Aug. 31, 2007
NEW YORK - Former San Diego State men's tennis All-American Alex Waske recently won three straight matches at the U.S. Open qualifying tournament to advance to main draw competition at the famed USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
Waske, the 2000 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, easily dispatched his first-round opponent, Marco Crugnola of Italy, in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.
In the second round, Waske faced a little tougher competition from Czechoslovakia's Lukas Rosol, but still prevailed, 6-4, 6-4.
Waske qualified for the main draw of the Grand Slam event when he recorded his third consecutive straight-set victory of the qualifying tournament over Argentina's Eduardo Schwank, 6-3, 6-4.
The three-year Aztec letterman's singles run would end in the opening round when Waske retired due to an arm injury.
Waske also teamed with Romania's Andrei Pavel to compete as the 11th-seeded doubles team, which advanced past the first round after defeating Argentina's Diego Hartfield and Spain's Oscar Hernandez, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.
The tandem's run ended in the second round as Waske couldn't continue due his injury.