November 19th, 2019
Giron, Vandeweghe Win USTA Aussie Open Wild Cards But Florida’s Mmoh in Line
Former NCAA singles champion Marcos Giron (26, Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and former world No. 10 CoCo Vandeweghe (27, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) clinched entry into the main draw of the 2020 Australian Open by winning the Australian Open Men’s and Women’s Wild Card Challenges.
Finishing the season strong 💪
Congratulations to CoCo Vandeweghe on reaching the singles final at the Oracle Challenger Series Houston!
📸: @OracleChallngrs | #TeamUSATennis pic.twitter.com/l0KrPMHxED
— USTA (@usta) November 17, 2019
Vandeweghe, a 2017 Australian Open semifinalist, spent 10 months away from competition between 2018-19 while rehabbing her foot and returned to competition this summer with a protected ranking of No. 100. She is currently ranked No. 235, and won the challenge by reaching the final in Houston and making quarterfinal appearances in Macon, Ga., and Tyler, Texas. Florida’s Katerina Stewart finished second.
Giron, the former UCLA star, usurped Michael Mmoh to clinch the men’s challenge by defeating Ivo Karlovic to win the singles title at the ATP Challenger in Houston on Sunday. Giron, however, improved his ranking to No. 102, which will likely be good enough for direct entry into Melbourne.
Giron is going home with the 🏆
The 🇺🇸 battles back from 1-6 in the third set tiebreak to defeat Ivo Karlovic 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-6(9) at the Oracle Challenger Series Houston!
📸: @OracleChallngrs | #TeamUSATennis pic.twitter.com/G4furbE9Wh
— USTA (@usta) November 17, 2019
In that case, the wild card would go to the 21-year old Mmoh, who won the USTA Pro Circuit Challenger 80 in Knoxville, Tenn., last week. Should either player receive direct entry into Melbourne, the second-place finishers in the standings will get the wild cards. The entry deadline for the Australian Open is Dec. 9.
The 2020 Australian Open will be held Jan. 20-Feb. 2.
For more info go to www.usta.com/news.
