{"id":787,"date":"2019-10-02T12:37:28","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T12:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.proracquetballstats.com\/?p=787"},"modified":"2019-10-02T12:37:31","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T12:37:31","slug":"us-open-irt-mens-pro-qualifying-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.proracquetballstats.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/02\/us-open-irt-mens-pro-qualifying-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"US Open IRT Men’s Pro Qualifying Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Here we go; the biggest tournament I think i’ve ever covered is upon us. A massive 94-man pro draw features 78 players playing in the qualifiers to advanced into the round of 32.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R2 Sports Tournaments<\/a> draws are here: https:\/\/www.r2sports.com\/website\/event-website.asp?TID=30501<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a prevew of some of the projected match-ups I’ll be looking for on the first day of the US Open 2019. Below are fun match-ups to look for in the 3 rounds of qualifying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the opener\/round of 256:
– #68 Colombian\u00a0Francisco Gomez<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0takes on Mexican youngster\u00a0Manuel Moncada<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in a good opener for both.
– Two top east coast amateurs face off in #78 Floridian\u00a0Jonathan Burns<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0versus #83 New Jersey native Samuel Kelley<\/strong>. Kelley played well at the Laurel event two weeks ago as a nice warm-up to this event, while Burns has been playing the US Open for more than a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #79\u00a0Diana-Shai Manzuri<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0versus #82\u00a0Lukas Le<\/strong><\/a>; what an interesting match-up here: the international veteran and long-time Argentinian representative Manzuri (who practices medicine in Texas) faces up against a fellow Dallas-area resident in Le, who’s currently playing intercollegiates and is half Shai’s age. Will youth or experience win out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—–
In the round of 128 (assuming some play-in match results):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #41 Mexican\u00a0Ernesto Ochoa<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0takes on Canadian veteran\u00a0Tim Landeryou<\/strong><\/a>. Ochoa is a dark-horse here; he’s got multiple wins over IRT top 10 players in the last two seasons. Landeryou played two pro stops last year and can make trouble for any opponent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #37 Colombian\u00a0Set Cubillos ruiz<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0takes on #60 Texan A.J. Fernandez<\/strong> in a match that could be closer than the seeding looks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Current Intercollegiates reigning champ #45 Erik Garcia<\/strong> takes on #52 Mexican\u00a0Christian Longoria<\/strong><\/a>. Garcia is a tough out, with several wins over regular IRT touring pros. But Longoria has a unique playing style and has some significant wins on his resume too. Great match-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #77\u00a0Jaime Martell Neri<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0takes on #20 Costa Rican\u00a0Felipe Camacho<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in a solid match for this round. Martell left the old WRT as its #1 ranked player and won the 2018 WRT Georgia Open with wins over Horn and Bredenbeck along the way. Camacho missed the first two IRT events and may be stepping back from touring, but is a solid player worthy of his top 20 ranking. Look for a barn burner here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #36\u00a0Troy Warigon<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0vs #62\u00a0Yacouba Keita<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0an unlucky match-up between two good friends and sometimes doubles partners; they also met in the qualifiers at Laurel, a tiebreaker win for Warigon is what happened in Maryland two weeks ago and what should happen again here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

———
In the round of 64 (again, assuming some earlier match results):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #33 Javier Estrada<\/strong> vs #32 Bolivian 16U\u00a0Diego Garcia Quispe<\/strong><\/a>. 32 vs 33 never disappoints; Estrada had an unbelievable tournament this summer, topping four of the best 15 players in the world to take the Black Gold cup, but his results have been hit or miss since. This will basically be his first appearance in earnest on the IRT, ever (he played in 2010 as a 15yr old when the tour came to his home-town of Chihuahua for his sole previous IRT appearance). I’m highly anticipating his performance here. To get to the main draw though, he has to go through a tough up and coming Bolivian player in Garcia, who has a slew of World Junior titles and is the current reigning 16U world champ. Garcia can hang with Estrada but it should be a win for the Mexican here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #24\u00a0Javier Mar<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0vs #41 Ochoa; great match; Mar is no longer the dark-horse in these major events like he used to be; he’s got National titles in singles and world titles in Doubles to his name. And every time he shows up at the US Open he makes a deep run. Meanwhile Ochoa is a dangerous opponent here and has the capabilities of making the 16s or quarters of an IRT event, but I like Mar’s experience to move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Assuming earlier results, Garcia is set to meet Martel for an entry into the main draw. I think either player could win, I think Martel should be favored but he has to play one additional match on Wednesday which could sap his endurance enough to cost him here. Look for Garcia to outlast Martel to move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #27 Mexican native and Colombian national\u00a0Eduardo Garay Rodriguez<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0vs Bolivian turned DC-area native\u00a0MoMo Zelada<\/strong><\/a>; A fun match-up here between the under-rated Zelada (who has shown he can hang with top players) and the powerful Garay, who just took the Colombian national championships over 10th seeded Mercado and can play. If you’re in the club when this match is going on, you’ll know it b\/c Garay is one of the hardest hitters on tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #22\u00a0Jansen Allen<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0vs #54\u00a0Andres Gomez<\/strong><\/a>; Gomez is an upset pick to get here by seed, but he’s gotten some results this year, including an upset of Mercado in the PARC event in april 2019 while representing Colombia. Allen is a former top 10 player who has missed the first couple of events this season after many years of consistently touring; he’s got his work cut out to get to the main draw here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #31\u00a0Maurice Miller<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0vs #34\u00a0Nick Riffel<\/strong><\/a>; a tight match between two touring regulars. Miller’s been active in events this summer and fall, while Riffel has missed the first couple IRT events and seen his ranking slip a bit. I like Miller here in a tiebreaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #18 Costa Rican\u00a0Andres Acu\u00f1a Quesada<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0vs #50\u00a0Alejandro herrera<\/strong><\/a>; Florida native Herrera first played the US Open in 2003 and represented Colombia internationally as recently as 2016. He’s a hard-hitter who relies on his serve to generate points. Acuna has seen his rball career drive forward in jumps lately; he made the semis of 2019 PARC, made the quarters of the Laurel IRT event and just made the singles final of Vegas 3-WallBall despite barely playing outdoor before. He’s a tough out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

——————–
My predicted qualifiers (in the order of the Qualifying draw on R2sports, not in seed order or Qualifier # order):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Collins<\/strong><\/a>
Javier Estrada
<\/strong>Carlos Keller Vargas<\/strong><\/a>
Javier Mar
<\/strong>Thomas Carter<\/strong><\/a>
<\/strong>Kadim Carrasco<\/strong><\/a>
<\/strong>Alan Natera Chavez<\/strong><\/a>
Erik Garcia
<\/strong>Charlie Pratt<\/strong><\/a>
Troy Warigon
Eduardo Garay
Jansen Allen
<\/strong>Sebastian Fernandez<\/strong><\/a>
<\/strong>Adam Manilla<\/strong><\/a>
Maurice Miller
Andres Acuna<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

———————-
we’ll preview the main draw once the match-ups are determined after Wednesdays’ qualifiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next up; a preview of the LPRT<\/a> qualifying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

———————-
UnitedHealthcare US OPEN Racquetball Championships<\/a>
International Racquetball Tour<\/a>
USA Racquetball<\/a>
Racquetball Canada<\/a>
Federaci\u00f3n Mexicana de Raquetbol<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here we go; the biggest tournament I think i’ve ever covered is upon us. A massive 94-man pro draw features 78 players playing in the qualifiers to advanced into the round of 32. R2 Sports Tournaments draws are here: https:\/\/www.r2sports.com\/website\/event-website.asp?TID=30501 Here’s a prevew of some of the projected match-ups I’ll be looking for on the first day … <\/p>\n

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