The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

AS he continues his return to form, Justin Roberts produced what he called his “best event back” following wrist surgery last summer.

Roberts’ run at the latest USA F25 Futures event in Laguna Niguel - a city in California - came to an end in a second-round loss in the main draw to No.5 ranked Michael Zhu of the United States, 6-1, 6-1.

Despite the disappointing finish, which he faulted to his own mismanagement of the match schedule, Roberts said he remains optimistic on the remainder of the season. “It wasn’t the best for me, there was some confusion with the match schedule. I thought I was playing the second match after 10am, but the matches were switched and I was actually playing first, on at 10. I had to enter the court directly without preparation so it was a rough one for me. My opponent was playing well and I never got comfortable in the match,” he said. “This tournament was a good one overall for me, a part from today, but it was my fault for not double checking the schedule the night before.”

Roberts won four matches in the qualifying draw and the first round of the main draw.

He began with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Kyle Montrel (USA), followed by a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Mandresy Rakotomalala (France), a 6-2, 6-2 win over Jeremy Moser (Switzerland) and concluded qualifying with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 win over Nathan Ponwith (USA). He opened the main draw with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jeremy Sonkin (USA) before the loss to Zhu.

“This has been my best event back since my wrist surgery so overall I’m optimistic about the future. I’m also happy to get my professional ranking back after losing points due to my wrist surgery,” Roberts said. “I had 3-4 quality wins against very good players, a couple of them were over my teammates at ASU. I played two teammates that are ranked nationally so it shows I’m right up there in the mix with some of the best guys in the country. I think a team full of guys like us can go all the way this year so we are really excited about what is to come.”

Roberts graduated last May from the University of South Florida and completes his final year of college eligibility this season at Arizona State University.

He tore a ligament in his right wrist and had an eventual bone avulsion where a piece of the bone broke off on its joint. He eventually had it reattached.

“I think I handled the injury and being out for about nine months competition and seven months playing tennis very well. It was hard in the beginning but I kept up with my fitness and mental side of the game and I feel I came back better in some things than I was before, which is always a positive,” he said.

“Leaving USF to come to ASU has been a really good transition. It’s a little different being in the desert but the coash at ASU was the first coach I had at USF so I know what I’m getting there. The guys are great, we have a really talented team so we look forward to doing some big things this year, win the PAC 12 conference and do some damage in the NCAA tournament. Everything has been going good, I just look forward to the rest of the year.”

Arizona opens their season on January 18. ASU is set to play one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. This season’s schedule includes nine top-25 teams on the ITA/Oracle end of season poll last year and the top four teams in the nation.