Alexander Sarkissian had his hands full in his opening round match at the Kelowna Futures Tennis Tournament, before living up to his billing as the top seed.
Ranked 273rd in the world, the 27-year-old American overcame an early deficit to prevail over Calgary’s Harrison Scott in three sets—5-7, 6-1, 6-3—Wednesday at the Parkinson Recreation Centre courts.
Scott, 20, headed into the tournament ranked 1,749th.
Sarkissian, a native of Glendale, CA, was ranked as high as 157th in the world last year in men’s singles.
Among other players to win their first round matches was Vancouver’s Filip Peliwo, who defeated American Josh Hagar 7-5, 6-0. Peliwo is the tournament’s third seed and has a world ranking of 314.
The fifth-ranked Philip Bester, from North Vancouver, will play Australian Mark Verryth in his first round match at 5:10 p.m.
The men’s singles draw will feature the quarterfinals on Friday, the semifinals Saturday, with the final set for 2 p.m. on Sunday.
The final in the doubles draw is set for Friday afternoon.
For more information, visit kelownafuturestennis.com.