The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Arizona State
No. 1 Men’s Tennis tops No. 18 Arizona State, 6-1
01.19.2025 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns collected their first ranked win of the year and moved to 4-0 this season.
Austin – No. 1 Texas Men's Tennis topped No. 18 Arizona State, 6-1, at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center on Sunday. It was the Longhorns' first win over a ranked opponent and moved them to 4-0 this season.
Although the Sun Devils took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1, the Longhorns responded with victories from freshman Timo Legout at No. 1, sophomore No. 116 Lucas Brown at No. 6, senior Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 3, junior No. 20 Jonah Braswell at No. 4 for the clinch, freshman Oliver Ojakaar at No. 5, and junior No. 2 Sebastian Gorzny at No. 2.
Following doubles, Legout got things going quickly in his dual match singles debut with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Bor Artnak to give Texas a 1-1 tie. After Artnak held in the opening game, Legout swept the next 12 for the win, taking two deuce points in the first set for 4-1 and 6-1, while no games reached deuce in the second. The win was especially impressive for Legout with Artnak currently No. 424 in the ATP singles rankings and holding a career high of 373.
Brown was next off the singles court with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Matic Dimic, which gave Texas the overall lead, 2-1. The players exchanged breaks to open the match starting with Brown, but following that, Brown went on a 4-0 run for a 5-1 lead. Dimic got one game back on serve, but Brown then closed it on his serve, 6-2. Dimic held on the match's only deuce point to start the second set, however Brown again went on a run, this time of five games, to equal the 5-1 score of the first set. Again, the players each held in the next two games for the final.
Bailly then extended the Texas lead to 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Nicola Cigna. After Cigna broke and held on a deuce point to start with a 2-0 lead, Bailly set out on a 5-0 run. Cigna pulled within one with a deuce-point break and a hold, but Bailly also held to take the set. In the second, it was Bailly who moved in front with a 2-0 lead by earning a deuce-point break and a hold. The next four games were also held for a 4-2 lead for Bailly, who then broke again and served out the match.
The clinch was then provided by Braswell on No. 4 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Constantinos Koshis. The first three games were all breaks starting with Braswell, who then snapped the streak with a hold for a 3-1 lead. Following a hold by Koshis for 3-2, Braswell also held on the match's only deuce point, starting a 6-0 run for the set and to establish a 3-0 lead in the second. Koshis took the next two games to pull within 3-2, but like the first set, Braswell closed on a 3-0 run from there.
The teams then played out the match with Ojakaar finishing first after that with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Daniel Phillips. It was Phillips who broke first and then held for a 2-0 lead, and although the next game went to deuce, Ojakaar was able to hold. Three games later, it was Phillips who held on a deuce point for a 4-2 lead, but Ojakaar began a 6-0 run to take the set and post a 2-0 lead in the second. The last of those was on a deuce-point break, but Phillips answered with one of his own and then held for 2-2. The next three games were also holds, including a deuce point win for Phillips for 3-3, but the final three games were all breaks, starting with two at deuce for 5-3 and 5-4 before Ojakaar broke for the win.
The left the only three-set match of the day where Gorzny downed Mathis Bondaz, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Gorzny was the only Longhorn to start a match with a 2-0 lead, which he did with a break and hold. He then broke again for a 4-1 lead, which was the first of four-straight breaks that left him with a 5-3 advantage. Bondaz stopped the string with a deuce-point hold on what was also a set point for Gorzny, but Gorzny then took the set in the next game on his serve. In the second set, it was Bondaz who broke first for 3-1 and then consolidated for 4-1 on a deuce point. Gorzny then held for 4-2, but Bondaz held and broke for the set. The third set began just like the second with a deuce-point hold for Bondaz and hold for Gorzny, but this time Gorzny broke for 2-1 and then consolidated on a deuce point for 3-1. Bondaz followed with his own deuce-point hold with those two games being the first of five straight holds until Gorzny broke again for the match and the 6-1 final.
Earlier in doubles, Philips and Povey defeated Gorzny and Bailly, 6-1, at No. 2. Back-to-back deuce-point wins for the Sun Devils in the second and third games helped them establish a 3-0 lead. The Longhorns then held for 3-1, but Arizona State took the next three games for the win.
Ojakaar and Eriksson then evened the doubles point with a with a 6-2 win over Cigna and Koshis at No.3. That match saw its first three games go to deuce, all in favor of the Longhorns and including two breaks, as they held in the next game for a 4-0 lead. The rest of the match was then on serve to the Texas win.
That left it to No. 1 where, the No. 7 duo of Legout and Brown came up just short against Dimic and Artnak, 7-5. The match stayed on serve all the way to 5-5 when the Sun Devils broke on a deuce point and held serve again for the win. The only other deuce point of the match was a hold for Arizona State for 2-2.
Texas next will host the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday, Jan. 25, and Sunday, Jan 26, at the Texas Tennis Center. The Longhorns will open against Rice on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT, and then play either Arkansas or Georgia Tech on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
#1 Texas 6, #18 Arizona State 1
Singles – Order of Finish (1,6,3,4,5,2)
1. Timo Legout (TEX) def. Bor Artnak (ASU) 6-1, 6-0
2. #2 Sebastian Gorzny (TEX) def. Mathis Bondaz (ASU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
3. Pierre-Yves Bailly (TEX) def. Nicola Cigna (ASU) 6-4, 6-2
4. #20 Jonah Braswell (TEX) def. Constantinos Koshis (ASU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Oliver Ojakaar (TEX) def. Daniel Phillips (ASU) 6-4, 6-4
6. #116 Lucas Brown (TEX) def. Matic Dimic (ASU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,3,1)
1. Bor Artnak/Matic Dimic (ASU) def. #7 Timo Legout/Lucas Brown (TEX) 7-5
2. Daniel Phillips/Tanner Povey (ASU) def. Pierre-Yves Bailly/Sebastian Gorzny (TEX) 6-1
3. Oliver Ojakaar/Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) def. Constantinos Koshis/Nicola Cigna (ASU) 6-2
Players Mentioned
