Denis Kudla is making his seventh attempt to win one of his favorite tournaments… Newport Hall of Fame Open.
Yesterday the Ukrainian born Virginian beat his doubles partner Bradley Klahn 64 75. Kudla first played here in 2011 when he made the quarterfinals as a teenager. That was his best run on Newport grass but he believes the conditions of this quirky tournament are suitable for his game.
“It’s old school grass, which a lot of us aren’t used to so anyone can win this tournament. The surface is such an equalizer. There is no tournament like this,” Said the 26 year old currently ranked 100 in the ATP.
Kudla made his presence felt at Wimbledon two weeks ago, earning a second round showdown with eventual champion and world no. 1 Novak Djokovic. Kudla lost in three sets but he did manage to break the Serbian superstar’s serve twice in his first ever match on Wimbledon center court. Djokovic has played on center court probably over 30 times.
Kudla has always seemed to play his best tennis on grass. As a smallish, five foot ten athlete with an effective slice and a smooth, quick transition game to net and quality volleys, Kudla certainly rates as a contender for the title here. In the past, a variety of unexpected players have thrived in Newport such as last year’s finalist Rankumar Ramanathan, 2017 finalist Matt Ebden and two time champ Rajeev Ram.
So the door is open for Kudla to accomplish his first ATP title. “Newport has always been a great place for me,” Kudla said to the press after beating Klahn. “I feel good, I’m ready to go. I’m amped up. My game is where I want it to be right now.”
Kudla will play Matt Ebden today for the right to challenge the winner of the top seed John Isner vs Kamil Majchzak duel.
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Jeff · July 17, 2019 at 11:50 pm
Looks like Kudla got Krushed!
Jeff · July 17, 2019 at 11:54 pm
Sometimes when you win, you lose. I bet on Travaglia to beat Fognini since I saw him beat him in the U.S. Open a few years ago and I figured Fabio would tank and cash in his huge appearance fee in Croatia, and then head home.
The problem is they don’t pay out when a player retires. There was heavy betting on Travaglia too and Fognini has been known to throw matches. Alas, I am not a winner even though I picked the right result!
Scoop Malinowski · July 18, 2019 at 7:01 am
Ebden is no slouch but he made Kudla look like one yesterday. Underhand serve fans would have lived all the underhand serves in the Bublik Istomin doubles match. Bublik even works on his underhand serve in practice. Bublik hit the shot of the day, a tweener winner up the line.