Tigers Drop 4-3 Battle to Illinois

URBANA, Ill. – The Clemson Tigers move to 8-1 on the season as they dropped their match against Illinois (3-2) as the Fighting Illini took the narrow 4-3 victory on Saturday afternoon in Urbana.

The winning point came down to the three-set tiebreak on court one as Clemson’s No. 51 Noa Vukadin battled Illinois’ No. 13 Kenta Miyoshi but was unable to secure the comeback win.

The Tigers brought the pressure early as they secured the doubles point and headed into singles play with a 1-0 lead. The No. 36 doubles duo of Max Smith and Vukadin took down Mathis Debru and Miyoshi 6-4 on court one while Max Damm and Viktor Markov also secured a 6-4 victory over Tyler Bowers and Zach Viiala to give Clemson the advantage.

In singles, the battle continued as Illinois began to dominate as Fighting Illini won the first set on four out of the six courts. Sophomore Marko Mesarovic was the first Tiger to secure a singles win as he defeated Viiala on court five in a two-set victory as he won 7-5, 6-2.

Earning the second and final singles victory was No. 118 Wissam Abderrahman as he completed a three-set comeback win over No. 42 William Mroz as he dropped the first set 4-6 but won the second and third set 6-3, 6-2.

Illinois took singles wins on court three, four and six. With the score tied at 3-3, it all came down to the battle on court one. Vukadin won the first set 7-5 but dropped the second set 6-4 as him and Miyoshi went back-and-forth. The third set went to tiebreak with the score at 6-6, however Miyoshi was the first to seven as the 13th ranked singles player took the win 7(7)-6(3).

Up next, the Tigers are back at home as they host UNC Wilmington and Furman for a doubleheader on Sunday, February 23 at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility. For complete coverage of the Clemson men’s tennis team, follow @ClemsonMTennis on Twitter and Instagram.

Illinois 4, Clemson 3

Doubles
1. #36 Max Smith/Noa Vukadin (CU) def. Mathis Debru/Kenta Miyoshi (ILLINI) 6-4
2. Max Damm/Viktor Markov (CU) def. Tyler Bowers/Zach Viiala (ILLINI) 6-4
3. William Mroz/Jeremy Zhang (ILLINI) vs. Wissam Abderrahman/Romain Gales (CU) 3-4, unfinished

Order of finish: (1,2)

Singles competition
1. #13 Kenta Miyoshi (ILLINI) def. #51 Noa Vukadin (CU) 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
2. #118 Wissam Abderrahman (CU) def. #42 William Mroz (ILLINI) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Jeremy Zhang (ILLINI) def. Viktor Markov (CU) 6-4, 6-4
4. #79 Tyler Bowers (ILLINI) def. Romain Gales (CU) 6-3, 7-6 (10-8)
5. Marko Mesarovic (CU) def. Zach Viiala (ILLINI) 7-5, 6-2
6. Mathis Debru (ILLINI) def. Max Smith (CU) 6-2, 2-6, 7-5

Order of finish: (3,5,4,2,6,1)