COSTA MESA, Calif. — Senior Neal Skupski fell to the 2011 NCAA singles champion and USC all-star Steve Johnson in the first round of the Costa Mesa Futures event earlier today.
Skupski put up a fight, narrowly losing the first set 6-4. He came back strong jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the second set before Johnson posted a comeback, taking the set 7-5 and the match.
“Neal did a lot of good things today,” assistant coach Danny Bryan said. “He was up in the second set and gave himself a good chance to win. There were only a couple things that made the difference. I think he knows what he needs to work on to prepare for the upcoming tournaments this season.”
Doubles play will continue tomorrow for Skupski with partner Chris Eaton who is no stranger to the spotlight when it comes to doubles play. In 2010, Eaton and his teammate Dominic Inglot upset the world’s No. 1 doubles team and 2009 Wimbledon defending champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in the second round of Wimbledon.