Americans Dent, Craybas Qualify Into Main Draw

American wild card Taylor Dent edged past Italian No. 21 seed Flavio Cipolla 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5 to secure his spot in the men’s main draw of the Sony Ericsson Open on Tuesday. The 27-year-old Californian has suffered with back injuries in recent years and has seen his South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking drop to No. 467 from a career high No. 21 (August 8, 2005). He last played in the Sony Ericsson Open main draw in 2005, when he reached the quarterfinals (l. to Agassi). In the first round he will face fellow qualifier Brazilian Ricardo Mello, who knocked out American No. 17 seed Vincent Spadea 7-6(6), 6-0 on Tuesday.

Dent was joined in the main draw by five of his countrymen. No. 10 seed Robert Kendrick was a 6-3, 7-6(5) winner over 20th seed Roko Karanusic and has been drawn to face French wild card Arnaud Clement in the first round. No. 13 seed Kevin Kim will meet Michael Llodra – with the possibility of World No. 2 Roger Federer in the second round – after battling past Chilean seventh seed Paul Capdeville 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4. John Isner, Amer Delic and Michael Russell all beat seeded opponents to secure their places in the main draw, accounting for No. 5 Bjorn Phau, No. 8 Wayne Odesnik and No. 6 Evgeny Korolev respectively.

Top seed Dudi Sela will take his place in the main draw opposite three-time Sony Ericsson Open semifinalist Lleyton Hewitt, but will do so as a lucky loser after falling victim to Canadian Frank Dancevic 6-2, 6-4 in the final round of qualifying. Dancevic will be making his main draw debut and faces Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round, with the prospect of 2007 champion Novak Djokovic next. The second and third seeds Thomaz Bellucci and Frederico Gil also both advanced, with victories over No. 19 Simon Greul and No. 18 Michael Berrer respectively.

No. 22 seed Jill Craybas (pictured) was the lone American to qualify for the women’s main draw after battling past fifth seed Severine Bremond 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and 26 minutes. The 34-year-old Rhode Island native will make her eighth appearance in the main draw when she takes on Anna-Lena Groenefeld in the first round; she achieved her best result in 2004, when she reached the quarterfinals (l. to S. Williams).

No. 14 seed Vania King, the United States’ only other representative in the final round of qualifying, was beaten at the last hurdle by Japanese 10th seed Ayumi Morita - who prevailed 7-5, 6-4. Morita goes on to face fellow qualifier Michaella Krajicek, younger sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek. The 20-year-old Dutch wild card, who defeated No. 20 seed Camille Pin 7-6(3), 6-1, will make her fourth straight appearance in the main draw.

Third-seeded Austrian Tamira Paszek cruised through the final round of qualifying with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Britain’s Melanie South. The 18 year old will make her third straight appearance in the main draw and meets Monica Niculescu in the first round. Elsewhere, Urszula Radwanska – younger sister of World No. 11 Agnieszka Radwanska – booked her place in the main draw with an emphatic 6-3, 6-1 victory over Hungarian sixth seed Melinda Czink.

Monday: Dent Leads Americans Through Qualifying

Sony Ericsson Open Singles Main Draws: Men | Women