Mississippi State
Georgia
MSU Earns Ranked Win To Open SEC Play
March 03, 2024 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – No. 26 Mississippi State started Southeastern Conference play strong on Sunday with a 4-3 victory over 43rd-ranked Georgia at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The homestanding Bulldogs won the early doubles point and also three of the first five singles matches to clinch their first league triumph of the year.
"The biggest takeaway we can build from was how well we played in doubles," said head coach Matt Roberts. "We served and returned really well. We've been working a lot on our serve/return percentage in practice. I thought all three courts competed really well in doubles and gave us a chance on all three courts to win."
MSU was dominant early, claiming two decisive doubles wins and held the lead at match point on Court 3 when the point was clinched. Carles Hernandez and Dusan Milanovic started the day by upsetting the nation's No. 37 team of Ryan Colby and Niels Ratiu 6-2.
It then became a race of which court would finish first to give Mississippi State the doubles point. The 42nd-ranked tandem of Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez finished just ahead of teammates Nemanja Malesevic and Michal Novansky to secure the point and give State some early momentum.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez downed UGA's top duo of Freddy Blaydes and Thomas Paulsell 6-2. Meanwhile, Malesevic and Novansky had match point up 5-2 over Cyrus Mahjoob and Miguel Perez Peña when their match was abandoned.
It was the first action for Novansky since the SEC Championships on April 20, 2023. The sophomore from Slovakia entered the year ranked as half the No. 14 doubles duo in the nation alongside Malesevic but has been unable to compete while recovering from an injury all season. Â Â
"I wish he could've got that win because they were right there," Roberts said. "He had match point there on his court, but we know it's all about giving ourselves a chance on all courts. He and 'Memo' did. I was so happy to have 'Mikey' back out there this early. We didn't know if he could be back by SEC play, but he wanted it. He's said for the last few weeks that he wanted to be back for Georgia so we just got out of his way and let him get here. He was awesome in practice this week and proved to us that he's back in."
Georgia (4-6, 0-2 SEC) made its push early on in singles. Ratiu downed Milanovic 6-2, 6-4 and Mahjoob rallied past Radomir Tomic 7-5, 6-1 to put the visitors from Athens in front briefly.
Hernandez stopped UGA's advantage and started a string of three-straight singles victories for State. Hernandez pushed past 77th-ranked Perez Peña 6-3, 6-2 for his 13th win in his last 14 singles matches dating back to last season.
No. 23 Jovanovic clipped 56th-ranked Colby in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(3) on Court 2 before Sanchez Martinez clinched things with his 6-2, 6-4 victory over Blaydes. It was the third time the sophomore from Germany has clinched a match this spring, tying him for the team lead with Malesevic and Milanovic. He has now won nine of his last 10 singles matches, three of which were match-clinchers.
"In the first set I played pretty decent," Sanchez Martinez said. "I didn't make too many easy mistakes and didn't give him any points. I had a little dip at the start of the second set and he made use of it. I didn't play great and he broke me twice. It wasn't easy but I fought through it, stayed on top and eventually broke him back and was on top then."
The final match was played out on Court 1 with No. 54 Paulsell prevailing against 95th-ranked Malesevic in a three-set battle 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
"I was really happy with four of our six singles players and how they competed," Roberts said. "We've got to be tough on all six courts. I thought two of our courts struggled mentally. We're going to push them to believe in themselves. Our goal is to use the matches to continue getting better and better."
Mississippi State improved to 9-3 with the win and will now travel for a pair of top 25 SEC showdowns next weekend. MSU heads to No. 12 Texas A&M on Friday at 6 p.m. before battling 25th-ranked LSU in Baton Rouge at noon on Sunday. Â
No. 26 Mississippi State 4, No. 43 Georgia 3A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre | Starkville, Miss.
March 3, 2024
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Doubles
1. No. 42 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Freddy Blaydes/Thomas Paulsell (UGA) 6-2
2. Carles Hernandez/Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. No. 37 Ryan Colby/Niels Ratiu (UGA) 6-2
3. Nemanja Malesevic/Michal Novansky (MSU) vs. Cyrus Mahjoob/Miguel Perez Peña (UGA) 5-2, unfinished
Order of finish: (2,1)
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Singles
1. No. 54 Thomas Paulsell (UGA) def. No. 95 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
2. No. 23 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. No. 56 Ryan Colby (UGA) 6-4, 7-6(3)
3. Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. No. 77 Miguel Perez Peña (UGA) 6-3, 6-2
4. Niels Ratiu (UGA) def. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Freddy Blaydes (UGA) 6-2, 6-4
6. Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) def. Radomir Tomic (MSU) 7-5, 6-1
Order of finish: (4,6,3,2,5,1)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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