Lisicki, Levine fall; Malisse wins

Academy students Sabine Lisicki and Jesse Levine both lost their opening round matches at the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells. Lisicki fell to Hungarian veteran Greta Arn 6-3, 0-6, 6-4. Arn will now face the 27th seeded Ai Sugiyama in the second round. Other winners on the women’s side included Americans Jill Cryabas, Angela Haynes, Ahsha Rolle, Vania King, and Melanie Oudin.

On the men’s side, Levine lost to Stanislas Wawrinka 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. Wawrinka will now face 10th seeded Tomas Berdych in the second round. Another Academy alum, Xavier Malisse, who has been plagued by injuries, won his first round match over Florent Serra 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0. Malisse will now face the 27th seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round. Other winners on the men’s side included Americans Donald Young, Robby Ginepri, and Wayne Odesnik.

Academy alum Kei Nishikori will take the court today for his first round match against Marin Cilic. Cilic is a 19-year old Croat who is extremely talented and ranked #45 in the world. He has already reached a semifinal this year, and also went to the fourth round of the Australian Open. This will be the first career meeting between the two up-and-comers.

Host of Academy students awarded wild cards

The Sony Ericsson Open announced their wild cards for the main and qualifying draws. Getting main draw wild cards are Academy students Kei Nishikori, Jesse Levine, Michelle Larcher de Brito, and Sabine Lisicki. Nishikori has already won a tournament this year, and Larcher de Brito won her first round match here last year as a 14-year old.

For the qualifying draw four players that have spent time at the Academy were given wild cards. They were Tammy Hendler, Ricardas Berankis, Gastao Elias, and Philip Bester.

The Sony Ericsson Open will begin March 26th and end April 6th. It takes player at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami. Good luck to all our students and alumni participating in the event!!