Virginia men’s tennis senior Ryan Shane (Falls Church, Va.) lost to No. 27 Jeremy Chardy a 6-2, 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 in the first round of the US Open men’s singles main draw on Monday, Aug. 31, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, N.Y.
“Today was really amazing,” Shane said. “It was a lot of fun. I tried to embrace the moment as much as I could and enjoy the whole thing. I was also excited that I got to play a seed. Chardy is a great player.”
Shane was down two sets to Chardy when the two were knotted 6-6 in the third set. Shane won the tiebreaker 8-6 to force the fourth set.
“The first two sets I came out dazed and a little nervous,” Shane said. “That third set, I decided to loosen up and play the way I could and things went my way. I did everything right and took the third set. I felt great after that and honestly thought that I would be able to force a fifth set. I was really energized, but the fourth set, he played really well. Things got away from me a little. I had my chances, though.”
Shane had 17 aces to Chardy’s eight in the match. Shane hit 17 winners with 13 unforced errors. Chardy hit eight winners and made four unforced errors.
Shane earned a wild card entry into the US Open by capturing the 2015 NCAA Singles Championship last may in Waco, Texas. Shane, a 2015 ITA All-American in both singles and doubles, ended last season at No. 2 in the collegiate ranks in singles and No. 5 in doubles.
Shane will be back in action at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center when he competes at the second annual American Collegiate Invitational, being held Sept. 10-12. Junior teammate Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) and Cavalier alum Mitchell Frank (Annandale, Va.) will also compete in the American Collegiate.
Share
Chris Graham
