Plum native Bjorn Fratangelo falls in U.S. Open first round
Bjorn Fratangelo, a native of Plum, engaged in a four-set battle with France’s Gilles Simon on Tuesday in the first round of the men’s singles draw at the U.S. Open in Flushing, N.Y., but the seven-year pro was not able to advance.
Fratangelo, who picked up a wild-card entry to the main draw, captured the first set by a 7-5 score, but he fell by the same score in each of the final three sets.
In his lone set win, Fratangelo broke Gilles’ serve to tie the set 4-4 and also in the final game to close out the set.
I’m pooped.. https://t.co/x63Hz7r3FU
— Bjorn Fratangelo (@BjornFratangelo) August 27, 2019
The contest was a rematch of a first-round match at the Australian Open earlier this year. Gilles won that one as well, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Fratangelo, currently 117th in the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings, first met Gilles in April 2017 at an ATP tournament in Budapest, Hungary, and Frantangelo won that match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.
Fratangelo’s 2019 includes a second-round loss to ATP No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the ATP Masters 1000 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif., in March.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
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