Daniel Nguyen and JT Sundling, a couple of college kids, came out swinging in their U.S. Open debut and gave pros Maximo Gonzalez and Juan Monaco of Argentina all they could handle before faltering 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in a first-round men’s doubles match Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Tennis Center.
Nguyen, a former Santa Barbara HIgh star, and Sundling, of Thousand Oaks, got the attention of last year’s Open semifinalists, with some tough first serves. The USC teammates were successful on 70 percent of their first serves (31 of 44) in the match. But they faltered on their second serves, making just 7 of 22.
After the great start, Nguyen-Sundling had trouble converting break points against the Argentine pair. They broke Gonzalez-Monaco only once out of 11 chances.
Nguyen is in his second year at USC. He helped the Trojans win the NCAA team title last spring. Sundling is a freshman with the Trojans. They qualified for a wild-card berth in the main draw by winning the USTA Boys 18 doubles championship in Kalamazoo, Mich.
