was invited to participate in an internal Player Development event at the USTA National Campus. He won an 8-man wild card tournament with players that had already graduated from college and with that win, Riffice was awarded a wild card for the ATP Orlando Open Challenger.
Riffice is currently ranked No. 664 in the ATP and was a finalist at the Tulsa $25k in June and got through to at least the quarterfinals in two other $25K events this year. In 2017, he won eight consecutive matches to get to the finals of the Vero Beach $15K, before winning seven straight matches to reach the finals of the Bucharest (Romania) $15K.
The 48-player draw for the inaugural Orlando Open begins play on Dec. 31 and continues through Jan. 6. The field will be comprised of 37 ATP direct acceptances, four ITF entries, five wild cards and two qualifiers.
Riffice will square off against Jan Choinski (ATP No. 292) of Germany in the first round.
Follow the Gators
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
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