The turning of the calendar to a new year and saying goodbye to 2016 could not have come any sooner for Clay Thompson.
After suffering a tough defeat to a Southern California teenager at a USTA Pro Circuit Futures events in Claremont back in September, the former UCLA All-American announced on Twitter that he had had enough and was retiring from tennis. On Tuesday in the first round of the Southern California Men’s Pro Futures Tournament being played this week at USC, Thompson admitted to have some early nerves but made his return to the courts and posted an impressive 6-1, 6-2 win over former world top 150-ranked player Ricardo Hocevar of Brazil.
“Last year was a dark year for me,” said Thompson, who said the major issues were financial and the pressure he put on himself to do well. “The reason I called it quits was because tennis wasn’t fun anymore. It was such a financial struggle for me and I wasn’t happy when I was on the court. It was not an enjoyable life, and being on tour and a professional tennis player should be.
“Now, I want to go out and not just win, but have fun and do it my way; do it on my own terms,” Thompson said.
Thompson said he wants to help other young American tennis players to understand what it’s like on tour, and hopefully they won’t have the same experience he had to go through. That’s why Thompson has partnered with a company called Tennacity. Thompson said to look for a website soon at www.tennacity.com and that the goal of the company is to help make tennis in America great again.
Thompson will next face No. 3-seeded Emilio Gomez of Ecuador in the second round on Thursday. Thompson beat Gomez in their last meeting in three sets last February at a Challenger in Morelos, Mexico.
Other players posting singles wins on Tuesday in the $25,000-level tournament included two former NCAA singles champions from UCLA as Mackenzie McDonald (2016) and Marcos Giron (2014) both had straight-set victories on the USC courts. The two will face each other in the second round on Thursday.
College tennis was also the big winner on Tuesday as each of the eight singles winners played college tennis.
Later in the day, Thompson and Giron teamed to upset the No. 3 seeds in doubles as they beat Gomez and former University of Michigan All American Evan King in straight sets.
Tuesday’s First-Round Singles Scores
Clay Thompson, U.S., def. Ricardo Hocevar, Brazil, 6-1, 6-2
Roberto Quiroz, Eucador (2) def. Dekel Bar, Israel, 6-4, 6-4
Emilio Gomez, Ecuador (3) def. Brandon Holt, U.S., (wc), 6-3, 7-5
Dennis Nevolo, U.S., def. Kaichi Uchida, Japan (7), 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7)
Mackenzie McDonald, U.S. (5), def. Thibault Forget, France (wc), 6-3, 6-2
Sebastian Fanselow, Germany, def. Fabiano de Paula, Brazil, 6-1, 6-2
Marcos Giron, U.S., def. Aron Hiltzik, U.S., 6-3, 6-0
Yannick Hanfmann, Germany (4) def. Luke Bambridge, Great Britain, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (2), 6-1
Tuesday’s First-Round Doubles Scores
Luke Bambridge, Great Britain / Joe Salisbury, Great Britain (1), def. Jonathan Mridha, Sweden / Carl Soderlund, Sweden, 6-4, 6-4
Collin Altamirano, U.S. / Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, U.S. (wc) def. Kaptan Kaster, U.S. / Lucas Renard, Sweden, 6-1, 6-2
Dekel Bar, Israel / Nathaniel Lammons, U.S., def. Ricardo Hocevar, Brazil / Courtney John Lock, Zimbabwe, 7-6 (6), 6-1
Marcos Giron, U.S. / Clay Thompson, U.S., def. Emilio Gomez, Ecuador / Evan King, U.S. (3), 6-1, 7-6 (5)
Brandon Holt, U.S. / Riley Smith, U.S. (wc) def. Robert Galloway, U.S. / Alex Lawson, U.S., 6-4, 6-4
Yannick Hanfmann, Germany / Roberto Quiroz, Ecuador, def. Fabiano de Paula, Brazil / Eduardo Russi Assumpcao, 6-0, 6-2
Markos Kalovelonis, Russia / Timur Khabibulin, Kazakhstan / Bryce Pereira, U.S., def. Austin Rapp, U.S., (wc), 7-5, 6-2
Sebastian Bader, Austria / Sebastian Fanselow, Germany, def. Antoine Bellier, Switzerland / Kaichi Uchida, Japan, 6-2, 6-4
Community Events for the USC Tournament include:
Friday, Jan. 6: NJTL Community Reception; 3 p.m., includes doubles final.
Saturday, Jan. 7: Youth Tennis Play Day; 10 a.m.-11 a.m., includes pizza and prizes.
Sunday, Jan. 8: USPTA Clinic – Preventing Injuries Presented by USC Coach Peter Smith; 10 a.m.-11 a.m.