UCLA men’s tennis dominates singles to defeat USC

It’s almost become a routine for the UCLA men’s tennis team: Drop the doubles point,
then win almost every singles point to seal victory. It certainly seemed so after the team’s 5-2 home victory over USC on Tuesday, a win that was the
Bruins’ fourth in the five matches in which they have dropped the doubles point.

On Tuesday, the two halves of the match seemed like completely disparate affairs. After UCLA lost two doubles matches to go down 1-0, the match seemed to be headed down the same path as UCLA’s 4-3 loss to USC on Feb. 16. In that match, the Bruins clawed back to knot the score at 3-3 before junior Marcos Giron, the nation’s No. 5 singles player, lost the deciding point to Yannick Hanfmann to seal the match.

But not this day.

Playing before a home crowd, the Bruins came out of the halftime break breathing fire, winning six of six singles first sets. Giron, who drew a choice rematch against Hanfmann, led the pack, rapidly downing his opponent 6-3, 6-4. Giron’s serve was particularly strong – at one point he laced three searing aces in a row past Hanfmann.

“After I lost (to Hanfmann) last week, I really wanted to make sure I came out on fire today,” Giron said, “This time it felt a little different – I think the outdoor environment really gave me a little bit more time to work the ball some more and really take care of my serve.”

Up and down the lineup, the Bruins seemed to respond well to their return home. From freshmen Mackenzie McDonald and Gage Brymer – whose victories clinched the match – to senior Clay Thompson, the nationwide singles No. 1 player, the team showed no ill effects from its doubles loss.

“I think we responded really well after the dropped doubles point,” said coach Billy Martin. “We really came out and dominated on singles – you could tell by USC’s deflated body language how much we took their energy.”

Having to respond in the second half of matches has become all too familiar for the Bruins, and members of the team seem to have come to the realization that UCLA may just have to rely on winning singles matches from here on out. Both the coaching staff and the players admitted after the match that singles play – the team’s forte – will likely have to carry the Bruins until their doubles play comes around. However, the team does not seem too troubled about this reality.

“To be fair, we’ve been dropping the doubles point a lot this season, so we’ve kind of gotten used to it,” said redshirt sophomore Karue Sell. “Even though winning doubles would make our lives easier, we’ve got so much faith in our singles (play) that it takes a lot of the pressure off. We think we’ve got a legitimate shot to win every time we play.”