Mississippi State
NCAA Individual Championships
Bulldog Duo Moves Into NCAA Singles Second Round
May 23, 2021 | Men's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. – On a sunshine-filled Sunday at the USTA National Campus, Mississippi State's Giovanni Oradini and Florian Broska grinded out victories in their respective first-round matches to open the 2021 NCAA Singles Championship.
The 20th-ranked Oradini opened the day by downing No. 39 Muriel Dellien of Wichita State in a three-set battle 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. The setback ended a 13-match win streak for the WSU standout and 2021 AAC Player of The Year.
Oradini will now face TCU's 17th-ranked Luc Fomba in Monday's second round (time TBA). On Sunday, the Plaisir, France, product held off 29th-ranked Nikola Slavic of Ole Miss 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in his opener. Oradini and Fomba have met once before with Oradini claiming a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback triumph in the opening round of the 2019 ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
The MSU senior All-American would start Sunday's match with Dellien down a break 2-0 but claimed the next five games to go up 5-2. The Shocker battled back to 5-4, but Oradini would serve out the set 6-4. In the second, Dellien took a commanding 4-1 lead, ultimately claiming it 6-2 to force a third and deciding set. In the final frame, Oradini would set the tone early, breaking Dellien to start and going on to claim it 6-2.
With the win, Oradini extended his career record in the NCAA Singles Championship to 6-2 in his three appearances. It also moved him into a tie for 10th on State's all-time overall victories list with 164 wins in his illustrious career, matching Per Nilsson (164; 1991-94).
"I worked on what I needed to improve for every single point," Oradini said. "My opponent played well, and I am happy about the way I competed today."
In the afternoon, the MSU veteran Broska played a very methodical match to notch his impressive 6-4, 6-2 upset of Wake Forest's 13th-ranked Henri Squire – a 9-16 seed in the event and the Demon Deacons' No. 1 player this season - to close out a 2-0 day for the Maroon and White men.
In Monday's second round, the 48th-ranked Broska will take on the winner between Baylor's 21st-ranked Adrian Boitan and Florida Gulf Coast's 88th-ranked Janmagnus Johnson (time TBA). Those two were scheduled to battle late Sunday night in the first round. Broska has never faced either player.
In the first set Sunday, Broska went down early 4-1 as Squire was clicking on all cylinders. However, the Bulldog would do what he has done all season and fight for every point. Broska mounted a nine-game win streak to claim the opening set 6-4 and also go up 4-0 in the second before Squire finally got on the board at 4-1. But the German machine would stay poised until the end, bombing an ace up the middle to finish the match and send himself into Monday's NCAA second round.
With the victory, Broska recorded the second Top 15 victory of his career, with the other coming last season in Starkville against Georgia.
"Today was a good day for Mississippi State tennis," Broska said. "Gio (Oradini), Emma (Antonaki) and I all came out and did what we needed to do. I'm pleased with how I played today and am ready for the next one."
In the 32-team NCAA Doubles Championship field - which begins play Monday - Broska and partner Gregor Ramskogler, ranked 15th nationally, will face TCU's second-ranked and fourth-seeded tandem of Fomba and Alastair Gray in the opening round (time TBA). The two duos have never met.
The State pair's current national ranking of No. 15 is a career-best. The duo is 12-7 overall this year with six ranked victories to their credit, four in the Top 25. They have won six of their last nine contests, all at the No. 1 position in State's lineup. The Horned Frogs' Fomba and Gray are 15-7 overall this season, 12-7 in dual matches at No. 1. They have tallied eight ranked wins this year together and have claimed seven of their last nine decisions.
2021 NCAA Men's Singles Championship
May 23, 2021
Orlando, Fla. – USTA National Campus
First Round - #20 Giovanni Oradini (Mississippi State) def. #39 Muriel Dellien (Wichita State) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2; #48 Florian Broska (Mississippi State) def. #13 Henri Squire (Wake Forest) [9-16] 6-4, 6-2
Current national rankings precede player names; tournament seedings are in brackets
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