WASHINGTON, D.C. – It was one of those days at this tournament where just thinking about playing tennis makes you break a sweat.
(And get ready, players and fans, it’s going to be even more acute the next couple of days).
But while Canadian Brayden Schnur said he hadn’t played in this kind of heat and humidity in quite awhile, he brought the necessary extra gear.
And after the first set, he got accustomed to the conditions, got a second wind, and felt he validated all the training as he got through a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory that puts him in the Citi Open main draw.
The match lasted two hours, 21 minutes. But it felt like longer.
Sakharov, born in Uzbekistan, living in Nantes, France, is a 31-year-old who has played just four matches at the ATP main draw level in his career. He’s ranked No. 252, about 100 spots lower than his career high reached a year ago.
But he didn’t play like it.
Schnur was happy to get through.
Here’s what he said afterwards – fresh off the court, too (How about that scenic background, eh?)
Here are the final moments of the match.
Too bad we didn’t shoot that … underhand serve at 30-love. It went in, but Sakharov was all over it and the next thing you knew, it was 30-all. But Schnur served it out.
You can hear in the above interview how much gear Schnur brought onto court.
The break after the second set, when Sakharov headed off court, was a complete socks and shoe replacement.
Not sure if it’s a Canadian thing, but Schnur sweats almost as much as Pospisil. 🙂
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