Dent Falls in First Main-Draw Appearance

Three years ago, Newport Beach’s Taylor Dent was one of the hitting boys for an exhibition match at the Los Angeles stop on the ATP Tour.

Monday at the UCLA Tennis Center, the 17-year-old amateur found himself playing the featured night match at the Mercedes-Benz Cup.

Dent’s debut in the main draw of a World Series event lasted just 55 minutes as Australia’s Sandon Stolle downed Dent, 6-3, 6-2. Dent was scheduled to play fourth-seeded Thomas Enqvist of Sweden, but Enqvist pulled out of the tournament earlier in the day because of tendinitis in his right ankle. Stolle, ranked No. 265 on the ATP computer, replaced Enqvist because he was the highest-ranked player who lost in qualifying.

Dent, who qualified for the main draw by winning three matches over the weekend, was not especially pleased with his performance.

“Three and two is not really my best effort,” Dent said. “I expect to compete with these guys. Fortunately, it’s a learning experience. These are all new experiences for me. I’ve never played under the lights before.”

He admitted he was rushing himself all night.

“I was getting frustrated with myself that I wasn’t making him play any points on his serve,” said Dent, whose father Phil, a former top 10 player from Australia, was coaching him on changeovers. “I was hitting the ball really well. My problem was returning.”

Stolle served five aces and connected on an incredible 70% of his first serves.

Dent earned eight points for advancing through qualifying into the main draw and another point for beating Cecil Mamit of Los Angeles in the second round of qualifying. Even though he lost in the first round Monday, Dent’s ranking will improve from 646 to about 580.