Alabama men’s tennis started its 2025 season on the right note Saturday, defeating Georgia Tech and Alabama State at home to begin the season 2-0.
Georgia Tech
The Crimson Tide’s first match was at 11 a.m, and the team began the day strong by defeating Georgia Tech 5-2.
Juniors Roan Jones and Matias Ponce De Leon started off doubles with a strong 6-3 victory over the Yellow Jackets’ Robert Bauer and Gabriele Brancatelli. Jones and Ponce De Leon finished strong by winning each of the last three games to claim the match victory.
“I feel like that success comes from the fact that Matias and I know each other really well,” Jones said. “We live together, and we played with each other a lot a year ago, so we understand what we’re doing when we share the court.”
The second doubles match saw senior Damien Nezar and sophomore Andrii Zimnokh lose 3-6 to Georgia Tech’s Gianluca Carlini and Nate Bonetto. The split in the first two doubles matches set up a tiebreaker matchup, with seniors Filip Planinsek and Enzo Aguiard facing off against Christophe Clement and Krish Arora of the Yellow Jackets.
The tiebreaking match was an intense back-and-forth between the duos, but ultimately Planinsek and Aguiard emerged victorious with a 7-6 (6) victory, giving the Crimson Tide the first point of the match with the second doubles win. It was a welcome back to Alabama for the two, as they both had taken the fall off to compete professionally.
“It’s fortunate to win the doubles, because you don’t have to hunt for those four wins in the singles matches,” head coach George Husack said.
Zimnokh gave Alabama its second point after sweeping Carlini in two sets (6-2, 6-4). Ponce De Leon then followed it up with a sweep of his own over Clement in two sets (6-3, 6-2) to give the team its third point of the match.
Jones clinched the win for the Crimson Tide by defeating Brancatelli in both sets (6-2, 6-4). The other singles matches saw Aguiard struggle against Arora and lose both sets (3-6, 0-6) and Nezar lose against Richard Biagiotti (6-7, 2-6) after dropping a close first set and being unable to bounce back.
Planinsek delivered Alabama’s fifth and final point of the matchup after winning over Nate Bonetto in a thrilling come-from-behind victory (3-6, 6-4, 6-3).
“It’s great to have Filip back,” Husack said. “Really good performance for him after being away for six months.”
Alabama State
The Crimson Tide handled Alabama State in its second matchup of the day at 4 p.m, defeating the Hornets 4-0.
“We responded very well after an emotional and physical first match against Georgia Tech,” Husack said. “It’s tough to play two matches in a day, but I thought they did a really good job.”
Jones and Ponce De Leon once again took care of business in the first doubles match, defeating Alabama State’s Gordan Fran Mileusni and Lun Obrul 6-3.
Nezar and Zimnokh followed it up with their first doubles victory of the day by defeating the Hornets’ Matteo Lataste and David Jeanne Grandinot 6-2. Planinsek and Aguiard’s doubles match against Alexandre Verlaguet and Matis Amier was ruled unfinished at 3-4 after the Crimson Tide had already taken the first two doubles matches to give the team a 1-0 lead.
Planinsek dominated his second singles match of the day, defeating Grandinot in two sets (6-1, 6-1).
“It’s good to be back at school,” Planinsek said. “I can do what I love the most here, and I’m just happy to be back.”
Jones continued his momentum on the day by defeating Verlaguet in two sets (6-0, 6-3), and then Zimnokh clinched the fourth point and the win for the Crimson Tide by defeating Mileusni in two sets (6-3, 6-1).
As a result of Alabama already clinching the win, the rest of the singles matches were ruled unfinished. Ponce De Leon was behind Amier (5-7, 2-1), Nezar was ahead of Roux (6-4, 4-3) and Aguiard and Obrul were back-and-forth (3-6, 6-3, 2-2).
“It was a great day,” Husack said. “Another season has started, which is always exciting.”
Alabama will stay at home in its next matchup, playing against VCU next Saturday at 9 a.m. CT.