TULSA, Okla. – Junior Andreas Bjerrehus made the most of his second chance, picking up the upset win on Thursday in the opening round of the main draw at the ITA All-American Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
Tech’s 58th-ranked Bjerrehus claimed the upset win over Duke’s 27th-ranked Jason Tahir, winning the match in straight sets. Bjerrehus took the first set 6-3 and then held off Tahir in the second, taking the tiebreaker point to win 7-6(5).
Bjerrehus entered the main draw despite falling in the final round of the qualifying draw. As the highest seeded player remaining, he was selected to compete in the main draw.
Fellow junior, Amerigo Contini also took the court for the Hokies on Thursday. The 14th-ranked player fell to New Mexico’s No. 101 Samir Iftikhar, 6-3, 6-4.
The duo also teamed up to face the No. 1 doubles team in the country. The Hokies’ 17th-ranked pair faltered against Tennessee’s Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese, 6-4, 6-2.
Bjerrehus is slated to take on 22nd-ranked Leandro Toledo of Minnesota in the next round while Contini will square off against Southern Cal’s 33rd-ranked Roberto Quiroz in the consolation draw. The pair also moves into the consolation round of doubles. Draws will be released later tonight.
Matches will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday.
Main Draw Singles
#58 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT) def. #27 Jason Tahir (Duke) 6-3, 7-6(5)
#101 Samir Iftikhar (NM) def. #14 Amerigo Contini (VT) 6-3, 6-4
Main Draw Doubles
#1 Mikelis Libietis/Hunter Reese (Tenn.) def. #17 Bjerrehus/Contini (VT) 6-4, 6-2
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