KALAMAZOO — A Michigan State tennis player has qualified for the U.S. Open for the first time.
MSU men’s tennis incoming freshman Matthew Forbes defeated Jack Kennedy in four sets, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, on Sunday to win the singles title at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Boys’ 18-Under National Championships at Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium.
The victory earns Forbes a wild card entry into the main draw of the 2024 U.S. Open, which will run Aug. 26-Sept. 8 in Queens, New York.
Forbes opened action in the Round of 32 on Aug. 7, defeating Braeden Gelletich, 6-3, 6-0. He then knocked off incoming Penn freshman Sanjeev Chundu, 6-0, 6-3, in the Round of 16 before earning a three-set victory (6-2, 2-6, 6-4) over Ohio State freshman Nikita Filin in the quarterfinals.
A dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over TCU freshman Cooper Woestendick on Aug. 10 sent Forbes to the finals against Kennedy.
Forbes, a TennisRecruiting.net blue-chip recruit, signed a National Letter of Intent with the Spartans in July. The native of Raleigh, North Carolina, has an International Tennis Federation (ITF) juniors career-high ranking of No. 34 and is ranked sixth in the class of 2024.
