In his first dual action as a Vol, Boris Kozlov clinched the match for Tennessee with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Ivan Dreycopp on court five, using a first serve percentage of 93 to earn the straight-set victory.
Tennessee (1-0) won the doubles point with wins on courts three and one. Johannus Monday and Blaise Bicknell took down Charlotte’s Brett Gloria and Vasco Prata, 6-1 at No. 3 doubles. The UT pairing won 78 percent of the match’s points and limited Charlotte to 2/17 on total return points won. On court one, Shunsuke Mitsui and Pat Harper defeated Charlotte’s (0-1) Coy Simon and Abhimanyu Vannemreddy by a score of 6-4, winning 70 percent of their total return points in the process.
No. 81 Emile Hudd gave Tennessee a 2-0 lead, taking a 6-2, 6-2 victory over the 49ers’ Prata. Hudd took five of his nine break opportunities in the two-set affair. Tennessee’s 3-0 advantage came after Angel Diaz rolled past Gloria on court six, 6-1, 6-1. Diaz was a perfect 5-5 on break points.
Bicknell overcame Charlotte’s Vannemreddy in straight sets, 6-0, 7-5 on court three. In what was his first dual match at Tennessee, 86th-ranked Bicknell won 24 of the 31 first-set points. Mitsui, ranked 59th in singles, was the fifth Vol to finish on the singles courts, with a 7-5, 6-2 victory in his debut at the No. 1 singles slot over Simon. Mitsui won 67 percent of points in the second set to close out the match strong.
MITSUI AT NO. 1
Mitsui, in his first dual action as a sophomore, secured wins at the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles Sunday. The victories serve as his third career win at the top of the doubles lineup and first at No. 1 singles.
UP NEXT
Tennessee concludes the season-opening back-to-back with a bout with the Red Raiders of Texas Tech in Knoxville on Monday, Jan. 9 at 4 p.m. ET.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Shunsuke Mitsui/Pat Harper (TENN) def. Coy Simon/Abhimanyu Vannemreddy (CLT) 6-4
2. Emile Hudd/Angel Diaz (TENN) vs. Matias Iturbe/Ivan Dreycopp (CLT) 6-5, unfinished
3. Johannus Monday/Blaise Bicknell (TENN) def. Brett Gloria/Vasco Prata (CLT) 6-1
Order of Finish: (3,1)
Singles
1. #59 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN) def. Coy Simon (CLT) 7-5, 6-2
2. #81 Emile Hudd (TENN) def. Vasco Prata (CLT) 6-2, 6-2
3. #86 Blaise Bicknell (TENN) def….
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