Baylor men’s tennis opens first round of NCAA singles championships

By Nate Maki | Sports Writer

Hosting the NCAA singles and doubles championships for the first time since 2015, Baylor men’s tennis sophomore Devin Badenhorst set the tone for the week, knocking off NC State junior Martin Borisiouk 6-4, 7-6 (7) in the first round at the Hurd Tennis Center on Monday. Senior Oskar Brostrom Poulsen’s first round match was highlighted by a between the legs shot, but he fell to Princeton junior Fnu Nidunjianzan in three sets, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

The inaugural fall tournament opened on Tuesday with 64 men and women competing in the first round of the singles portion of the champions. Wednesday, 32 men’s and women’s doubles teams will take the court as well as the second round of the tournament. Both Badenhorst and Brostrom Poulsen will be back in action on Wednesday to start doubles play, while Badenhorst will play in the second round of singles matches, too.

Brostrom Poulsen dropped the first set of his match, 6-3, and stayed firmly behind Nidunjianzan throughout. In the second set, Brostrom Poulsen found his first lead of the day at 3-2. When he got an inch, he took a mile, sweeping Nidunjianzan in the next game and extending his lead to 4-2. While the senior battled on the court, his teammates, including senior doubles partner Marko Miladinovic and head coach Michael Woodson, cheered him for after each point.

“I’m super proud of Oskar, he’s had a good fall,” Woodson said. “He’s always been very resilient. I know he’s going to use that experience to come back better in doubles tomorrow.”

Nidunjianzan managed to tie the second set 4-4, before Brostrom Poulsen responded by taking the next two games and eeking out the set 6-4. Brostrom Poulsen let out a battle cry with his teammates behind him and regrouped for the final set.

Early in the third set, Brostrom Poulsen sprinted up to the net for a ball out of his reach. He raced towards it and swatted it over the net, but Nidunjianzan quickly rallied the ball back to the baseline. Brostrom Poulsen chased after the ball and hit it through his legs for a clean trickshot point.

“It was one of the best shots I’ve ever seen,” head coach Michael Woodson said. “I actually don’t allow them to hit that kind of shot in practice, but it doesn’t surprise me that Oskar pulled it off. He’s one of the best athletes in college tennis.”

Brostrom Poulsen went on to lose the third set 6-3, allowing Nidunjianzan to advance to the second round, but the trickshot was dubbed the Shot of the Day by Cracked Racquets.

While Brostrom Poulsen was battling on court three, Badenhorst competed right beside him on court one. Badenhorst took a 4-2 in the first set behind well placed serves. Borisiouk kept him honest as Badenhorst’s lead was trimmed to 5-4 before the Bear closed out the set, 6-4.

“[Borisiouk] is a very tricky player,” Badenhorst said. “He kind of had stages where he did really well, and then some where he did not so well. He definitely put me under a lot of pressure.”

In the second set, Badenhorst fall behind after he was swept 40-0 by Borisiouk in the third game, putting Badenhorst down 2-1. He managed to bring it back, crediting his serve game, and found himself in the lead 4-2. At that point, Borisiouk crafted a comeback and forced a tiebreaker, 6-6.

“I was feeling kind of down,” Badenhorst said. “[Coach Woodson] told me to just keep swinging, stick to my own game, so that’s what I did and I’m very proud of my performance.”

Borisiouk took the lead in the tiebreaker at 5-3, but Badenhorst rallied back and tied the score at 7-7. He closed it out, taking the next two points and the match with it.

“It’s easy to get to five, but it’s hard to finish it,” Woodson said. “When you start thinking you’ve won the match, things can get very difficult. I think [Badenhorst] did a very good job of sticking to the rhythm of his serve, and that’s how he brought it back.”

The Bears will be back in action Wednesday, where Brostrom Poulsen and Miladinovic will play in the doubles draw, and Badenhorst will move on to the second round of singles and open doubles play with junior Zsombor Velcz. Service times will be announced before the day begins on the NCAA tournament website and Baylor men’s and women’s tennis twitter.