Sudsy Monchik, a former #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), has reached the Round of 32 at the 2017 UnitedHealthcare US Open in Minneapolis. He defeated Gerardo Franco in the final round of qualifying, 11-3, 11-5, 11-4. Monchik is playing the US Open for the first time since 2006, when the event was still in Memphis, Tennessee. It moved to Minneapolis in 2010.
In 2006, Monchik reached the Round of 16, falling to Alvaro Beltran due to an injury forfeit. Thus, if he wins one more match, which will be against Felipe Camacho on Thursday, Monchik, who turns 43 next week, will equal his best US Open showing in over a decade. A win over Camacho would like pit Monchik against 5th seed Jansen Allen, and a win over Allen would put him in the quarterfinals. Monchik was last in the US Open quarters in 2003, when he lost to Kane Waselenchuk. Monchik has won the US Open four times, mostly recently in 2002.
Other players making it through qualifying include Bolivian Carlos Keller, who beat John Wolfe, 11-2, 11-3, 11-3. The win sets up a rematch of the Boy's U18 2011 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior final between Keller and Daniel De La Rosa, the IRT's #3 player. But in 2011, Keller won, denying De La Rosa his last chance to win Boy's U18 at World Juniors.
In doubles partner showdown, Adam Manilla came back from two games down to defeat Nicholas Riffel, 7-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 11-1. Manilla will play IRT #4 Alvaro Beltran in the 32s Thursday, while Manilla and Riffel will play Andres Acuña and Gabriel Garcia in doubles qualifying tonight, and if they win, they'll play another doubles qualifier tomorrow morning.
In doubles qualifying, Fernando Rios and Jose Daniel Ugalde came back from a game down, including fighting off two match points, to defeat Alejandro Herrera and Alejandro Landa, 10-15, 15-14, 11-8.
After winning game one, Herrera and Landa had a good lead early in game two at 6-0. But Rios and Ugalde came back to lead 11-8, yet they didn't hold that lead, as momentum swung back to Herrera and Landa who scored five straight points to lead 13-11. The next thirteen rallies produced only one point, and put the score at 13-12.
Herrera and Landa got the next point when Herrera hit a forehand reverse winner. That was only one of many reverse pinch shots hit in the match. That put them on game and match point at 14-12. But Ugalde hit winners to end the next two rallies, and keep his side alive.
Rios and Ugalde called a timeout at that point, and then proceeded to win three points in a row to take game two, 15-14, and force a tie-breaker. Rios closed out game two by cutting off a ceiling ball in the front court with a soft backhand shot.
Game three was similar to game two, as Herrera and Landa took the early lead at 8-1. But they didn't score another point, as Rios and Ugalde came scored 10 unanswered to win the breaker, 11-8, and the match, 2-1. Herrera and Landa only got two chances to serve (side ins, so to speak) during the comeback. The winning point came off an unforced error by Landa, as he skipped a backhand pinch shot in the front court. It was a sad end to a great match.
In one of the most anticipated matches, former #1s Sudsy Monchik and Cliff Swain lost in a tie-breaker to Javier Mar and Edson Martinez, 13-15, 15-12, 11-5. The veterans never seemed to hit their respective strides, while the young Mexican team grew more comfortable as the match went along.
It looked like Mar and Martinez were going to win game one until Monchik hit a winner to get the serve back at 13-13. After Monchik and Swain called a timeout, Monchik hit winners on the ensuing two rallies, with the game winner a pure reaction shot that dumped the ball into the front left corner.
The veterans seemed like they might take the match in two straight games late in game two, as they led 12-7. But Mar and Martinez put together a streak of eight unanswered points to force a tie-breaker.
In the breaker, the story was similar to game two, as Monchik and Swain led 5-3, then Mar and Martinez went on a roll with eight unanswered points to win 11-5. Monchik and Swain called a timeout at 9-5, but to no avail. Martinez was especially hot down the stretch hitting three winners. Mar also did his part, making it 10-5 with a nice soft kill shot after Monchik's serve return came right to him on the left side.
The 2017 UnitedHealthcare US Open continues Wednesday and finishes Sunday October 8 at the Life Time Athletic Target Center club in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.
2017 UnitedHealthcare US Open
Minneapolis, Minnesota - October 4-8, 2017
IRT Men’s Singles
Qualifying Round 2 - Wednesday
Q1 = 17 Jake Bredenbeck d. Sergio Acuña, 11-0, 11-1, 11-1
Q2 = 18 Andres Acuña d. Jose Flores, Jr., 11-7, 11-5, 11-5
Q3 = Erik Garcia d. 19 Justus Benson, 11-9, 11-5, 11-2
Q4 = Nicolas Bousquet d. 20 Set Cubillos, 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9
Q5 = Sudsy Monchik d. 21 Gerardo Franco, 11-3, 11-5, 11-4
Q6 = 22 Rodrigo Montoya d. Jose Daniel Ugalde, 11-5, 7-11, 11-3, 11-9
Q7 = 23 Javier Mar d. Kyle Ulliman, 11-5, 11-5, 11-3
Q8 = Conrrado Moscoso d. Jose E. Ubilla, 11-2, 11-1, 11-5
Q9 = Shai Manzuri d. Brad Schopieray, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-4
Q10 = Fernando Kurzbard d. Daeyong Kwon, 11-8, 11-5, 11-2
Q11 = Fernando Rios d. Jonathan Burns, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5
Q12 = Edson Martinez d. Teobaldo Fumero, 13-11, 11-9, 11-9
Q13 = Adam Manilla d. Nicholas Riffel, 7-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 11-1
Q14 = Carlos Keller d. John Wolfe, 11-2, 11-3, 11-3
Q15 = Roland Keller d. Christian Wer, 11-8, 15-13, 11-8
Q16 = Eduardo Portillo d. Kadim Carrasco, 10-12, 11-5, 11-1, 11-6
Round of 32 - Thursday
1) Kane Waselenchuk v. Eduardo Portillo
16) Jose Diaz v. Jake Bredenbeck
9) David Horn v. Conrrado Moscoso
8) Andree Parrilla v. Shai Manzuri
5) Jansen Allen v. Edson Martinez
12) Felipe Camacho v. Sudsy Monchik
13) Robert Collins v. Nicolas Bousquet
4) Alvaro Beltran v. Adam Manilla
3) Daniel De La Rosa v. Carlos Keller
14) Charles Pratt v. Erik Garcia
11) Alejandro Landa v. Rodrigo Montoya
6) Sebastian Franco v. Fernando Rios
7) Mario Mercado v. Fernando Kurzbard
10) Samuel Murray v. Javier Mar
15) Scott McClellan v. Andres Acuña
2) Rocky Carson v. Roland Keller
IRT Men’s Doubles Qualifying - Wednesday
Round 2 - Wednesday
Andree Parrilla & Rodrigo Montoya d. Fernando Kurzbard & Shai Manzuri, 15-7, 15-13
Javier Mar & Edson Martinez d. Sudsy Monchik & Cliff Swain, 13-15, 15-12, 11-5
Thomas Carter & Kyle Ulliman d. Charles Pratt & Bryan Crosser, 15-8, 9-15, 11-2
Roland Keller & Conrrado Moscoso d. Felipe Camacho & Teobaldo Fumero, 15-10, 10-15, 11-10
Fernando Rios & Jose Daniel Ugalde d. Alejandro Herrera & Alejandro Landa, 10-15, 15-14, 11-8
Nicholas Riffel & Adam Manilla d. Andres Acuña & Gabriel Garcia, 15-11, 15-9
Jose Diaz & Jake Bredenbeck d. Justus Benson & Erik Garcia, 5-15, 15-13, 11-7
Carlos Keller & Kadim Carrasco d. David Horn & Gerardo Franco, 15-11, 11-15, 11-5
Round 3 - Thursday morning
Q1 - Andree Parrilla & Rodrigo Montoya v. Javier Mar & Edson Martinez - 8 AM
Q4 - Thomas Carter & Kyle Ulliman v. Roland Keller & Conrrado Moscoso - 9 AM
Q3 - Fernando Rios & Jose Daniel Ugalde v. Nicholas Riffel & Adam Manilla - 8 AM
Q2 - Jose Diaz & Jake Bredenbeck v. Carlos Keller & Kadim Carrasco - 9 AM
IRT Men’s Doubles - Quarterfinals - Thursday night
1) Kane Waselenchuk & Ben Croft v. Q4
4) Sebastian Franco & Mario Mercado v. Q1
3) Jansen Allen & Samuel Murray v. Q2
2) Daniel De La Rosa & Alvaro Beltran v. Q3
Follow the bouncing ball….
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
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1 comment:
Haven't been able to watch, but I did stay up late to see the Sudsy match on my phone. With such a small screen it wasn't easy to follow some of the action, but I saw Sudsy hit some very good shots and actually move quickly with a couple of slides that kept rallies alive. It was exciting to see a veteran do so well after so much time away from the tour. He did seem to tire in game 2 so it will be interesting to find out if he has the stamina to keep his shots accurate as the US Open rolls on. Monchik/Swain seemed like a dream team and it was sad to hear that they are already out, but by your account they acquitted themselves well. Looking forward to more great racquetball at our premier event.
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