CLEMSON, S.C. — The Clemson men’s tennis team (2-1) came up short in an epic nail-biter versus the Auburn Tigers (3-0) at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility on Friday. Auburn edged out Clemson 4-3, with a tiebreak in the decisive third set on Court 4 wrapping up singles action and deciding the match.
Clemson nearly pulled off a substantial comeback after falling down 0-3 as a result of dropping the doubles point and losing the first two singles matches. Jacob Jahn and Yizhou Liu won their doubles match 6-2, but Auburn won the next two doubles matches to earn the doubles point. Teodor Giusca and Carlos Kelaidis fell 7-6 (7-1), and Gabriel Diaz Freire and Pierre-Louis Dodens were defeated 7-5 to wrap up doubles action.
In singles, were nearly able to climb out a hole after Auburn won the first two singles duels to go up 3-0 overall. Jahn was topped 6-1, 6-4 at No. 5, and, on center court, Diaz Freire fell 7-5, 7-5. However, Liu sparked a Clemson surge by coming back from being down 0-3 in both of his sets and winning each of them. Liu pulled out a 6-4, 7-6 (7-0) win at No. 3, and Dodens followed that up with a 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) triumph at No. 6. Giusca evened the score at 3-3 via his 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory at No. 2. All eyes were then on Court 4, as Kelaidis’ match with Auburn’s Matteo DeVincentis provided the decisive point. The third set saw several serves broken, and DeVincentis ultimately came out on top in a tiebreak. Kelaidis fell 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-7 (5-7), and Auburn won the match 4-3. Box Score
OF NOTE
UP NEXTThe Tigers will return to action with a doubleheader at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility on Sunday, Jan. 26. First, Clemson will take on the Georgia Southern Eagles (1-3) at 1 p.m. Later, Clemson will return to the courts for a matchup against The Citadel (0-3), with the Bulldogs and the Tigers slated to face off at 6 p.m. Prior to Clemson’s matches, Georgia Southern and The Citadel will square off at 9 a.m.
Clemson Athletics photos by Melina Alberti
