EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State men’s tennis freshmen Matthew Forbes and Danial Rakhmatullayev earned the opportunity to compete in the U.S. Open Juniors this past weekend and this week.
Forbes wrapped up a lengthy stay in New York after also playing in the main draw of the U.S. Open, the first current Spartan to qualify for the tournament, along with the second Spartan ever and the first since Mashiska Washington played in the 1999 US Open.
In the first round of Juniors action, Forbes took on Mika Petkovic in a back-and-forth battle. Forbes found his groove right away and took the first set, 6-4. After a good start in the second set, he couldn’t find the fire to finish the set, losing, 6-4. With little time to get his focus and fire back, Forbes fought back to defeat Petkovic, 6-3. Forbes dominated the court with first-serve wins and serve in play.
On a different court, Rakhmatullayev went up against Flynn Thomas. After a long battle in the first set and a final push from Rakhmatullayev, he fell to Flynn Thomas, 7-6 (4). Rakhmatullayev could not get the spark back from the last set and lost his last set by a 6-2 score. Rakhmatullayev put out a great effort but could not finish the match.
Forbes advanced to take on Nathan Trouve. Forbes dominated the court in both matches and finished both sets 6-4, 6-4. After this win, he moved on to the third-round match against No. 2 seed Kaylan Bigun.
With two days of rest, Matthew Forbes was ready to take on Bigun in the third round. With great effort given by both players and a back-and-forth match, Forbes fell to Bigun (2-6, 4-6). Bigun won the French Open Junior tournament earlier this summer.
Both Forbes and Rakhmatullayev will be heading back to Michigan State to participate in the men’s fall action.
Match Recaps:
Matthew Forbes def. Mika Petkovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Flynn Thomas def. Danial Rakhmatullayev 7-6, 6-2
Matthew Forbes def. Nathan Trouve 6-4, 6-4
Kaylan Bigun def. Matthew Forbes 2-6, 4-6
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