No. 49 Kentucky Wins at No. 17 Alabama in 4-3 Comeback
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After picking up its first league win at home last weekend, No. 49 Kentucky earned its first Southeastern Conference road victory with a 4-3 upset of No. 17 Alabama on Friday. The Wildcats improve their overall record to 11-5 and move to 2-1 in conference play.
With the match knotted 3-3, Kento Yamada willed his team to victory in a three-set clincher on the last court for his ninth singles win of the season.
The evening began with the pair of César Bourgois and Liam Draxl defeating Patrick Kaukovalta and Alexey Nesterov 6-3 in doubles play, but the opening point ultimately went to the Crimson Tide after the duos of Kevin Huempfner and Alexandre LeBlanc and Gabriel Diallo and Millen Hurrion fell to their opponents each by scores of 6-4.
Alabama extended its lead to 2-0 after Diallo was defeated by Kaukovalta, 6-2, 6-2. The 83rd-ranked LeBlanc gave Kentucky its first point by defeateing Nesterov 7-6(3), 6-2. The Cats’ comeback effort further materialized when Hurrion defeated Alabama’s Zhe Zhou 6-2, 6-4 and tied the match at 2.
Kentucky earned its third point of the competition when Bourgois defeated Riccardo Roberto in three sets, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3. However, the lead was short-lived once Bama answered with 74th-ranked senior Edson Ortiz’s three-set defeat of Draxl, a freshman, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the top singles slot.
The match came down to Yamada versus Jeremy Gschwendtner, which the junior from Kobe, Japan, won in 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 fashion.
“I can’t say how proud I am of the boys tonight,” said assistant coach Matthew Gordon. “To come back on the road after losing the doubles point says a lot about the character of this team. As for Kento, he really stepped up when we needed him. Coming from a set down and a break in the third shows a lot of heart. I still don’t think we are playing our best tennis, but we competed well, and I think we deserved the win against a good Alabama team.”
Kentucky is set to travel to Auburn to finish its two-match road stretch on Sunday. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter and Facebook, @kentuckymenstennis on Instagram, and follow along on the web at UKAthletics.com.
#49 Kentucky 4, #17 Alabama 3
Singles
1. #74 Edson Ortiz (UA) def. Liam Draxl (UK) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
2. Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Zhe Zhou (UA) 6-2, 6-4
3. César Bourgois (UK) def. Riccardo Roberto (UA) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
4. Patrick Kaukovalta (UA) def. Gabriel Diallo (UK) 6-2, 6-2
5. #83 Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) def. Alexey Nesterov (UA) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
6. Kento Yamada (UK) def. Jeremy Gschwendtner (UA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Doubles
1. César Bourgois/Liam Draxl (UK) def. Patrick Kaukovalta/Alexey Nesterov (UA) 6-3
2. Edson Ortiz/Marcelo Sepulveda (UA) def. Gabriel Diallo/Millen Hurrion (UK) 6-4
3. Riccardo Roberto/Zhe Zhou (UA) def. Kevin Huempfner/Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,5,2,3,1,6)
