Six Trojan alumni in New York for US Open, qualifiers

As anticipation builds for this year’s US Open, Trojan tennis fans will get to see at least two familiar faces competing in the tournament next week. Six former USC men’s tennis players are in New York City — five members of the 2012 NCAA champion team as well as 2008 national doubles champ Robert Farah — looking to make a splash in the Grand Slam, provided they qualify.
Farah and Steve Johnson are the only two Trojans already in the main draw. Farah, a 10-time ATP doubles titlist, is ranked No. 26 globally in doubles and will compete in the doubles bracket.

Johnson is likely the most recognizable name in the group. The 27-year-old garnered international attention in June when he made an emotional underdog run in the French Open. He is ranked No. 46 in the world in singles and No. 146 in doubles. He also owns three overall ATP titles (two for singles, one for doubles). Johnson also won a bronze medal in doubles at the 2016 Summer Olympics — beating Farah en route to glory in Rio de Janeiro — and he will enter both brackets in Flushing Meadows.

The remaining four Trojans hoped to play themselves into the main draw, but Daniel Nguyen’s journey came to an end in the first round of the qualifying rounds. Nguyen was making his first-ever US Open singles appearance, losing to Darian King 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Ray Sarmiento and Yannick Hanfmann kept the dream alive in their overall US Open debuts, each winning his first-round matchup. Sarmiento edged Benjamin Bonzi 6-2, 6-3 to advance, but he will face a stiff challenge next in Tim Smyczek, who has qualified for the main draw for the past four years and even advanced to the third round of the singles bracket in 2013.

Hanfmann bested Prajnesh Gunneswaran 6-1, 6-4, and he faces a less-imposing roadblock to the final round of qualifying. Hanfmann will take on fellow rookie Vaclav Safranek in the second round with his opponent coming off a grueling, three-set victory on Tuesday.

Roberto Quiroz was the last Trojan to play his first-round qualifying match, and he opened his US Open career with a thrilling three-set loss to Adrian Menendez-Maceiras on Wednesday. Quiroz stumbled out of the gate, dropping the opening set 6-2, but he battled to take the second 6-4.

But after holding serve throughout the decisive third set, Quiroz was broken in his final game of the night, which handed Menendez-Maceiras a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 victory.

Two Trojans remain standing in the qualifying bracket as the US Open will officially kick off on Monday. Johnson will set his sights on a deeper Cinderella run in his home major, and Farah will hope to carry his ATP success over to the Grand Slam level. It remains to be seen how many former USC teammates will join the duo in the main draw, if any.