When UCLA men’s tennis coach Billy Martin entered the Bruins’ first match of the season against Pepperdine on Tuesday afternoon, he wasn’t sure if his top player would be able to play singles after going through doubles.
However, not only did Harel Srugo take the court for his singles match, but the senior transfer from Old Dominion clinched the Bruins’ first victory of the season.
“I didn’t really know I had clinched the match,” said Srugo, who found out the overall score of the dual match from Martin once his single match was completed.
“The end was an incredible feeling. The crowd, the excitement, the cheering, it was all amazing.”
In a match that was on serve almost throughout, Srugo got a crucial break on No. 22 Andre Begemann’s serve in the third set, but then he was broken immediately.
“I said, “˜Man I’m going to have to break him again,'” Srugo said. “I wasn’t going to let go because I knew it was the third set, and anyone can win at that point.”
In the end, it was Srugo who pulled out the 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over Begemann.
The stage was set for Srugo by two other new faces, along with a seasoned veteran.
Freshmen Nick Meister and Holden Seguso took the courts of the Los Angeles Tennis Center for the first time since arriving in Westwood, and it showed during the doubles point, as both showed nerves.
But by the time singles play rolled around, the two freshmen had regained their composure, and both won in straight sets.
Seguso upset No. 73 James Lemke 7-5, 6-1, and Meister topped Brian Brogan 6-2, 7-6(4).
“The first set was first-set jitters and we didn’t really get to play these last four days because of the rain,” Seguso said. “I tried to break as fast as I could in the second set and take off, which happened.”
“It was kind of shocking at first, but then I settled in a little and I got up early in singles, and I sort of started to calm down and start to fight,” Meister said.
UCLA also got an impressive win at the No. 5 position from senior Jeremy Drean.
Drean, a 6-foot-1-inch senior, hit a forehand winner down the line on match point to put the short-handed Bruins within one match of pulling off the win.
After Meister captured the pivotal fourth point for the Bruins, senior Mathieu Dehaine completed a come-from-behind victory over No. 13 Bassam Beidas, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
The Bruins were playing without their No. 1 player, junior Haythem Abid, who is recovering from a surgery performed on his dominant left wrist.
Martin and his team will look to use the come-from-behind victory over the Waves as a confidence builder as the Bruins travel north to take on Pac-10 opponents Stanford and California this weekend.
“It’s a really good match for us,” Martin said. “Because losing this match might have put a little bit of doubt in our minds, but now we have some confidence.”