After a tiebreaker first set against Ugo Humbert of France, Georgia Tech sophomore Cole Gromley scrambled in the second and lost in straight sets of 7-6 (2) and 6-2 at the BB&T Atlanta Open College Night on Tuesday.
“He was just getting the ball on me so quick,” Gromley said. “It was pretty hard to keep up. I really thought I had the first set, so it was really crushing to the spirit.”
Gromley, 19, received a wild-card draw to play in his tournament debut. The five-star recruit was a graduate of Johns Creek High School in 2018 and just finished his freshman collegiate season with a 12-9 record.
Gromley wasclearly was a crowd favorite at Atlantic Station, with family, coaches and friends in the stands. The Georgia Tech mascot and four cheerleaders walked onto the court with Gromley and the school’s president and his wife were honored with the coin toss. Even Atlanta United’s Josef Martinez attended the sophomore’s Atlanta debut.
When he figured out the soccer star was in the crowd, Gromley said, “At that point, I was just enjoying it.”
While Humbert, 21, led the entirety of the first set, Gromley traded games with the Frenchman for six ties, refusing to let his opponent get more than a one-set lead. Gromley earned a tiebreaker game, but with only two points lost the set 7-6 (2).
Humbert, ranked 46th in the world, took four straight games to lead 4-0 in the second set. In the fifth game, Gromley earned advantage twice before winning his first game of the set. Gromley earned another game 5-2 to stay in the set for one more, but Humbert’s victory in the next game ended the match.
Gromley said he’ll learn from this experience as he works to someday return to the U.S. Open summer series.
“I was kind of nervous the whole time – first time, so I thought I did pretty well,” he said. “It’s a huge honor, and it’s a memory I’ll never forget.”
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