Claire Sporer Associate Director of Athletic Peformance | Michigan State Spartan Athletics Website
Claire Sporer Associate Director of Athletic Peformance | Michigan State Spartan Athletics Website
Michigan State University's men's tennis team concluded its opening weekend with a strong start to the season, participating in events both domestically and internationally.
In Belgrade, Serbia, junior Aristotelis Thanos represented Greece in the Davis Cup Tie. Competing against Serbia at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, Thanos faced Miomir Kecmanovic and lost 3-6, 3-6 in singles action. He then teamed up with Petros Tsitsipas, ranked No. 77 in ATP doubles and younger brother of World No. 12 Stefanos Tsitsipas. The duo was defeated by Novak Djokovic and Hamad Medjedovic 3-6, 6-3, 3-6 in doubles play. As a result, Serbia advanced to the 2025 Davis Cup matches leading to the Finals while Greece moved to World Group I action.
At the Battle In The Bay Tournament in San Francisco, California, junior Ozan Baris began strongly by winning his first two matches but ultimately fell in his third match 1-6, 6-4, [3-6]. Freshman Matthew Forbes also competed but lost his first singles match to TCU's Lui Maxted 2-6, 2-1. However, Forbes paired with Baris for doubles and secured victories against San Diego's Klaassen and Danilov (8-7 [7-3]) as well as UC Berkeley's Chang and Wright (8-7 [7-2]). They were eventually defeated by MSU freshman Danial Rakhmatullayev and TCU's Duncan Chan in the semifinals.
Rakhmatullayev also participated in singles but was defeated by UC Berkeley's Alex Chang (4-6, 3-6). In doubles, Rakhmatullayev teamed with Chan to win three consecutive matches before falling to UC Berkeley's Dean and Overbeck (8-6) in the finals.
Freshman Mitchell Sheldon made his collegiate debut at the Louisville Invite in Kentucky. After an initial loss, Sheldon won two subsequent matches on Saturday but was narrowly defeated on Sunday (5-7, 6-2 [7-10]). In doubles competition alongside Bellarmine's Diego Martinez, Sheldon won against Eastern Kentucky's Stahlbrand and Parhar (8-7 [9-7]) but lost to Belmont's Woodson and Mizerski (4-8).
Next up for the Spartans is the M15 Fayetteville tournament scheduled for September 16–19 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
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