July 24, 2012

LOS ANGELES - UCLA's Nick Meister went toe-to-toe with an ATP Tour veteran on Tuesday but came up just a little short in the end, as Belgium's Xavier Malisse notched a straight-set victory over the Bruin All-American in the opening round of the 2012 Farmers Classic at UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center.

Meister, who needed to win three qualifying matches just to reach Tuesday's main draw, played a competitive first set, suffering a 6-4 loss. Despite getting down a break early, Meister fought back to tie the set at 4-4. Unfortunately, Malisse broke for a 5-4 lead before closing out the set on his serve.

Malisse, who checks in at No. 72 in this week's ATP Rankings, cruised in the second set, winning 6-1.

Fortunately for Meister, his involvement in the Farmers Classic didn't end on Tuesday, as he and current Bruin Marcos Giron received a doubles wild card and will take on fellow American's Rajeev Ram and Michael Russell on Wednesday. Time is still TBA for that match (Order of play will eventually be posted HERE).

For more information about this year's Farmers Classic, please visit www.farmersclassic.com.