May 24, 2012
Athens, Ga. – Georgia Tech’s Kevin King was unable to sustain the momentum of a big first-round win Thursday and dropped a straight-set decision to Ohio State’s Chase Buchanan Thursday in the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship.
King, ranked 24th in the nation, got behind early but turned the tide his way toward the end of the first set and carried it into the second, but was unable to keep it. Buchanan, the nation’s 10th-ranked player, took advantage of several unforced errors and won two service breaks to capture the first set, 6-2.
The Tech All-American began to eliminate those errors and took advantage of a strong serving game to break Buchanan twice early in the second set, taking leads of 3-0 and 4-2. But King was unable to continue that effort, encountering trouble getting his first serve in as the Buckeye senior All-American earned a pair of service breaks of his own and finished out the set, 6-4.
“He made some unforced errors at the beginning of the match, but he got more patient as the match went along and dug in a little bit,” said Tech coach Kenny Thorne. “He started to get some momentum back with a hold late in the first set. Chase is a very good player. Kevin got it turned around and got up a couple breaks, but then he got behind in a couple service games and had to fight from behind too often.”
“Kevin’s been nothing but class, character and great results on and off the court for Georgia Tech for four years. This was his second match in a month. To beat a quality player like KU Singh yesterday and come out and compete like he did today, it was incredible to watch.”
“I was missing a lot of first serves, and he played real steady,” King added. “He cut out his errors and made me work harder in that second set. He was able to pull out some long points and get a couple service breaks back.”
King finished the year with a 28-10 singles record, and his Tech career with a 63-24 mark, but turned right around to prepare for his first-round doubles match with Juan Spir later Thursday afternoon. The All-American duo is the third-seeded team in the NCAA Doubles Championship and opens competition at 5:30 p.m. against Francis Alacantara and Remi Boutillier of Fresno State.
“I just have to put this match behind me, not worry about it and move forward,” said King. “Just need to rest, hydrate, eat and get mentally ready. I’ll probably get on the court for 10 or 15 minutes and loosen up.”
