The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Arkansas
No. 4 Men’s Tennis defeats No. 36 Arkansas, 4-1
03.21.2025 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns began their two-match road swing with a win in Fayetteville and moved to 7-0 in the SEC.
Fayetteville, Ark. – No. 4 Texas Men's Tennis defeated No. 36 Arkansas, 4-1, on Friday at the Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville. The Longhorns moved to 7-0 in the SEC and 16-3 overall.
After Texas took the doubles point with a win at No. 1 and a tiebreaker victory at No. 2, the Longhorns secured singles wins from freshmen Evan Burnett at No. 6 and Timo Legout at No. 1. Arkansas then won at No. 2 before sophomore Lucas Brown clinched the match at No. 5.
Texas began doubles with a 6-2 win by the No. 8 duo of Legout and Brown over No. 48 Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba at No. 1. The Longhorns broke first for a 3-1 lead and consolidated it for 4-1 before later claiming the only other break of the match to win.
Arkansas evened doubles as the pair of senior Pierre-Yves Bailly and freshman Sebastian Eriksson fell to Brendan Boland and Marino Jakic, 6-4, at No. 3. After both teams held, starting with Texas, three-straight games went to deuce. The last of those proved to be the only break of the match for a 3-2 lead for the Razorbacks that they did not relinquish.
That left it to No. 2 where juniors Sebastian Gorzny and Jonah Braswell combined for a 7-6 (5) win over Bozo Barun and Benni Emesz. With Arkansas serving first, the match stayed on serve the entire way to the tiebreaker. The Razorbacks served first in that, as well, and held on the opening point. The teams alternated points from there up to 3-3 when the Longhorns grabbed their second straight for a 4-3 lead. Both teams the held both of their next two serves starting with Arkansas, but with Texas leading, 6-5, the Longhorns came up with the mini-break they needed to capture the match.
With both Bailly and freshman Oliver Ojakaar out of the singles lineup, Burnett moved in at No. 6 and made the most of his opportunity with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Jean-Baptiste Badon. Burnett actually trailed, 2-0 and 5-1, in the first set, losing three straight deuce points to get to that 5-1 deficit. However, from there, it was all Burnett as he won 10 straight games and 12 of the last 13 to take the match. That included four deuce points, three of which came in the first four games of the second set as he took a 4-0 lead.
Legout was next off the court with a 6-2, 7-6 (7) win over Barun to extend the overall lead to 3-0. The first four games were on serve, including the last of those that started a 5-0 run for Legout to the set win. In the second set, Legout broke first on a deuce point for a 2-1 lead that he consolidated for 3-1. Barun responded with a 3-0 run that included a deuce-point break for 3-3 on the way to a 4-3 lead. Two games later, Legout broke again and had a chance to serve out the match, but Barun deflected two match points to break back. Barun then held on another deuce point, but Legout also held, sending it to a tiebreaker. In the breaker, the players exchanged 4-0 runs starting with Legout. They then alternated points starting with Legout all the way to an 8-7 lead for him when Barun double faulted to provide the final point for Legout's win.
The lone point for Arkansas came as No. 13 Gorzny was downed by No. 80 Lukas Palovic in three sets, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1, at No. 2. Gorzny controlled the first half of the match, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before Palovic broke on a deuce point for 4-1. However, Gorzny broke right back and served out the set. In the second, Gorzny broke first for a 2-1 lead that he consolidated for 3-1 on a deuce point. Leading, 4-2, Gorzny had another break chance on a deuce point, but Palovic was able to hold to stay within 4-3 and then broke for 4-4. However, Gorzny broke back and had an opportunity to serve for the match, but Palovic stayed alive with a break and began an 8-0 run to claim the set and a 5-0 lead in the third. That included three deuce points, which were for a 6-5 lead in the second set, along with 2-0 and 5-0 advantages in the third set on the way to the 6-1 win.
That turned the attention for Texas to No. 5 where Lucas Brown came through with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Arthur Bellegy to clinch. Brown moved out to leads of 3-0 and 5-1 in the first set, and although Bellegy got back within 5-4 on a deuce-point hold, Brown served out the set in the next game. In the second, Brown broke first for a 3-2 lead on a deuce point and held for 4-2, but Bellegy went on a 3-0 run to take the lead, including a deuce-point break that had evened it, 4-4. However, Brown broke again to regain a 6-5 lead and served out from there for the win.
That left two matches unfinished, starting with No. 53 Braswell trailing, but on serve in a third set against Vrba, 3-6, 6-3, 1-2 at No. 3. Vrba opened with a deuce-point hold and break for a 2-0 lead, but Braswell broke back and held for 2-2. Vrba then went on a 3-0 run, and after Braswell held in the next game, Vrba served out on a deuce point. In the second, it was Braswell who broke first for a 3-1 lead, which started a string of three-straight breaks. Braswell snapped that for a 5-2 lead, and the last three games were on serve to give the set to Braswell, including a deuce-point hold for Vrba. The third set also stayed on serve with Vrba taking a 2-1 lead on a deuce point just before play stopped.
Eriksson was leading the other match for Texas, 7-5, 3-6, 3-2, over Emesz at No. 4. Eriksson took a 3-0 lead on the strength of a deuce-point break in the second game, but Emesz answered the run. The next five games were then on serve until Eriksson broke for the set. In the second, Eriksson's first two service games went to deuce with him losing the first and winning the second, but Emesz moved out to a 5-1 lead. Eriksson got two games back for 5-3, but Emesz broke on a deuce point to take the set. Eriksson had just picked up the first break of the third set for a 3-2 lead when play halted.
The Longhorns will complete their two-match road swing at LSU on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT.
#4 Texas 4, #36 Arkansas 1
Singles – Order of Finish (6,1,2,5)
1. #3 Timo Legout (TEX) def. Bozo Barun (ARKM) 6-2, 7-6 (7)
2. #80 Lukas Palovic (ARKM) def. #19 Sebastian Gorzny (TEX) 1-6, 7-5, 6-1
3. Jakub Vrba (ARKM) vs. #53 Jonah Braswell (TEX) 6-3, 3-6, 2-1, unf.
4. Benni Emesz (ARKM) vs. Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) 5-7, 6-3, 2-3, unf.
5. Lucas Brown (TEX) def. Arthur Bellegy (ARKM) 6-4, 7-5
6. Evan Burnett (TEX) def. Jean-Baptiste Badon (ARKM) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,3,2)
1. #8 Lucas Brown/Timo Legout (TEX) def. #48 Connor Smillie/Jakub Vrba (ARKM) 6-2
2. Jonah Braswell/Sebastian Gorzny (TEX) def. Bozo Barun/Benni Emesz (ARKM) 7-6 (5)
3. Brendan Boland/Marino Jakic (ARKM) def. Pierre-Yves Bailly/Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) 6-4
Players Mentioned
