With the first outdoor home match of the season, the 8-5 Wisconsin men’s tennis team abolished the final two opponents of its non-conference schedule, defeating both the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Illinois at Chicago on Saturday, 7-0, in a rarely scheduled double-header largely thanks to the consistent play of Alexander Kostanov and Alex Robels.
Junior transfer Kostanov’s play was especially encouraging for UW, as he overpowered Whitewater’s Byron Balkin 6-0, 7-6 in his first singles match of the day, which was only his third match at the No. 1 position.
Kostanov found himself in an early 1-3 hole in the second set tiebreak, but he was able to win the last six points of the break, which included big serving and a return ace, to finish off his first singles opponent of the day.
“I was pretty confident, because I know I am better than this guy, so finally I think my experience gave me this tiebreak,” Kostanov said.
It took the Russia native five singles matches to earn his first victory, but he has won three of his last five efforts.
Kostanov also emerged victorious in his doubles match, as he and sophomore Petr Satral dominated in an 8-3 win over Andrew Bayliss and Mitch Osborne of UW-Whitewater.
Although the crowd at the Nielson Tennis Stadium was undoubtedly in favor of the Warhawks, Kostanov did not succumb to the pressure of the Whitewater supporters.
“A huge crowd came here, and unfortunately most of them are cheering UW-Whitewater,” Kostanov said. “But I am a junior, so I am used to it.”
Kostanov competed in both matches in the battle with UIC, as he grinded out a 7-6, 6-3 victory against a sharp opponent.
Assistant coach Joe Bates was encouraged to see the 6-foot-4 junior perform well in tough spots.
“To see him pull the win out in a tight situation gives him a lot of confidence going into Michigan,” Bates said.
Sophomore Robles was one of four players to compete in all four matches on Saturday. While Robles is a regular in the doubles lineup, he was granted an opportunity to participate in singles due to the injuries to junior captain Billy Bertha and freshman Quinton Vega.
Bates commented that Robles has gained momentum throughout the season in both doubles and singles.
“He’s been really developing well and he’s playing a lot of doubles pretty much consistently in the lineup, so he’s gaining a ton of experience and confidence playing the doubles, so I think he’s translating into the singles really well,” Bates said.
The Florida native was dominant in both of his singles matches, defeating Mitch Osborne of UW-Whitewater 6-1, 6-4 and crushing UIC’s Nate Kirk 6-1, 6-2. Robles owns an unblemished 4-0 singles record on the season and is 6-3 in doubles.
The sophomore said his serving and consistent groundstrokes gave him an edge.
“I was serving pretty good; I served a lot better my second match,” Robles said. “I returned a lot better in my second match also. I wasn’t missing as many balls. I was playing a lot more consistent during my second match especially because it was a little bit windy. Instead of risking too many shots and going for the lines, I just tried to play the ball deep and keep it in.”
Although the team’s weekend opponents were weak, the Badgers will be depending on the continued success of Kostanov and Robles as they head into the central portion of the conference schedule. Wisconsin’s next matchup is a home contest with a confident Michigan squad, which is currently riding a four-match winning streak. The Wolverines most recently shut out Michigan State 7-0.
Bates is assured that Wisconsin will not be fazed by the current success of Michigan after trouncing Whitewater and UIC without dropping a set.
“The best part was that we won every match,” Bates said. “Just taking the wins into this weekend with Michigan and Michigan State is what we need.”
