Salazar Wins Battle Of Top-20 Players
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas won the doubles point and Jose Salazar rallied to win in a third-set tiebreaker to defeat No. 18 Spencer Papa at No. 2 singles, but the Razorbacks fell to No. 13 Oklahoma 5-2 on Saturday night at the Dills Indoor Tennis Center. Oklahoma (5-1) was the fourth ranked opponent in seven matches to begin the season for Arkansas (2-5).
“Oklahoma made too many good tennis plays tonight,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “They are a very talented team. We fought better and gave ourselves a chance in the match. We need to put more work in this week at practice and play better against a hungry Lamar team that is coming in here with full intention to beat us on Saturday.”
Arkansas started the match strong, as Adam Sanjurjo and Oscar Mesquida won two early breaks and were the first off the court with a 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles. Shortly thereafter, Oklahoma broke back to even the match at 4-4 at No. 1 doubles and then closed out a 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles.
Mike Redlicki and Jose Salazar turned the momentum back in the Razorbacks’ favor, winning a key 40-40 point to break and lead 5-4 at No. 1 doubles. Redlicki then served it out for the 6-4 win to clinch the doubles point for a 1-0 lead in the match.
In singles, Oklahoma won the first set in five of the six matches. Oscar Mesquida won the first set 6-3 at No. 5 singles, while Redlicki, the No. 3 player in the nation, lost in a first-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (5), at No. 1 singles.
The Sooners evened the match with a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles and took a 3-1 lead in the match with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles and a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles, while play continued in the second set in the other four matches.
Arkansas regained some momentum, as Salazar, the No. 19 player in the nation, came back won the second set and then won an early break in the third set at No. 2 singles. With No. 2 singles and No. 5 singles extending in a third set, Andrew Harris clinched the match for Oklahoma with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over Redlicki at No. 1 singles.
Oklahoma added another point with a three-set win at No. 5 singles, while Salazar and Spencer Papa, the No. 18 player in the nation, battled to a third-set tiebreaker at No. 2 singles. Salazar jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreaker, before winning the tiebreaker 7-3 for the 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) win.
Notable
• Mike Redlicki returned to the starting lineup at doubles and singles after missing the ITA Kick-Off due to illness.
• Mike Redlicki and Jose Salazar improve to 3-1 in doubles matches this season.
• Arkansas has won the doubles point in four of seven matches this season: SMU, Illinois State, No. 17 Illinois and No. 13 Oklahoma.
• Jose Salazar became the third different Arkansas player to defeat a ranked opponent this season, joining Mike Redlicki and Johan den Toom. Salazar is 1-0 against ranked opponents this season.
• Arkansas has played four ranked opponents in seven matches this season and will play seven more ranked opponents this season.
Up Next
Arkansas continues its home stand with a doubleheader against Lamar and UMKC on Feb. 11 and four matches against Jackson State on Feb. 18. Looking ahead, Arkansas opens Southeastern Conference play with three straight road matches, beginning with Alabama on Sunday, March 5.
For more information on Razorback men’s tennis, please follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.
