Grevelius Clinches Bulldogs’ Win At Alabama

Friday, March 12

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6:00 p.m. (5 CT)

University of Georgia

Alabama

Georgia tennis player Erik Grevelius, Georgia tennis player Baptiste Anselmo during a match against Mississippi State at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (Photo by Chamberlain Smith)

Photo by: Chamberlain Smith

March 12, 2021 | Men's Tennis

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After dropping the doubles point at Alabama on Friday night, the No. 20-ranked Georgia men's tennis team picked up four singles wins — Erik Grevelius provided the clincher at No. 6 — and a hard-fought victory over the Crimson Tide, 4-3, at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.

"Our guys fought really well today," Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz said. "Alabama played great in doubles and put us in a hole. It was good to see our guys respond. We needed to win a close, tough match like tonight. I'm proud of our guys."

After the teams split the first two doubles matches, with Georgia's Bully Rowe and Blake Croyder beating Gabriel Diaz Freire and Zhe Zhou, 6-2 at No. 2, and Alabama's Patrick Kaukovalta and Riccardo Roberto defeating Trent Bryde and Tyler Zink, 6-3, at No. 1, the doubles point came down to the match at No. 3. Georgia's Philip Henning and Grevelius and the Tide's Alexey Nesterov and Edson Ortiz were level at 6-6 and headed into a tiebreaker, where Alabama (10-6, 2-4) got up early and pulled away, winning it 7-1.

Down 1-0, Georgia (7-4, 2-4 SEC) got right to work in singles, taking the first set in five of the six matches. Alabama's only first set came at No. 2, where Ortiz was able to produce a straight-set, 6-3, 6-3 win over Zink, putting the Tide ahead 2-0 in the match.

Bryde produced the first win of the night for the Bulldogs, beating Zhou 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 singles. Henning tied the match 2-2 with his 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 win over Kaukovalta at No. 3. Georgia took the lead 3-2 with Croyder's hard-fought three-set win at No. 4, beating Roberto 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4). Croyder never trailed in the tiebreaker and won it on his second match point, when Roberto missed a backhand wide.

A few minutes after Croyder put the Bulldogs in front, Grevelius clinched the win for Georgia with his victory at No. 6. After failing to convert a couple of match points in the second set, including a couple in the tiebreaker, Grevelius took charge early in the third against Alexey Nesterov, winning the first four games. He closed out the match at 40-all on his serve, ending it with a volley winner for a 6-3, 6-7 (8-10), 6-2 victory.

With the Bulldog win already secured, Rowe and Freire battled on in the third set of their match at No. 5. Rowe got behind 3-0 in the deciding set before rallying and drawing even at 4-4. Freire then captured the final to games to earn the win, making the final score 4-3 Bulldogs.

Georgia resumes its Alabama road swing on Sunday at Auburn. For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the team on Twitter (@UGATennis) and Instagram (@ugatennis).

Results
No. 20 Georgia 4, Alabama 3

Doubles
1. Patrick Kaukovalta/Riccardo Roberto (UA) def. Trent Bryde/Tyler Zink (UGA), 6-3
2. Billy Rowe/Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Gabriel Diaz Freire/Zhe Zhou (UA), 6-2
3. Alexey Nesterov/Edson Ortiz (UA) def. Philip Henning/Erik Grevelius (UGA), 7-6 (7-1)

Singles
1. Trent Bryde (UGA) def. Zhe Zhou (UA), 6-3, 6-2
2. Edson Ortiz (UA) def. Tyler Zink (UGA), 6-3, 6-3
3. Philip Henning (UGA) def. Patrick Kaukovalta (UA), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
4. Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Riccardo Roberto (UA), 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Gabriel Diaz Freire (UA) def. Billy Rowe (UGA), 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
6. Erik Grevelius (UGA) def. Alexey Nesterov (UA), 6-3, 6-7 (8-10), 6-2

Order of Finish
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Singles: 2, 1, 3, 4, 6, 5