Talented tennis player feels sting of revenge in PNW Open loss

Collin Altamirano has been a part of three consecutive national titles at Virginia, and he played in the U.S. Open before his 18th birthday.

So how has the competition compared in the Pacific Northwest Open at the Tacoma Lawn Tennis Club?

“It’s tennis,” Altamirano said. “Every match is tough.”

The 21-year-old was brutally reminded of that Thursday afternoon.

The third-seeded incoming college senior lost to unseeded Alessandro Ventre 6-3, 6-1 in the PNW Open men’s round of 16, in what was a form of revenge for the 32-year-old Brazilian. Altamirano beat him last month in straight sets at the LD Micro Open in Danville, California.

“To see that he’s not seeded, to see that he’s barely making the main draw, made me laugh,” Altamirano said. “I know he’s a good player and an accomplished player. That’s what’s kinda cool about the single-elimination (format). If you don’t show up one day, you’re out.”

Ventre’s play left Altamirano, who had defeated unseeded George Jecminek on Wednesday, visibly frustrated throughout the match.

The Sacramento native was making his first PNW Open appearance, though he knew of the tournament from fellow players talking about it during the past few years.

“Places that have events like this, it’s so rad, it’s so cool for tennis” Altamirano said. “They obviously had a very good group of people out here to play.”

Although his chances of claiming the singles titles are gone, Altamirano still has a chance to capture the doubles championship.

Singles and doubles records combined, Altamirano’s record at Virginia is 123-30, but the accolades don’t stop there. He’s been named to the All-ACC second team twice and was the first unseeded player in history to win the United States Tennis Association’s Boys’ 18 title in 2013.

The first-place finish gave the Sacramento native a berth in the 2013 U.S. Open main draw. At 17, he was the youngest player in the field.

“When you’re at a tournament like that, you’re rubbing shoulders with the best players in the world,” PNW Open director Nick Moxley said. “So you see how they practice, you see how they eat, you see how they recover. All those things are at a whole ’nother level when you’re with the pros.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Talented tennis player feels sting of revenge in PNW Open loss."