Sam Riffice (left) and Oliver Crawford (right) hold a 10-1 record in doubles this fall.
Crawford and Riffice Reach Doubles Semis, Advance in Singles at M25 Naples
Wednesday, October 30, 2019 | Men's Tennis
NAPLES, Fla. – Florida men's tennis standouts Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice continue to boast winning efforts this fall, reaching the semifinals of the main doubles draw at the M25 Naples, while both also advanced to Thursday's round of 16 in the main singles draw. Crawford has rattled off four straight wins this week, prevailing through qualifying action to go on and drop the draw's top seed in the round of 32 on Wednesday, as Riffice is also off to a solid start, picking up a win in the round of 32 upon a wildcard automatic entry into the event's main draw.
Crawford (ATP No. 745) would meet the main draw's top seed in Matias Franco Descotte (ATP No. 337) in the round of 32 after rattling off three straight wins to emerge as one of six qualifiers in the qualifying singles draw. The Spartanburg, S.C. native picked up a solid first set victory, 6-3, prior to jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the second, as Descotte would retire to grant Crawford the first round win and fourth consecutive this week.
Prior to main draw action, Crawford dominated in the qualifying draw, receiving a wild card entry as the top seed, dropping Patrick Daciek (6-2, 6-0), Thomas Bosancic (6-3, 6-2) and Daniel Labrador (6-1, 6-1) all in straight sets to secure his spot in the main draw.
Riffice (ATP No. 548) has picked up from where he left off from his ITA All-Americans finals run, adding a win in the round of 32 against Micah Braswell. Riffice went on to defeat Braswell decisively in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, to feature in Thursday's round of 16.
Crawford and Riffice haven't missed a beat in doubles action, coming off a doubles title at the Texas Tamale Co. Houston Cup (Sep. 22) and consolation doubles title at ITA All-Americans (Oct. 13), as the duo has notched their sixth consecutive win this fall to advance into Thursday's semifinals.
The Gators' tandem opened doubles action on Tuesday with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Giulio Perego and Fletcher Scott prior to outlasting Alexander Cozbinov and David Fox in Wednesday's quarterfinals, 6-4, 3-6, 10-3. Today's win marked their 10th of the fall slate, as the duo has dropped only one match this fall.
UP NEXT:
Crawford (ATP No. 745) would meet the main draw's top seed in Matias Franco Descotte (ATP No. 337) in the round of 32 after rattling off three straight wins to emerge as one of six qualifiers in the qualifying singles draw. The Spartanburg, S.C. native picked up a solid first set victory, 6-3, prior to jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the second, as Descotte would retire to grant Crawford the first round win and fourth consecutive this week.
Prior to main draw action, Crawford dominated in the qualifying draw, receiving a wild card entry as the top seed, dropping Patrick Daciek (6-2, 6-0), Thomas Bosancic (6-3, 6-2) and Daniel Labrador (6-1, 6-1) all in straight sets to secure his spot in the main draw.
Riffice (ATP No. 548) has picked up from where he left off from his ITA All-Americans finals run, adding a win in the round of 32 against Micah Braswell. Riffice went on to defeat Braswell decisively in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, to feature in Thursday's round of 16.
Crawford and Riffice haven't missed a beat in doubles action, coming off a doubles title at the Texas Tamale Co. Houston Cup (Sep. 22) and consolation doubles title at ITA All-Americans (Oct. 13), as the duo has notched their sixth consecutive win this fall to advance into Thursday's semifinals.
The Gators' tandem opened doubles action on Tuesday with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Giulio Perego and Fletcher Scott prior to outlasting Alexander Cozbinov and David Fox in Wednesday's quarterfinals, 6-4, 3-6, 10-3. Today's win marked their 10th of the fall slate, as the duo has dropped only one match this fall.
UP NEXT:
- Thursday's competition at the M25 Naples will begin at 10 a.m., starting with Sam Riffice's match up with sixth-seeded Stefan Kozlov (ATP No. 485), followed by Oliver Crawford against Cristian Rodriguez (ATP No. 554). The doubles semifinals will ensue after singles action, as the Gators will go head to head with Timo Stodder and Preston Touliatos.
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