Bulldog Doubles Duo Earns No. 1 National Ranking
August 27, 2024 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez were ranked the No. 1 doubles duo in all of college tennis on Tuesday.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez earned top billing on the ITA's preseason doubles rankings and became the program's fourth tandem to hold No. 1 status and second coached by Matt Roberts. The junior duo joins Daniel Courcol and Laurent Miquelard (Nov. 8, 1992-April 20 1993), Miquelard and Joc Simmons (Dec. 7, 1993-May 10, 1994) and Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic (May 3-Nov. 14, 2018) as State doubles duos to stand atop the national rankings.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez finished last season as All-Americans posting a 24-11 record together, including an 8-2 mark inside the Southeastern Conference. The duo knocked off a dozen ranked teams in 2023-24 and clinched eight doubles points for the Bulldogs.
Their 24 wins together this past year marked the sixth-most wins by an MSU tandem in a single season matching the marks set by Kristian Broems and Per Nilsson in 1994 and also Matthieu Ballay and Mattias Karlsson in 1996. Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez earned six victories versus top 20 foes, including three triumphs over top 10 teams.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez reached the quarterfinals of the ITA National Fall Championships in San Diego, California last November. The duo also advanced the quarterfinals of the NCAA Individual Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma back in May to obtain their All-American status.
But it wasn't just doubles where Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez were recognized by the ITA on Tuesday. Jovanovic, a first team All-SEC selection during the spring, earned a career-best singles ranking of No. 12 while Sanchez Martinez garnered his first-ever singles ranking at No. 108.
Newcomer Mario Martinez Serrano, who transferred in from Troy during the offseason, picked up a No. 60 singles ranking after arriving as a two-time first team All-Sun Belt Selection and coming off a 23-2 campaign as a sophomore this past season.
Martinez Serrano and his new doubles partner Dusan Milanovic were tabbed as the No. 85 doubles duo by the ITA on Tuesday while freshman Niccolo Baroni was selected as the sixth-best newcomer in college tennis for the upcoming year.
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