AUSTIN, Texas — LSU tennis players Michal Chmela and Tom Hand each won his opening round match on Thursday in the ITA All-American tennis tournament, the second leg of the collegiate grand slam.
Chmela, the tournament No. 4 seed, breezed through his match for a 6-1, 3-0, ret. victory over qualifier Andy Leber. Leber was forced to retire with an injury while trailing in the second set.
Fourth-seeded Chmela will take on Kentucky’s Johas Hesoun in the second round. Hesoun advanced in straight sets on Thursday.
“Michal played some good tennis today,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “If he can stay focused on tennis and continue to play at this level he has as good a shot as anyone to win this.”
In his first round match, Tom Hand had little trouble with 51st-ranked Borut Martinicevic of Texas Tech, winning 6-2, 6-2. Hand, seeded ninth will face Iowa’s Tyler Cleveland in round two.
“Right now Tom is favored to reach the quarterfinals with the way his draw is set up,” said Brown. “That would be a big step for him as far as making a national statement.”
While two Tigers were able to advance in to round two, LSU sophomore Daniel Kiernan fell short of his upset bid in round one.
Kiernan, unranked, stood toe-to-toe with South Carolina’s Guillaume-Legat who is ranked No. 28. Legat won the hard fought match 7-6(7-5), 6-3. Kiernan will receive a bye in round one of the consolation draw.
“I though Dan played very well for his first main draw in a major tournament,” said Brown. “Guillaume is just a level above him right now, but Dan showed he has the ability to play with anyone in the country.”
Kiernan teamed with Chmela to beat the duo of Charlie Roberson and Rick Warren of Oklahoma, 6-2, 7-5 in the first round.