American Ernesto Escobedo earned a main draw wild card into the US Open on Thursday through the US Open Wild Card Challenge when the 23-year old from Los Angeles beat Bjorn Fratangelo, 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 7-6(12) at the USTA Pro Circuit ATP Challenger 90 in Aptos, Calif.
The Challenge measures ranking points earned at hardcourt tournaments over a five-week period to award a US Open singles main draw wild card to an American man and woman who didn’t otherwise earn direct entry. Escobedo won the singles title at the ATP Challenger 90 event in Granby, Canada, in Week 2 of the Challenge that earned him the bulk of his points.
He is now working with coach and former ATP pro Jan-Michael Gambill, a partnership that began in March.
Escobedo joins Kristie Ahn as the 2019 challenge winners. This is the eighth consecutive year the USTA has used a wild card challenge format to award US Open wild cards for American players.
The 2019 US Open main draw will be held Aug. 26 to Sept. 8.
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