Edwardsville Open Semifinals

There are several pro events that take place in July and August in Illinois and several of them have tournaments in advance to help determine wild cards. Last week Illinois rising junior Aron Hiltzik won the Ursula Beck Wildcard Shootout in Decatur, Illinois and this weekend Edwardsville High School is hosting the Edwardsville Open with the winner getting a wild card in the late July Futures event

I made the 45 minute drive north to watch today's semifinal matches which included three current college guys and one 16 year-old that will be a force in years to come. Both semifinal matches started shortly after 11 a.m. and with temperatures in the mid 90s the guys were all in a hurry to get on court so they could try to get off as soon possible.

Evan King Wins Edwardsville F23 Future Title

The Southern Illinois swing of the USTA Pro Futures Circuit came to an end today in Edwardsville at the F23 Future hosted by the EGHM Foundation with Evan King and Clay Thompson giving the 150+ fans in attendance an entertaining match to watch.

Chicago's Evan King, who is a 2013 Michigan graduate, had the slight edge in crowd support because of him being an Illinois native as well as being a frequent participant in the Edwardsville Future. This was King's 4th visit to Edwardsville in the last 5 years with Evan making the semis in 2013, quarters in 2012, and finals in 2011 so he was hoping to add a Championship to that list of accomplishments.

Venice Beach's Clay Thompson, who is a 2014 UCLA graduate, was making his first appearance in Edwardsville though he had become familiar with the area after playing in Godfrey (22 miles away) last week. The charismatic Thompson had his group of fans as well because if you've seen him play it's hard not to pull for him.