Ground Strokes - Aug. 27
Aug. 27, 2010
Blake Strode fell in the second-round of the U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament on Friday.He lost to Ivan Dodig, who is ranked No. 148 in the world. To see statistics on the match, visit here.
To read about today’s match and Strode’s success this summer, here’stoday’s storyon ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
In his first-round match on Thursday, he beat Alex Bogdanovic, who is ranked No. 215 in the world. Here’s a brief recap from the U.S. Open.
Here’s a photo from his first-round match in the U.S. Open photo gallery.
Aug. 26, 2010
Blake Strode is two wins away from a spot in the main draw of next week’s U.S. Open. He won his first-round match today in the U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament. To read about the match, go here.
To see statistics on his match, visit the U.S. Open.
Times are not yet set for all second-round matches, but Strode plays again on Friday. You can keep up with the tournament here.
Strode is one of 128 men in the qualifying tournament. The final 16, meaning he needs three wins, earn a spot in the main draw.
Strode, a fromer Bodenhamer Fellow and All-American, won the first U.S. Open National Playoffs to secure a position in the qualifying tournament. See below for links to sites and stories on his success this summer.
Aug. 24, 2010
Former Razorback All-American Blake Strode, who was a Bodenhamer Fellow and graduated with honors, plays in this week’s U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament in Flushing N.Y. If he wins three matches, he earns a spot in next week’s main draw.
He won nine matches and two tournaments to earn a wild card spot into the qualifying tournament.
Earlier today (Aug. 24), he appeared on Good Day New York, a morning show on Fox Channel 5 in New York City. To see the interview, go here and click the play button.
Strode was also featured in a story on Bloomberg.com today. To read that story, go to Bloomberg.
For a preview on the qualifying tournament, go here.
Strode plays his first-round match on Wednesday. No match times are set. As earlier matches end, new matches begin. To keep up withmatches in progress,visit the U.S. Open.
Aug. 18, 2010
Head coach Robert Cox commented on former Razorback All-American Blake Strode earning a spot in next week’s U.S. Open qualifying tournament at Flushing, N.Y.
Among his comments was the following:
"Blake was the perfect student-athlete. He attended the University of Arkansas on a Bodenhamer Fellowship scholarship and he graduated with honors. To see him succeed at the professional level is unbelievable for him personally and for us as a program."
Cox’s Razorbacks report for the season on Sept. 7. He’s lookingto seniors Chris Nott and Matt Hogan, and junior Matt Walters for leadership.
To hear those comments and others, visit RazorVision.
Aug. 12, 2010
Former Razorback Blake Strode recently won a USTA Sectional Qualifying Tournament in Arizona and the U.S. Open National Playoffs in Atlanta to earnthe firstever wild card entry into the qualifying tournament for the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 24.
Strode, who is from St. Louis,enrolled at Arkansas on a Bodenhamer Fellowship, maintained the fellowship throughout his career, earned degrees in international economics and Spanish, and graduated with honors.
He had offers to attend law school at Harvard, Duke, NYU and Georgetown, and chose Harvard, but has put those plans on hold while pursuing a professional tennis career.
On the court for the Razorbacks, he was an All-American in 2009 for head coach Robert Cox after reaching the semifinals of the NCAA individual championships.
He was recently featured in World Tennis Magazine.
His championship victory in the U.S. Open National Playoffs was alsocovered by the USTA.
The U.S. Open qualifying tournament begins Aug. 24. For more, visit here.
