Vallverdu Advances at Artois Championships
June 9, 2008
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London, England… University of Miami men’s tennis All-American Daniel Vallverdu and professional Andy Murray used three sets to advance in doubles play at the Artois Championships in London on Monday.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
The tandem knocked off French duo Richard Gasquet and Nicolas Mahut, 4-6, 7-5, 10-4. Gasquet – ranked 10th in the world in singles competition – and Mahut are both among the world’s top-51 ranked doubles players.
With the first-round win, Vallverdu and Murrary advance to Tuesday’s second round where they will face the third-seeded pair of Jonas Bjorkman (Sweden) and Kevin Ullyett (Zimbabwe) who had a first-round bye. Both Bjorkman and Ullyett are among the world’s top-20 ranked doubles players.
Vallverdu, a rising senior and four-time All-American with the University of Miami, is the only current collegiate student-athlete competing in this prestigious grass court tournament, which runs from June 7-15 at the Queen’s Club in London.
Vallverdu received a wild card to gain entry into the tournament, while Murray is an experienced professional who is ranked 12th in the world in singles play after winning a pair of titles in 2008.
The 30th annual Artois Championships features some of the top-ranked tennis players in the world, including defending singles champion Andy Roddick, Novac Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Lleyton Hewitt.
