Locals Win at Challenger in Dallas
Alex Bogomolov Jr. won in the finals of the Challenger of Dallas at T Bar M Racquet Club on Sunday. His serve was on and his return game came through when it counted, as he came up with a 7-6(5), 6-3 victory over Rainer Schuettler of Germany.
Bogomolov, who entered the tournament ranked number 152 in the world, broke the German’s serve for the first time in the fifth game of the second set, and then did it again in the ninth game to close out the match.
Bogomolov, a resident of Long Branch, N.J., won 80 percent of his first serves and saved the three break points he faced. Schuettler, who is currently ranked 92nd, faced 10 break chances and managed to fight off all but two in the second set.
The victory ran Bogomolov’s record to 18-5 since winning the season-ending Challenger event in Champaign, Ill., in November.
In doubles action, the American team of Rajeev Ram & Scott Lipsky (Merrick, N.Y.) continued an impressive run with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Germans Dustin Brown & Bjorn Phau to earn their third consecutive tournament title.
Lipsky and Ram came into the tournament ranked number eight in the world in the ATP doubles team rankings after winning last week’s ATP Tour event in Delray Beach, Fla., and the SAP Open in San Jose, Calif., on Feb. 14.
Neither team lost serve until midway through the second set when Phau couldn’t dig out of his second consecutive love-30 hole on his serve, and Ram and Lipsky opened a 4-2 lead. They made the break hold up.
Ram has won three Challenger of Dallas doubles titles, all with different partners.
