March may only be seven days old, but the UCLA men’s tennis team didn’t wait long to let the madness begin. A day that began with fiery pregame chants was highlighted by a controversial gesture from senior Clay Thompson and ended in high drama at its scintillating best.
For a brief moment late Thursday afternoon, the team’s match against Virginia quite literally hung in the balance. As the sun’s rays began to illuminate the walls of the Los Angeles Tennis Center with a golden hue, the score was 3-1 UCLA. But the three remaining singles matches were locked in third-set tiebreakers. In this rematch of the 2013 NCAA championship — which the Bruins lost in heartbreaking fashion —victory was up for grabs until the closing seconds.
Thanks in large part to the play of junior Marcos Giron, the No. 3 Bruins (10-1) were not forced to play out the string. His 2-1 comeback victory over Virginia’s Alex Domijan allowed the team to clinch victory before things could get out of hand. Proving the importance of that win, No. 2 Virginia (9-2) won the other two tiebreakers shortly afterward, ending the match as a 4-3 Bruin victory.
Giron’s win came only minutes after Thompson’s victory on the adjacent court No. 1, one which saw Thompson’s opponent lividly protest a controversial call late in the match. The exchange prompted Thompson to face his opponent and slash his hand across his throat after winning match point. The gesture was one of many emotional ones on display on a day in which the Bruins took a step towards slaying the demons of their past.
“We were pretty lucky to get away with it, honestly,” said Thompson. “Almost every match came down to the wire, so it was a really great win. We did a great job to avenge that loss from last year, and that’s what we’re really excited about right now. This was a huge step in the right direction.”
Giron’s match was won in particularly grueling fashion, as he came back from a 1-0 deficit and won the last two sets on tiebreakers. In the third set’s breaker, Giron was up 4-3 when he double-faulted – giving his opponent a chance to claw back. However, he held strong in the next two points, going up 6-4 as the winning point unfolded.
Midway through that point, Domijan’s cracking inside-out forehand to Giron’s left forced the Bruin to hit a low, slicing backhand that barely crested the net. Domijan responded with a cross-court forehand that landed in the right service box. The shot was easy pickings for Giron. Dashing forward, he pounced, smashing a searing shot down the line to slam the door on Domijan and the Cavaliers.
“The minute (Domijan) hit that ball, I saw the opening. He’s not the quickest guy –he’s big – and he was out of position,” Giron said. “As soon as I hit that ball I knew I had a winner.”
His match was so pivotal in large part due to a surprising factor – strong doubles play. Doubles has been the Bruins’ biggest area of concern through the season, but it was the team’s strong suit on Thursday. Coach Billy Martin, after some prompting from the team’s captains, reshuffled the doubles teams, a move that had an immediate impact. UCLA’s victory in the doubles point proved crucial late in the match, and the team would very likely have lost without that one-point cushion.
“I guess (the captains) are smarter than I am,” Martin said jokingly, “and I’m glad they came to me. I was open-minded enough to try (the shuffle), and it worked out nicely for us. I guess it was really time for a change.”