Tennis: Dent upsets top seed before losing in India

Richard Dunn

After upsetting top-seeded Magnus Norman of Sweden in the first

round of the main draw, Taylor Dent of Corona del Mar was knocked out

Wednesday in the second round of the Gold Flake Open in Chennai, India,

by Kristian Pless of Denmark, 7-6 (11-9), 6-4.

Dent, 19, played as a wild card in the season-opening, $375,000

hard-court event on the Association of Tennis Professionals’ Tour.

Dent, who trains out of Costa Mesa Tennis Center, earned a 6-3, 7-6

(6-4) upset win over Norman.

The 1996 CIF Southern Section boys singles champion as a CdM High

freshman pushed Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi in close losses last

season, when Dent cracked the top 150 in the world.

Dent, who turned pro in 1998 when his former CdM classmates were

juniors, has won nearly $150,000 in prize money in his brief career.