Bradley Klahn wins Costa Mesa Pro Classic

COSTA MESA — No. 3-seeded Bradley Klahn of Poway used his blistering forehand to devastating effect in the finals of the Costa Mesa Pro Classic Sunday, defeating Korea’s Min Hyeok-Cho in straight sets.

The left-handed Klahn, 22, defeated Cho, 6-3, 6-3. Klahn, who reached the semifinals in Calabasas last week, earned $2,160 for the victory. He receives 27 ATP ranking points. He is currently ranked No. 226 in the world.

“I’m not really concerned about rankings,” Klahn said in a press release. “It’s been drilled into me for a long time that all that matters is constantly improving. If I’m performing well, the rankings will take care of themselves.”

Klahn won the 2010 NCAA men’s championship while playing for Stanford University and, in 2012, became the first men’s qualifying wild card to win a round at the U.S. Open. He defeated Jurgen Metzler, who was ranked in the top-50 at the time.

“I think you’re going to be hearing his name for a long time to come,” Tournament Director Hank Lloyd said.

Cho, 26, was playing in only his second tournament in the United States. He lost to Klahn in the quarterfinals of the Calabasas Pro Circuit Futures last week.

The doubles championship, held Friday, was won by Irvine’s Michael McClune and New Zealand’s Michael Venus, who defeated Cho and fellow South Korean Ji Sung Nam.

Part of the USTA’s Pro Circuit, the $15,000 Costa Mesa Pro Classic featured 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams. All players were seeking to boost their world tennis ranking through participating in USTA Pro Circuit events held weekly across the country.

— From staff reports