Odesnik Remains on Top as U.S. Open Wild Card Challenge Nears End
Wayne Odesnik remains the man to beat going into the final week of the USTA Pro Circuit U.S. Open Wild Card Challenge. Odesnik leads the standings with 77 points, but is not playing this week. With 100 points at stake at this week’s $100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger in Aptos, Calif., any American in this week’s field can still claim the U.S. Open wild card. Austin Krajicek, who is in second place with 25 points, needs to reach the final in Aptos to overtake Odesnik, while Chase Buchanan, who is in third place with 23 points, needs to win the Aptos title.
Matches in Aptos will be streamed live on www.procircuit.usta.com.
The USTA awards a U.S. Open main draw wild card to an American man and an American woman who do not have direct entry into the main draw by utilizing a series of USTA Pro Circuit events this summer. Ranking points from two out of the three women’s events and two out of the four men’s will be used and combined to calculate the point total and determine the U.S. Open wild card recipient. If a player competes in more than two events, only his or her two best tournaments will be counted in calculating the point total. In the event of a tie, the player with the best ATP or WTA singles ranking will be awarded the wild card.
Nicole Gibbs, a two-time NCAA singles champion for Stanford, has already clinched the women’s U.S. Open wild card.
The USTA first used this U.S. Open wild card format for its 2012 wild cards, won by Steve Johnson and Mallory Burdette, both of whom reached the third round of the U.S. Open. It was also used in 2013, when the winners were Bradley Klahn, who won his first-round match at the U.S. Open, and Shelby Rogers. The USTA also utilizes this format for the French Open through the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge, where this year’s women’s winner Taylor Townsend was a top story at Roland Garros by reaching the third round. Veteran Robby Ginepri won the 2014 men’s French Open wild card.
The updated standings are as follows:
