Florida men’s tennis had another spectacular showing on Friday at the ITA/D’Novo All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., hosted by the University of Tulsa.
For the second time in the tournament, senior Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) rallied after dropping the first set to claim a three-set victory. In Friday’s Round of 16 win over Tennessee’s No. 21 Rhyne Williams, Lacroix demonstrated considerable poise in winning the second and third sets both via tiebreaker, including a 9-7 third-set tiebreak to take the match.
The ninth-ranked Lacroix will appear in the quarterfinals of the national tournament for the second consecutive year, after also reaching the quarters in 2009. His opponent Saturday will be highly-regarded Virginia freshman Alex Domijan, who advanced to the quarterfinals on the power of a straight-sets win over the No. 2-ranked singles player in the nation, Duke’s Henrique Cunha.
For the second time in as many days, Lacroix was not content to rest upon his singles success, as he teamed up with junior Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) in Round of 16 doubles action. The duo topped the seventh-rated Tennessee pair of Williams and John-Patrick Smith, 8-4, in the Round of 16 before taking out Virginia’s Domijan and Jarmere Jenkins, 8-6, in the quarterfinals.
That pair of wins sets up Lacroix and Slilam with a national semifinal showdown in the doubles draw with Ohio State’s Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola on Saturday.
ITA All-American Championships
Tulsa, Okla.
Friday, Oct. 8, Results – Florida Only
Singles Main Draw
Round of 16
(9) Alexandre Lacroix (UF) def. (21) Rhyne Williams (Tennessee) – 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7)
Doubles Main Draw
Round of 16
(20) Lacroix/Slilam (UF) def. (7) Smith/Williams (Tennessee) – 8-4
Quarterfinals
(20) Lacroix/Slilam (UF) def. (49) Domijan/Jenkins (Virginia) – 8-6
Saturday, Oct. 9, Scheduled Matches – Florida Only
Singles Main Draw
Quarterfinals
(9) Alexandre Lacroix (UF) vs. Alex Domijan (Virginia)
Doubles Main Draw
Semifinals
(20) Lacroix/Slilam (UF) vs. (19) Buchanan/Rola (Ohio State)
