MSU's Top-Ranked Tandem Advances
September 25, 2024 | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. – The top doubles team in collegiate tennis willed their way to victory in the first round of the main draw at the ITA All-American Championships on Wednesday.
Competing in their first doubles match of the tournament, Mississippi State's No. 1 ranked pair of Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez battled it out against Wake Forest's 49th-ranked tandem of Andrew Delgado and Dhakshineswar Suresh. The match was a dogfight from start to finish. The Demon Deacons' duo won a first set tiebreaker 7-6(1) before Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez evened things up with a 6-4 victory in the second.
A third-set super tiebreaker went down to the wire, but it was the Bulldogs that walked away with a 1-0[7] victory. It was 13th career ranked victory the team of Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have had together.
"It's always tough playing a team coming out of qualifying because they are dialed in with their serves and returns," said head coach Matt Roberts. "I'm proud of the boys' adjustments they made today and their problem solving together."
Jovanovic, ranked 12th nationally, also made his singles debut in Tulsa on Wednesday but fell to Duke's 53rd-ranked Sam Landau in three sets 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez are back on the court in the second round of the main draw on Thursday as they take on Columbia's 21st-ranked tandem of Hugo Hashimoto and Michael Zheng at 4:30 p.m.
Jovanovic opens Thursday's action at 9 a.m. against Maxwell Smith of Clemson in the first round of singles consolation.
ITA All-American ChampionshipsMichael D. Case Tennis Center | Tulsa, Okla.
Sept. 25, 2024
Singles:
Main Draw First Round
No. 53 Sam Landau (Duke) def. No. 12 Petar Jovanovic (MSU): 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Doubles:
Main Draw First Round
No. 1 Petar Jovanovic / Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 49 Andrew Delgado / Dhakshineswar Suresh (Wake Forest) 6-7(1), 6-4, 1-0[7].
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
