Sanchez Martinez Crowned ITF Fayetteville 15K Champ
September 22, 2024 | Men's Tennis
Mississippi State's Benito Sanchez Martinez claimed the first ITF tournament victory of his career on Sunday, securing the singles championship in straight sets at the Fayetteville 15K in Arkansas.
The junior from Potsdam, Germany faced freshman teammate Niccolo Baroni in the finals and came away with a 6-2, 6-2 win, his seventh singles win at the event.
All four Bulldogs that participated in the six-day long tournament experienced success. In addition to Sanchez Martinez and Baroni's spot in the finals, Mario Martinez Serrano advanced to the semifinals and Petar Jovanovic reached the quarterfinals of the singles main draw. Baroni and Martinez Serrano also secured a quarterfinals finish in doubles while Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez moved on to the semifinals.
Altogether, the MSU quartet accumulated 29 ATP singles points and six ATP doubles points during the tournament.
"I am very impressed and proud at these four Dawgs did here in Fayetteville in all facets of their week," said associate head coach Jake Jacoby. "They were professional, prepared, committed, confident and poised in the toughest moments throughout the week on and off the court. Petar, Mario, Niccolo and Benito earned every bit of the success they had this week from winning close sets, to saving match point, to reaching new personal-best rounds in a professional event. I'm so happy for Benito to earn his first title and Niccolo to earn his first runner-up finish. We'll keep going now."
Jovanovic, Martinez Serrano and Sanchez Martinez now travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma to join their teammates at the ITA All-American Championships already in progress.
Radomir Tomic and Michal Novansky lost tightly-contested three-setters in their singles prequalifying matches on Sunday. Singles qualifying gets underway on Monday with Sanchez Martinez - ranked 107th in singles - attempting to keep his hot streak alive against No. 81 Luciano Tacchi of Wake Forest at 9 a.m. Martinez Serrano, ranked 60th, will also be in action at 10:30 a.m. against Clemson's Maxwell Smith.Â
ITF Fayetteville 15KÂBillingsley Tennis Center | Fayetteville, Ark.
Sept. 22, 2024
Singles:
Main Draw Finals
Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU / Germany) def. Niccolo Baroni (MSU / Italy): 6-2, 6-2
ITA All-American Championships
Michael D. Case Tennis Center | Tulsa, Okla.
Sept. 21, 2024
Singles:
Prequalifying Second Round
Georgio Samaha (New Mexico) def. Radomir Tomic (MSU): 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Prequalifying Consolation First Round
Aram Noroozian (New Mexico)Â def. Michal Novansky (MSU): 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-1
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook. Â
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Players Mentioned
