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Rubin Sandwiches Paire, Georgia Finishes Strong, Pokes Walking in Memphis, Lenz Wins Sherwood

by | Jan 18, 2016 | Blog

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The big story of the day took place in the wee hours of the night here in the United States as former Wake Forest Demon Deacon #328 Noah Rubin (UTR 15.01) stunned #18 Benoit Paire (UTR 15.39) in 3 tiebreak sets in the opening round of the 2016 Australian Open. I’ll be the first to admit I was sound asleep when the match took place but when my 3-year came barreling into our room at 6am one of the first things I did was pull up Twitter and that’s when I saw the good news. I’ll let these Twitter posts from Parsa, Martin Blackman, Josh Meiseles, Noah Rubin, and the Australian Open tell you the story


This was Rubin’s fourth appearance in a Grand Slam and his second main draw match with the other main draw appearance coming at the 2014 US Open after he got a wild card for winning Kalamazoo.

Rubin In Majors:
2016 AO – beat #18 Benoir Paire (FRA) 7-6(4), 7-6(6), 7-6(5) in R1; vs. #167 Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) in R2
2015 USO – beat #257 Liang-Chi Huang (TPE) 6-2, 7-5 in QR128; lost to #91 Guido Pella (ARG) 6-4, 7-6(6) in QR64
2014 USO – lost to #66 Federico Delbonis (ARG) 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 in R1
2013 USO – lost to #188 Amir Weintraub (ISR) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in QR128

So how did Noah win it – the stats below tell us that Paire appeared to be going for broke as evidenced by his 61 winners and 72 unforced errors. Rubin was more steady with 22 winners and 22 unforced errors.

1st set – Both guys were holding with ease with there only being 2 break points – Rubin had 1 in Paire’s 3-4 service game and Paire had 1 in Rubin’s 4-4 service game. Paire went up *2-0 in the TB before Rubin won 4 straight to go up 4-2*. Paire pulled to within 3-4* but Rubin won both points on his serve to go up *6-3 and then finished the set 2 points later to take the TB 7-4.

2nd set – Rubin got the first break of the match when he broke Paire from 15-40 to go up *3-2 and then he consolidated the break with a hold from 40-15 to go up 4-2. Paire then reeled off 3 games in a row including a break of Rubin serve from 15-40 to even it at 4-4. Both guys held 2 more times to get the set into a tiebreak and in the tiebreak they stayed on serve until Rubin got a mini-break to go up 5-3*. Paire got the mini-break back to even it at 5-5 before Rubin went up 6-5*. Paire tied it at 6-6 but Rubin took the next 2 to bag the tiebreak 8-6.

3rd set – Paire broke Rubin’s opening service game from 30-40 to go up *1-0 and consolidated the break to go up 2-0*.  There were 5 straight holds until Rubin broke Paire’s *4-3 service game from 30-40 to even it at 4-4 however Paire would break right back from 30-40 to go up *5-4. Paire had 2 set points on his serve (40-30, Ad-Paire) but Rubin fought back and broke to even it at 5-5. Rubin held at love go up 6-5* and then Paire held from 40-15 to send the set to a tiebreak. Rubin served first in the tiebreak and quickly went up *3-0 though Paire got 1 of the mini-breaks back to pull within 4-1*. Paire won the next 3 points to even it at 4-4 but Rubin took the next 2 to go up 6-4*. Paire fought off the first match point but Rubin converted the second to close out Paire 7-6(4), 7-6(6), 7-6(5).

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Georgia closed out the MLK Invitational in Atlanta with a solid showing against Oklahoma. The Bulldogs won 2 of 3 doubles matches and 4 of 6 singles with Wayne Montgomery named the MLK Singles Champion after going 3-0 in singles.  Ole Miss’s Filip Kraljevic and Zvonimir Babic were named MLK Doubles Champions after going 3-0 in doubles.

Undefeated Singles (Min 2 Matches)
Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 3-0
Ben Wagland (UGA) 3-0
Chris Eubanks (GT) 2-0
Florin Bragusi (OU) 2-0

Undefeated Doubles (Min 2 Matches)
Filip Kraljevic & Zvonimir Babic (Ole Miss) 3-0
Wayne Montgomery & Emil Reinbergy (UGA) 3-0
Paul Oosterbaan & Jan Zielinski (UGA) 3-0

#7 Georgia vs. #2 Oklahoma 

Jan. 18, 2016 at Atlanta, Ga. Ken Byers Tennis Complex
Singles competition
1. #60 Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU 14.71) def. #28 Austin Smith (UGA 14.34) 6-2, 7-5
2. #92 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.17) def. #105 Walker Duncan (UGA 13.43) 6-4, 6-2
3. Emil Reinberg (UGA 13.27) def. Andre Biro (OU 13.71) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
4. #20 Wayne Montgomery (UGA 14.28) def. Spencer Papa (OU 14.02) 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
5. Ben Wagland (UGA 13.22) def. John Milstead (OU 10.05) 6-1, 7-5

6. Jan Zielinski (UGA 13.68) def. Austin Siegel (OU 13.21) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Spencer Papa/Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU) def. #10 Ben Wagland/Austin Smith (UGA) 6-3
2. Jan Zielinski/Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Andre Biro/Alex Ghilea (OU) 7-6 (4)
3. #45 Wayne Montgomery/Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Austin Siegel/Florin Bragusi (OU) 6-4

Comments from Georgia’s recap

“Overall I thought we played a great match today, head coach Manuel Diaz said. “To be honest I thought that we could’ve played a little bit better in doubles than we did. We got broke at number two, three times, but we still competed so well and played extremely well from behind. It’s a good sign to be able to come out with a victory when you play a little bit less than your very best. I was very impressed with everyone’s overall level today.

Comments from Oklahoma’s recap

“He (Alvarez) came out and was more focused today than in days past, Oklahoma assistant coach Bobby Reynolds said. “He took care of business. He got on top of his guy early. His opponent played well and served well, but I felt like from a tennis playing standpoint Axel constructed the points better today and didn’t force it.
“Alex had a tough one yesterday, but he played a new freshman from Georgia–who is going to be a good player–and dominated, Reynolds said. “He showed him that he was the older guy and he took control with his forehand. When he is hitting his forehand big there aren’t too many people who are able to beat him.
“We had a lot of opportunities in doubles, Reynolds said. “We just have to play the big points, bigger and better. That will come with more time and more practice. We’re still finding the exact matchups for us as a team and where we want to put them. We came out with a lot of energy though and that’s what I asked of them so that was good.
“The three matches that everybody got were good high quality tennis,  Reynolds said. “For being the first matches back after a long break, I was happy with the level they played at.
MLK Invitational Team/Individual Performance (Singles/Doubles):
#7 Georgia (14-8/7-4)
Austin Smith 2-1/1-2
Wayne Montgomery 3-0/3-0
Walker Duncan 1-2/1-1
Paul Oosterbaan 1-1/3-0
Ben Wagland  3-0/1-2
Emil Reinberg 2-1/3-0
Jan Zielinski 1-2/3-0
Andy Martinez 1-1/0-2
*Nick Wood didn’t play
#2 Oklahoma (11-8/4-5)
Axel Alvarez 2-1/2-1
Alex Ghilea 2-1/1-2
Spencer Papa 2-1/2-1
Florin Bragusi 2-0/1-2
Austin Siegel 1-1/1-1
Andre Biro 2-1/1-2
John Milstead 0-3/0-1
*Andrew Harris/Maxime Mora didn’t play

#19 Ole Miss (8-14/6-5)
Stefan Lindmark 2-1/0-3
Gustav Hansson 2-1/0-3
Filip Kraljevic 1-2/3-0
Grey Hamilton 1-2/2-1
Fabian Fallert 1-2/2-1
Vinod Gowda 1-2/1-1
Zvonimir Babic 1-0/3-0
Ricardo Jorge 0-3/1-1
Robert Mounger 0-1/0-0
#43 Georgia Tech (9-13/4-7)
Christopher Eubanks 2-0/0-3
Carlos Benito 1-2/1-2
Nathan Rakitt 0-3/1-2
Michael Kay 1-0/0-1
Cole Fiegel 1-2/2-1
Andrew Li 1-1/2-1
Casey Kay 1-2/1-2
Daniel Yun 1-2/1-1
Elijah Melendez 1-1/0-1
*Phillip Gresk didn’t play

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I thought the match in Memphis between #28 Oklahoma State and #45 Memphis was going to be tight one but Oklahoma State overpowered the hosts and waltzed to a 4-0 shutout. The Pokes rolled at #1 and #2 doubles and then picked up straight set wins at #2, #5, and #6 with Arjun Kadhe clinching it at #2.  

#28 Oklahoma State 4, #45 Memphis 0

Jan. 18, 2016 at Memphis, TN (The Racquet Club of Memphis)
Doubles competition
1. #9 Arjun Kadhe/Julian Cash (OSU) def. Kai Lemke/Louis Asser (UM) 6-1
2. Temur Ismailov/Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Ryan Peniston/Felix Rauch (UM) 6-2
3. Andrew Watson/Shakeel Manji (UM) vs. #53 Jurence Mendoza/Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) 5-3 unf
Singles competition
1. Temur Ismailov (OSU 14.10) vs. Ryan Peniston (UM 13.92) 6-1, 4-6, 2-2 unf
2. #112 Arjun Kadhe (OSU 13.65) def. #87 Andrew Watson (UM 13.73) 7-6, 6-4
3. Kai Lemke (UM 13.33) vs. #68 Julian Cash (OSU 13.66) 6-3, 2-6, 4-1 unf
4. Lucas Gerch (OSU 13.72) vs. Chris Patzanovsky (UM 12.52) 3-6, 6-1, 4-0 unf
5. Tristan Meraut (OSU 13.35) def. Shakeel Manji (UM 12.34) 6-4, 6-3
6. Lukas Finzelberg (OSU 13.58) def. Felix Rauch (UM 12.48) 6-3, 6-3 

Match Notes:

Oklahoma State 3-0; National Ranking #28
Memphis 0-1: National Ranking #45
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,6,2)
T-2:14; A-200

Comments from Oklahoma State’s recap
“It was a great match overall and a good road win for us,” coach Jay Udwadia said. “Memphis had a good team and they competed hard. I was happy with the way we started in doubles and keet that momentum going into singles.

Comments from Memphis’s recap

“I think this was a really good college tennis match,” Head Coach Paul Goebel said. “We knew we had a tough first test for us with today’s match, but we needed it. We stay right up against good competition with Louisville and the ITA Kick-Off Weekend next weekend. I think we saw a lot of good things from our young team here. We battled back in some matches and have learned some things we need to work on before the next match.”
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Baylor’s Julian Lenz won the Sherwood Cup on Monday defeating UCLA’s Gage Brymer 6-1, 6-3 in the singles final while UCLA got some revenge in the doubles final with Joseph DiGiulio and Karue Sell knocking off Baylor’s Will Little and Jimmy Bendeck 6-3.

Quotes from Baylor’s Matt Knoll on the weekend
“I am happy for Julian. He played really well all weekend. This was a significant step for him. He was hurt in the fall and to come out with the focus and professionalism and the hunger that he did was a great sign for him for the spring. – head coach Matt Knoll on Lenz.  “Julian has done a super job since he came back from the holiday of having the right mindset in practice. He has focused on the things he wants to work on and I think that is what set him up to play so well. It is amazing how when you apply yourself in practice that carries over to the matches. – Knoll on Lenz’s preparation that led to success
“Jimmy and Will were a blast. They were the stars of the tournament in terms of their energy and enthusiasm. They came out and competed hard. They brought the team aspect to doubles, which I think some people take for granted. They pumped each other up and brought out the best in each other. It was a really highlight of the tournament for us. – Knoll on the doubles duo of Jimmy Bendeck and Will Little
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Texas Tech finished off the weekend 6-0 after defeating New Mexico 4-1 and Arizona 4-0. The final day of the 4-day weekend saw temperatures in the 30s which meant singles was played first with doubles only being played if the match was tied at 3-3. That’s exactly what happened in the match between Pacific and #41 New Mexico with the Lobo’s Ricky Hernandez-Tong winning the final singles match at #6 to force doubles to be played. Pacific won at both #1 and #2 doubles to pull up the upset over the ranked Lobos. Each coach has some good comments below about the weekend so make sure you give those a read. 
Pacific 4, #41 New Mexico 3
Jan 18, 2016 at Lubbock, Texas (McLeod Texas Center) 
Singles competition
1. Sam Varbeck (PAC) def. Bart Van Leijsen (NM) 7-5, 6-2
2. Hayden Sabatka (NM) def. Daniel Alameh (PAC) 7-5, 6-3
3. Miguel Diaz (PAC) def. Jorge Escutia (NM) 6-2, 6-2
4. Jose Chamba (PAC) def. Rodolfo Jauregui (NM) 6-4, 6-2
5. Agustus Ge (NM) def. Alex Giannini (PAC) 7-5, 6-4
6. Ricky Hernandez-Tong (NM) def. Bernardo Oliveira (PAC) 1-6, 7-5, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Sam Varbeck/Jose Chamba (PAC) def. #8 Hayden Sabatka/Bart Van Leijsen (NM) 6-3
2. Daniel Alameh/Alex Giannini (PAC) def. Agustus Ge/Rodolfo Jauregui (NM) 6-4
3. Jorge Escutia/Ricky Hernandez-Tong (NM) vs. Miguel Diaz/Bernardo Oliveira (PAC) no result
Match Notes:
New Mexico 1-4; National ranking #41
Pacific 2-3
Comments from Pacific’s recap