TALLAHASSEE, FL. (Apr. 30) – Less than two weeks from their last collegiate tournament, FAMU's Salif Kante and Takura Happy made a splash on the professional circuit at the USTA's Tallahassee Challenger, a professional meet so prominent that the winner will be entered into the main draw at the French Open. The tournament is played on a clay surface, something that is disadvantageous for the Rattlers who are used to playing on hard courts. Kante and Happy won their doubles match, advancing in the tournament.
Kante, was given a special invitation as the wild card to play singles on yesterday as well. The invitation was timely as the USTA needed to replace Mardy Fish (World Ranked No.44 by ATP), who withdrew close to this past weekend. Karen Vogter, the tournament's director, made the push to get Kante into the tournament.
Though he was defeated by Gerald Melzer of Austria 6-2, 6-0 in his first professional match, he took away the confidence that he can play on this professional level. "It was really hard for me to adjust to playing on the clay courts. I got up 2-0 in the first set, then he (Melzer) changed his strategy. He played a lot of drop shots, which is difficult to pursue on the clay," Kante said.
Melzer is no stranger to professional tennis. Ranked No.240 in the world by the ATP, he first joined the professional ranks in 2008. The Vienna, Austria native is a member of the Emirates ATP ranking, which is factored into the overall world ATP rankings
According to the Tallahassee Challenger Web Site, the USTA Tallahassee Tennis Challenger came to the USTA Pro Circuit this year as a clay court event after 20 years on hard courts. In conjunction with USTA Player Development, the USTA Pro Circuit continues to emphasize the importance of increased training for younger players on clay, this year adding four additional clay-court tournaments to the calendar.
Today's win for Happy and Kante is their first time playing since winning their doubles match at the No.1 position at the MEAC Tennis Championship in Raleigh, N.C. on Apr.20th. The two have had great success playing together, which could be attributed to the fact that they are roommates.
The two are very celebrated athletes from the FAMU tennis program. Happy earned MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2012, and All-MEAC in every year since coming to FAMU. His style is a complete contrast to Kante's . Happy is an aggressive player, who wins by overwhelming his opponent. That formula has been successful for him during his career at FAMU.
Kante's style is more of a facilitator who allows the opponent to make the mistake most of the time, while taking opportunities that are there where they arise. The combination of the two styles has served them well, as they were recognized as the top doubles team at the No.1 position by the MEAC at this year's tournament. Kante earned MEAC Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013.
Kante was elated to get the first win under his belt and officially begin the realization of a dream. "It feels great. Going into my first doubles match together with Takura, we wanted to stay at the net. At this level, we must stay as much as possible. We have 15 points now, and that will take us up in the ATP professional rankings," Kante said.
He also took positives from the singles loss to the more experienced Melzer on yesterday. "I started off very good. I won the first game on my serve and I broke him on his serve to take a 2-0 lead. My strategy was to make the rallies last longer. He was much more offensive than I'm accustomed to, but I'll adjust to that. I haven't played on clay since at least 2008. My game is suited for hard court, but I'll learn from this and move on," Kante said.
With such an expedient turnaround from college to professional tennis, Kante noticed some marked differences. He said, "The balls are at least 5 miles-per-hour faster. In professional, its about taking the chances. If you don't take the opportunities that are there for you, you can't win. Players move well on the court because that's what they do everyday."
Another marked difference is the organization and massive staff for professional events. "In college, a lot of it is on the honor system. Most collegiate tournaments spread officials between two matches and rely on the players to police themselves. Officials only intervene during challenges or issues, but mostly offer interpretations. At the pro tournament, there are six officials positioned to watch from every angle. In addition there are six ball handlers at each court. With the players at the singles match, that represented 14 people involved in one game. That's different," said Vaughn Wilson, from FAMU sports information.
With a few people in the stands cheering, including college coach Dr. Carl Goodman, Kante and Happy had the home court advantage. "I felt like it was good to have my debut here. I have been playing in Tallahassee for the last two years. I have friends here and I wanted to be able to show them and keep that legacy. I wanted my debut in Tallahassee, and my wish came true," Kante concluded.
Kante and Happy will play another doubles match tomorrow at the Forest Meadows Tennis Complex. The time has not been posted for the match, but information can be found on the tournament's official Web site, www.TallahasseeChallenger.com.
