Nanda Posts Final-Round Showings in Kalamazoo
August 12, 2019 | Men's Tennis
KALAMAZOO, Mich. โ Govind Nanda registered a pair of runner-up finishes at the USTA Boys' 18 and 16 National Championships Sunday in Kalamazoo, Mich., earning the men's tennis rising sophomore a wild-card spot in the US Open singles qualifying draw.
The prestigious event took place over 10 days at Stowe Stadium on the campus of Kalamazoo College.
Seeded fifth in the singles field, Nanda played seven matches after advancing out of the first round thanks to a bye. His first two victories came in straight sets, but things became much tougher for the Redlands, Calif. native beginning in the tournament's fourth round.
After dealing Aryan Chaudhary and Samuel Rubell three-set losses, Nanda dropped his initial first set against No. 4 seed Cannon Kingsley. Unwilling to cede his semifinal-round position after coming out on the wrong side of a tiebreaker, Nanda answered for the 6-7(8), 6-1, 7-5 triumph and a spot in the final four. There, he also got off to a slow start against No. 25 Ronan Jachuck before turning the match around again. The 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 win set up a final-round showdown with sixth-seeded Zachary Svajda.
Nanda got off to a promising start against Svajda, winning the first set by way of a 7-3 tiebreaking decision. One day removed from taking down the tournament's top seed, Brandon Nakashima of Virginia, Svajda closed out the match with three straight set wins for a 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 championship performance.
On the doubles side, the third-seeded pair of Nanda and Nakashima needed a third-set tiebreaker to win its second-round contest. The tandem surrendered just two total games over the course of its next two matches, setting up a suspenseful quarterfinal-round match against Ronald Hohmann and Neel Rajesh. After turning in a convincing first-set win, Nanda and Nakashima saw their counterparts force a deciding third frame. In a thriller, Nanda and Nakashima secured the 6-1, 4-6, 1-0(9) win to move on.
A 6-4, 7-6(3) defeat of Kingsley and Robert Cash the semifinals set up a date with top-seeded Martin Damm and Toby Kodat. That is where Nanda and Nakashima's journey would end, as they fell 6-3, 6-4.
The US Open berth marks Nanda's first Grand Slam main-draw appearance. He took part in the 2018 French Open, Wimbledon and US Open junior tournaments. He also reached the doubles final at the USTA National Championships in 2018.
He represents the third member of the 2017-18 UCLA men's tennis team to join the field. Maxime Cressy and Keegan Smith qualified for the doubles main draw by way of seizing the program's 14th NCAA doubles title in May.
Play from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York will begin Monday August 26 and run through Sunday Sept. 8.
