Klahn Survives Five-Setter, Advances To U.S. Open Second Round

Klahn will next play No. 13 seed Richard Gasquet of France in the second round.

	Bradley Klahn outlasted Austria's Jurgen Melzer 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 on Wednesday evening in the first round of the U.S. Open main draw, collecting his first career Grand Slam victory and concluding a historic day for Stanford tennis in the process.

Aug. 29, 2012

STANFORD, Calif.- Bradley Klahn outlasted Austria's Jurgen Melzer 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 on Wednesday evening in the first round of the U.S. Open main draw, collecting his first career Grand Slam victory and concluding a historic day for Stanford tennis in the process.

Klahn, who survived three rounds of qualifying just to earn a spot in the main draw, had never played five sets in his career before Wednesday night's match. After winning two of the first three sets, Klahn fell behind 5-2 in the fourth but battled back to tie the match at 5-5 before Melzer forced a deciding frame. The match was eventually completed in three hours and 34 minutes.

Klahn will next play No. 13 seed Richard Gasquet of France in the second round.

- Bradley Klahn quotes, courtesy of Steve Pratt.

"I was pretty much in a daze out there that last set. To play my first five-set match against such a tough opponent, who has been in a Grand Slam semifinal and in the top-10, it's pretty special."

"I started off a little sluggish and got broken in the first game of the match. I think I finally started finding my rhythm and with that my confidence started growing with each set."

Three months after closing out a tremendous college career, Klahn has been competing in professional tournaments during the summer. Despite entering the U.S. Open qualifying field as a wildcard, Klahn ripped off three consecutive straight-set victories to punch his ticket to the main draw.

A three-time All-American in both singles and doubles, Klahn posted a 130-34 overall singles record and captured five singles titles during his career on The Farm. After winning the 2010 NCAA singles title, Klahn received a wildcard entry into the U.S. Open main draw that same year and gave 20th-seeded Sam Querrey a scare before dropping a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 decision.

Klahn's victory came on the heels of Mallory Burdette's victory in the second round earlier Wednesday morning. Burdette now faces No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova in the third round.