FLUSHING MEADOW, New York — Former LSU All-American Michael Venus won his frist-round match Wednesday at the U.S. Open qualifying tournament, beating Uruguay’s Marcel Felder, 7-6 (5), 6-4, at the National Tennis Center.
“It was great to get a win at the Open,” Venus said. “I was being aggressive and really forcing things. We’ll see if I can keep it going.”
Venus, an Orlando, Fla., resident and a native of Auckland, New Zealand, will play a second-round match on Thursday. With two more wins, Venus will earn entry into the main draw of the U.S. Open which begins on Monday.
“Mike is continuing a great summer,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “He has had a successful summer on the pro tour and achieved a great win at a huge venue that should give him confidence. All of us at LSU are proud of him and hope he has another great match.”
Venus faced off against Ecuador’s Giovanni Lapentti in the second round of men’s qualifying singles. After dropping the first set to Lapentti 6-3, Venus fought back to claim the second-set standoff 7-6 (1) and pushed the match into the third set. A 6-3 mark by Lapentti in the final set knocked Venus from the qualifying rounds of the US Open.
US Open
August 25-28
Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Qualifying
First Round
Michael Venus (USA) def. Marcel Felder (URU), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
Second Round
Giovanni Lapentti (ECU) def. Michael Venus (USA), 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 6-3