Spartans in action in three different events around the world.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State men's tennis wrapped up its opening weekend action after a solid start to the season in action not only across the country but around the world.
Davis Cup
Junior Aristotelis Thanos represented his home country of Greece in the Davis Cup Tie this weekend in Belgrade, Serbia, taking on Serbia, including World No. 4 Novak Djokovic, at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, Serbia.
Thanos lost to Miomir Kecmanovic, 3-6, 3-6, in Match 1 in singles action. The Spartan then paired with Petros Tsitsipas, ranked No. 77 in the ATP doubles ranking and, the younger brother of Stefanos Tsitsipas, currently ranked No. 12 in the world.
Thanos and P. Tsitsipas were topped by Djokovic and Hamad Medjedovic, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6 in Match 3, as Serbia won the Davis Cup Tie, 3-1, and will compete in the 2025 Davis Cup matches leading to the Finals, while Greeces slides to World Group I action.
Battle In The Bay Tournament
In San Francisco, California, junior Ozan Baris had a great start on the weekend. He defeated his first two competitors. In his third match of the weekend, Baris fought hard but could not find the fire to win the match falling 1-6, 6-4, [3-6].
Freshman Matthew Forbes was ready to continue his fight after a great run at the US Open juniors. In his first singles match he fell to TCU's Lui Maxted 2-6, 2-1.
In the doubles match, Baris and Forbes were matched up against San Diego's Klaassen and Danilov. The Spartan pair defeated them 8-7, [7-3]. They moved on to play against UC Berkeley's Chang and Wright, winning 8-7, 7-2. In the semifinals they took on the split team of MSU freshman teammate Danial Rakhmatullayev and TCU's Duncan Chan. Baris and Forbes fell, 8-5, to end their time in the tournament.
Rakhmatullayev started out his time in California with a singles match against UC Berkeley's Alex Chang. Rakhmatullayev fought hard but could not finish the match with a win, falling 4-6, 3-6.
Paired up with TCU's Duncan Chan, Rakhmatullayev and Chan had a good run in the doubles tournament. They won three-straight matches in a row to give them a chance in the finals. They took on UC Berkeley's Dean and Overbeck. The pair left it all out on the court but fell, 8-6, to grab second place in the tournament.
Louisville Invite
Freshman Mitchell Sheldon had a good start to his collegiate debut with Michigan State at the Louisville Invite this weekend in Louisville, Kentucky. After losing his first match of the weekend, Sheldon came back fighting and won his next two matches on Saturday. In his final match on Sunday, he continued his fight but after a tough match he fell 5-7, 6-2 [7-10].
Sheldon was also paired up with Bellarmine's Diego Martinez in a mixed-school doubles team. They competed in two doubles matches this weekend. First they took on Eastern Kentucky's Stahlbrand and Parhar winning 8-7 [9-7]. The second match was against Belmount's Woodson and Mizerski, losing 4-8 to finish up their time in the doubles tournament.
Up Next
The Spartans will head to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the M15 Fayetteville tournament on Sept. 16-19.
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
