CHICAGO, Ill. – Playing in its fifth match in the last nine days, and in front of a boisterous pro-Illinois crowd, the ninth-ranked Wake Forest men’s tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision to the Fighting Illini Saturday inside the XS Tennis Village in Chicago, Ill.
With the loss, the Demon Deacons (11-4, 0-0 ACC) will now move on to face No. 17 Stanford on Sunday. First serve is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Against Illinois Saturday, the Deacs picked up a 6-4 victory in third doubles but were unable to secure the point as the Fighting Illini notched a 6-4 win in first doubles and a 7-5 victory in second doubles.
Down 1-0 heading into singles play, the Demon Deacons fought to mount a comeback but were unable to overcome Illinois’ in-state advantage and eventually fell, 4-1.
Of note, the Demon Deacons have now played five matches in the last nine days, three of which were against top-10 opponents. Additionally, the Deacs have faced five top-25 foes in their first 15 matches overall.
The live stream for Sunday’s match against the Cardinal will be provided via Cracked Racquets, while the live stats can be found here.
How It Happened
- Doubles play was tightly contested to start as each court featured a 3-2 ledger through the first five games.
- Illinois struck first as Mathis Debru/Oliver Okonkwo defeated Juan Lopez de Azcona/Filippo Moroni 6-4 in first doubles.
- Wake Forest quickly responded as Melios Efsatathiou/Matthew Thomson earned a 6-4 decision over Gabrielius Guzauskas/Kenta Miyoshi in third doubles.
- With doubles play tied 1-1, all eyes turned to second doubles as Lucaino…
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