Play continues at the SoCal Pro Series event in Rancho Santa Fe. Here are the highlights from Thursday’s on-court action:

2023 NCAA Singles Champ Fangran Tian Downs 2022 SoCal Pro Series Winner Eryn Cayetano in UCLA-USC Matchup

In a first-ever singles matchup between UCLA’s No. 1 and USC’s No. 2 from the recently completed NCAA season, Bruins freshman and 2023 NCAA Division I women’s singles national champion Fangran Tian earned a 6-3, 6-2 victory over USC senior and 2023 NCAA Division I women’s doubles semifinalist Eryn Cayetano, who was the top seed in this week’s singles draw and a tournament winner on the 2022 SoCal Pro Series. Tian meets American Emily Gelber in a Friday quarterfinal.

James Blake and Hudson Rivera Ousted in Men’s Doubles Quarterfinal

Solana Beach resident James Blake, a 10-time ATP World Tour singles champion and seven-time ATP doubles champ who reached as high as No. 4 in the ATP’s singles rankings, and Stanford University-bound Rancho Santa Fe teenager Hudson Rivera lost a heartbreaker in Thursday’s quarterfinals, falling 7-6 (3), 5-7, 9-11 (third-set tiebreaker) to Ohio State freshman Jack Anthrop and new Ohio State recruit and San Diego resident Bryce Nakashima (the younger brother of ATP Tour star Brandon Nakashima). Blake and Rivera, which received a main draw wild card entry into the first SoCal Pro Series event of 2023, rallied from 3-7 down in the third set tiebreak by winning the next six points to set up two match points, only to lose the final four points of the tiebreak and the match. “It feels good. In the end, we got lucky,” Nakashima said. Anthrop-Nakashima face No. 2 seed Juan Carlos Aguilar and Joe Tyler in Friday’s semifinals.

Top Two Men’s Singles Seeds Dismissed by Qualifiers

The men’s singles draw opened up for the weekend after the top two seeds were eliminated by event qualifiers in Thursday’s second round. Texas A&M senior Noah Schachter downed top-seeded Aidan McHugh, of Great Britain, 6-3, 7-6. Later in the afternoon, North Carolina State sophomore Braden Shick rallied to edge Argentinian No. 2 seed Matias Franco Descotte, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), in a near-three-hour marathon match. Shick next meets San Diego resident and 2017 Point Loma High School graduate Keegan Smith, a 2019 NCAA Division I men’s doubles national champion, in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Players with San Diego County ties playing on Friday:

Men

Keegan Smith (San Diego resident; 2017 Point Loma High School graduate; UCLA product); ATP rankings: No. 611 singles, No. 275 doubles

Jacob Brumm (Rancho Santa Fe resident; 2017 Torrey Pines High School graduate)

Bryce Nakashima (San Diego resident; graduating high school senior committed to Ohio State)

Joe Tyler (San Diego State’s No. 1 player in 2022) – Singles qualifier and No. 2 seed in doubles

Women

– Megan McCray (USA; Oceanside, CA); No. 2 seed in singles; WTA ranking No. 839

-Solymar Colling (USA; Orange, CA; University of San Diego senior); No. 3 seed in singles; WTA ranking No. 900

– Haley Giavara (San Diego resident; 2019 Serra High School graduate; UC Berkeley), WTA singles ranking No. 964

– Katherine Hui (San Diego resident; Santa Fe Christian graduating senior committed to Stanford), WTA singles ranking No. 998