Alabama men’s tennis fell in a close 4-3 match to No. 21 Oklahoma on Sunday, moving to 11-9 on the season and 3-8 in SEC play.
Doubles started strong for the Crimson Tide, as Roan Jones and Matic Kriznik took a 6-1 victory over the Sooners’ Alejandro Melero and Asahi Harazaki.
Then Alabama quickly secured the doubles point when Damien Nezar and Andrii Zimnokh won 6-2 over Oklahoma’s Oscar Lacides and Bruno Nhavene. Due to the clinched doubles point, Filip Planinsek and Zach Foster’s match against Kholo Montsi and Luis Alvarez was ruled unfinished with Alabama’s duo up 5-3.
“Good start for us today as our focus, energy and purpose was so clear in doubles,” head coach George Husack said. “It was aggressive and relentless, something we preach daily.”
The Sooners got back on track at the beginning of singles, as Jordan Hasson defeated Nezar in two sets (6-2, 6-2), and then Montzi defeated Jones in two sets (6-2, 6-2).
Oklahoma stayed hot after that, as Orel Kimhi defeated Alabama’s Enzo Aguiard in two close sets (7-5, 6-4), going up 3-1 and being 1 point away from victory.
But Alabama wouldn’t go down without a fight. Planinsek defeated Lacides in three sets (6-4, 3-6, 6-3) to put the Crimson Tide back in the scoring column.
“Filip was challenged a lot today by a fearless player. It forced him to make some mental adjustments to overtake his opponent,” Husack said. “That’s why Filip has become such a good competitor.”
Shortly after, Krizik kept the momentum in Alabama’s favor as he emerged victorious in three sets (6-3, 1-6, 7-5) over Harazaki, tying it up at 3 and setting up a tiebreaking match.
In the tiebreaker, Alvarez beat Zimnokh in three sets (6-2, 6-7, 6-2) to secure the road victory for the Sooners.
“It wasn’t consistent enough across all six courts today,” Husack said about singles. “That cost us in the end. So, we all move onto another opportunity to respond to the situation before us.”
Alabama will now turn its attention to a rivalry match against Auburn on Thursday in Tuscaloosa, starting at 6 p.m. CT.
