Virginia tennis alum Alexander Ritschard earned a spot in the main draw at the U.S. Open, and will face No. 6 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the opening round on Monday.
Ritschard, currently ranked No. 185 in the world, advanced to the main draw through qualifying, with a 6-1, 6-2 victory against No. 220 Evan Furness of France in the first round, then defeating wildcard Zachary Svajda 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 in the second round and taking out No. 109 Franco Agamenone of France 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the qualifying final.
This is the second time Ritschard has qualified to play in a Grand Slam after advancing through qualifying at Wimbledon earlier this summer. He also advanced to the qualifying final at Roland-Garros.
Ritschard picked up his first ATP Tour main draw victory in July at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad, an ATP 250-level event, when he advanced to the Round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against No. 59 Joao Sousa.
Ritschard has won five Futures titles in his professional career and made the finals of the Forli Challenger in Italy last year.
At Virginia, Ritschard played three seasons for the Cavaliers as a member of the 2015-17 NCAA Championship teams. In his senior season, he played at the No. 1 singles position, was named the ITA Atlantic Region Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award Winner and the ITA Atlantic Region’s Most Improved Senior while also earning a place on the All-ACC Second Team.
Ritschard is the 16th different Cavalier to play in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. At least one UVA alum has played in each of the last 54 Grand Slams dating back to 2009 Wimbledon.
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Chris Graham
