Liam Draxl, Gabriel Diallo Advance to Singles Sweet 16
ORLANDO, Fla. – After another full day of NCAA Championship competition, the Kentucky Wildcats have two shots at a national title remaining.
Canadian sophomores Liam Draxl and Gabriel Diallo enthralled the Orlando crowd once again with back-to-back come-from-behind three-set thrillers to claim two of the 16 spots in the third round of the NCAA Singles Tournament.
Despite opening Monday’s deciding set on the wrong end of a 0-3 deficit, the No. 1 seeded Draxl rattled off six of the next seven games to defeat Notre Dame’s 36th-ranked Axel Nefve 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the USTA National Campus.
Just a few hours later, the 14th-ranked Diallo recovered from his own slow start for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 statement win over Tennessee’s No. 41 Martim Prata.
Both Wildcats are scheduled to continue their respective tournament runs on Tuesday at noon ET. Draxl will face No. 10 Adam Walton of Tennessee, while Diallo will take on No. 35 William Blumberg of North Carolina.
Diallo returned to the court on Monday evening alongside César Bourgois for the opening round of 32 in the NCAA Doubles Tournament. The sixth-ranked duo was upset 7-5, 7-5 by the 22nd-ranked Nefve and Tristan McCormick, a Fighting Irish pair the two Wildcats defeated 6-3 in a dual match on Jan. 31.
Diallo and Bourgois finish the season 14-10 overall and 7-6 against ranked opponents, which each win coming on the top doubles court.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter and Facebook, @kentuckymenstennis on Instagram, and on the web at UKAthletics.com.
