Freshman Evan Zhu looks to be valuable asset to men’s tennis
Freshman Evan Zhu made his debut against Grand Canyon on Wednesday afternoon. He won his singles match in three sets and his doubles match with junior Martin Redlicki 6-2. (Courtesy of Don Liebig/ASUCLA)
By Hanson Wang
Jan. 19, 2017 10:53 p.m.
Twelve days.
That’s how long Evan Zhu spent on campus before he played No. 1 doubles and No. 3 singles in UCLA men’s tennis’ season-opening win over Grand Canyon.
The freshman also barely practiced with his doubles partner, junior Martin Redlicki, before Wednesday.
“We practiced some doubles (Tuesday), but that was the first time,” Zhu said. “It definitely feels like there’s some pressure, but you feel more like you’ve got a great partner. He’s got your back and you try to get his.”
[Related: UCLA sweeps Grand Canyon in season-opening dual match]
The last time coach Billy Martin played a freshman on the top doubles court and the third singles court was in 2014 with Mackenzie McDonald – who eventually won both the NCAA singles and doubles titles as a junior.
Zhu was ranked No. 1 in Boys’ 16s in 2014 and was tennisrecruiting.net’s No. 53 recruit in the class of 2016. Martin said he thinks the freshman will be a spark plug in both lineups going forward.
“He’s our Lonzo Ball,” Martin said. “I have very high expectations – I felt that for maybe the last six months, knowing that he was gonna be a big part of our team in both singles and doubles. He also played No. 1 doubles with Marty, so yes, he will have to take on a lot as a freshman, but I think he’s looking forward to that and capable of doing that.”
Zhu’s only preseason tuneup for UCLA was at last weekend’s Sherwood Collegiate Cup, where he reached the singles semifinals before falling to Baylor’s Max Tchoutakian in three sets.
[Related: Bruins deliver strong performance at weekend tournaments]
And although Zhu and senior Joe Di Giulio lost in the first round of doubles, Martin noticed a detail that led to pairing Zhu with Redlicki against Grand Canyon.
“(Zhu) likes the backhand court in doubles,” Martin said. “Marty really likes the forehand court, so right there’s a possibility, and I just felt like it could be a combination. We’ll have to try different things out as the beginning of the season goes, but they seemed to have pretty good chemistry out there.”
Martin’s premonition was right, as Zhu and Redlicki cruised 6-2 against the Lopes. In singles, however, the freshman labored through the first set, dropping it 6-3, before rallying for a three-set victory. Afterward, he admitted to Martin that his shaky play was partly due to nervousness.
“He even admitted to being pretty nervous during the match,” Martin said. “But you know, he hung in there, got better as the match went along, won the tiebreaker to win the second set and then won the super tiebreaker pretty convincingly. I know he’s glad to get that match under his belt and it’s kind of what I hoped to accomplish with this first match.”
For now, Martin said the Irvine native will stay at No. 3 in the pecking order behind senior Gage Brymer and Redlicki. Zhu said he was surprised to be in that slot, but he’s already approaching each match like a veteran.
“Wherever (Martin) puts you, you just try to perform and contribute to the team,” Zhu said. “Every spot’s one point so you just try to get that point for your team.”
