No. 9 Adachi and Sutjiadi Begin Season With Top-10 Win
MALIBU, Calif. – With the first day of
the inaugural Oracle/ITA Masters in the books, Mami Adachi and Aldila Sutjiadi,
ranked ninth nationally, are already establishing themselves as one of the top
doubles pairings in the country. The duo defeated the No. 8 ranked pairing of
Matea Cutura and Christine Maddox from Pepperdine in two sets, 6-4, 6-1, on
Friday night in the event.
“We are excited to see our players perform on
the big stage,” head coach Carlos Drada said. “We have a great group of ladies
and it is great to see Aldila and Mami represent their teammates in such a
quality manner. Being in the Final Four of the Oracle/ITA Masters is a great
momentum builder for the rest of our season.”
The pair from Pepperdine had an overall
doubles record of 15-4, 7-0 in conference, and 5-4 against nationally ranked
opponents last season. Cutura and Maddox finished one rank ahead of Adachi and
Sutjiadi the previous year at No. 25 after losing in the round of 16 in last
season’s NCAA Tournament.
After dropping the first
game in the first set, Sutjiadi slammed an overhead over the fence for the
first break of the match. The duo went on to take the next three games, making
it 3-1. Both of the previous two games went to deciding points with the servers
winning both. The Wildcats jumped out to a quick start in the sixth game, but
Maddox and Cutura battled back to tie the first set at 3-3.
From there, the teams would
trade breaks and Kentucky held a 4-3 lead in the first set. Once again, Adachi
and Sutjiadi broke serve to extend their lead to 5-3. Pepperdine took the ninth
game and Sutjiadi fought back from 40-15 to hold serve and claim the first set
of the 2015-16 season, 6-4.
After winning the first set,
the Wildcats took the break in the first game of the second and won the second
game as well. In the third, Adachi would hold and Sutjiadi hit a volley winner
to break at love giving them a 3-0 lead in the second set. The domination
continued as the Kentucky duo only lost one game and took the set, 6-1.
Sutjiadi had a forehand winner to win the match and start off the season with a
top-10 win.
“We are very happy to
represent UK in this prestigious event,” Sutjiadi said. “The semifinals will be
fun and we will do our best.” Adachi would add, “Aldila and I are proud to
start our season with this win. We are excited for the rest of this tournament
and the year.”
Adachi and Sutjiadi advance
to the semifinals, which will be played on Saturday night against the winner of
No. 3 California and Miami. Fans can follow live stats here.
Visit UKathletics.com for the most up-to-date information on
the Kentucky women’s tennis team and all 22 varsity sports. For additional
info, notes and behind-the-scenes updates, follow the team on Twitter at @UKWomensTennis and
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