Redlicki Clinches Win In Season Opener

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After dropping the doubles point, the No. 19 Arkansas men’s tennis team won four of the first five singles matches, capped by a 6-3, 7-5 win by Mike Redlicki at No. 1 singles to clinch the 4-3 win over Tulsa on Saturday afternoon in the Dills Indoor Tennis Center.

“It’s good to win,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “It took us a long time last year to beat a top-30 team. It’s taken me a long time in my career at Arkansas to beat Tulsa, and I’m glad to finally do that. We played some good tennis today. We did a lot of things that we can do much better. I’m very pleased to win.”

Redlicki and Jose Salazar, both ranked in the top 20 in singles, were the first off the court in doubles, combining for a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles. Arkansas had opportunities to clinch the doubles point, but Tulsa won some big breaks and then served out a 7-5 win at No. 3 doubles and a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles to win the doubles point.

Salazar, the No. 19 player in the nation, dropped just two games, as he rolled to a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles and evened the match at 1-1. Johan den Toom and Juan Marino continued the early momentum in singles play and won in straight sets at No. 4 and No. 6 singles play to give an Arkansas a 3-1 advantage.

Tulsa came back and won a point with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles, sending the match into the final two singles matches with Arkansas leading 3-2. With play continuing into a third set at No. 5 singles, the attention shifted to No. 1 singles, where Redlicki, the No. 3 player in the nation, was battling No. 46 Or-Ram Harel in the second set.

Redlicki won the first set 6-3 and was up a break 4-3 in the second set, before Harel broke back to 4-4 on a 40-40 point in the fourth game. Harel won the ninth game, and then leading 40-30 in the 10th, Redlicki held serve on a 40-30 point. Tied 30-30 in the 11th game, Redlicki won back-to-back point to break Harel’s serve and give himself the opportunity to serve for the match, leading 6-3, 6-5.

With triple match point, Redlicki clinched out the match for the Razorbacks with an ace down the line for the 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 1 singles. Play continued at No. 5 singles, where Tulsa came back and won in three sets.

“Mike played one of the better guys in the country,” Jackson said. “Harel is ranked in the forties, but he’s much better than that. It was a big-time match. We beat three of their better points, winning at No. 1, winning at No. 2 and winning at No. 6. I’m very pleased with that. We have to clean some other stuff up if we want to be competitive at the level that we want to compete.”

Notable

  • Arkansas defeated Tulsa for the first time under head coach Andy Jackson and snapped a 10-match losing streak against the Hurricane, having last won in the series during the 2006 season.
  • Mike Redlicki and Jose Salazar, both ranked in the top 20 in singles, started the season with wins at doubles and singles. They combined for a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles, after going 3-1 playing doubles together in the fall.
  • Mike Redlicki has won six straight matches dating back to the fall and improved to 11-4 against ranked opponents during his career at Arkansas
  • Sophomore Oscar Mesquida made his collegiate debut, playing No. 2 doubles and No. 5 singles.
  • After playing Tulsa, which is receiving votes in the nation team rankings, Arkansas will face at least nine teams ranked in the top 25 of the national team rankings, beginning with No. 4 Texas on Jan. 22.

Up Next

No. 19 Arkansas continues its four-match home stand to begin the season, hosting SMU, which is receiving votes in the national team rankings, on Friday at 6 p.m. It’s the first of seven night matches this season. Arkansas also hosts No. 4 Texas on Jan. 22 as part of this season-opening home stand.

For more information on Razorback men’s tennis, please follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.