TULSA, OKLA. ? Senior Dalibor Pavic (Adelaide, Australia) and junior Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel) continued to make a name for Drake men's tennis at the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championships on Tuesday (Oct. 2) as the pair went 3-1 in combined singles/doubles matches and stand one singles and one doubles victory away from reaching the main draw of one of the premier events in collegiate tennis.
Pavic began the day off for the Bulldogs in style, registering a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Phillip Eilers of Indiana. A day earlier, Eilers, Indiana's top singles player, defeated 62nd-ranked Roy Sichel of Charlotte.
“I'm very happy with the win today,” Pavic said. “I played good in the first set and slowed down in the second but I was able to hold serve after break. Eilers is very talented and to get a win over a guy like that is great for my confidence.
Pavic is one victory shy of qualifying for the main singles draw. If he does so, it would mark the second consecutive year that a Bulldog has accomplished the feat after Sergi Vila emerged from the pre-qualifying draw in 2006 to reach the final 64.
Pavic will face 81st-rated Ralph Knupfer of Rice at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 3). The pair has a history, as Knupfer dealt Pavic a 6-4, 6-0 setback on Feb. 2, 2007 in Minneapolis, Minn. The loss was one of only two suffered by Pavic during his entire junior season.
“Dado (Pavic) is playing some of the best tennis of his career,” Drake head coach Chase Hodges said. “Today he beat a high-level guy and played flawless. He is moving good and serving the ball extremely well and he is playing with confidence knowing that as a senior this is his last chance to play in such a prestigious event.”
Leading 2-0 in the first set of his contest with Philip Therp of UC Santa Barbara, junior Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel) was beset by an abdominal injury which forced him to adjust his game, even serving underhand, and he was unable to recover in a 6-2, 6-1 setback.
“I know it was frustrating for Maor (Zirkin) today with the injury,” Hodges commented. “It was a learning experience and he will have another opportunity next year to play in this event.”
While he may have been knocked from singles competition, Zirkin was able to recover enough to compete in doubles action in the afternoon session.
The No. 35 doubles tandem grinded out an 8-5 decision over Jakub Dybala and Kyle McDonald of Montana State. The duo then faced Marcus Echtler and Filip Kricka of Stetson in second round action in the evening session and responded with 8-4 victory.
They next face the doubles pair of Alex Lacroix and Nestor Briceno from Florida at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 3). A win propels Pavic and Zirkin into the round of 64.
“It was great doubles today for us as our first match was very business like, while the second was outstanding tennis,” Hodges stated. “Both Dado (Pavic) and Maor (Zirkin) played with intensity. It is never easy to play two matches in a day but the guys stayed focused and got it done.”
