Oct. 27, 2013
Tournament Central | @PurdueMT
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Two Purdue men's tennis players advanced into finals matches at the Big Ten Singles Championships Sunday at the Schwartz Tennis Center. Seniors Mark Kovacs and Aaron Dujovne each won a pair of matches to qualify for the Singles Main and Consolation Draw finals, respectively. Title matches will be contested Monday at 8:15 a.m. ET.
In the quarterfinals, Kovacs jumped out early taking the first set from Michigan's Alex Buzzi, 6-2. They played to 2-1 before the Wolverine retired from the match to hand the Boilermaker a spot in the semifinals against John Patrick Mullane of Michigan State. Kovacs held off Mullane in a first-set tiebreaker, winning 7-6 (5). He separated himself in the second set for a 6-4 victory. The Budapest, Hungary, native owns a record of 8-3, including five consecutive wins in the tournament. He will collide with second-seeded Dimitrji Tasic of Indiana in the finals.
Dujovne (8-3) continued his grind through the Consolation Singles Draw with three scheduled matches. In the Round of 16, he won in straight sets against Iowa's Dominic Patrick, 6-2, 6-2. The Santiago, Chile, native then received a default from Ruben Weber of Minnesota to move into the semifinals to face Indiana's Elliott Yee. Dujovne jumped out to an early lead in the first set and held on for a 6-4 victory. He mirrored that score in the second set to clinch a spot in the finals and will put his six-match winning streak on the line against Indiana's Daniel Bednzrxzyk.
Playing in the Singles Consolation Draw Round of 16, Mateus Silva and Diego Acostaeach had to rally with their backs against the wall, but were unable to gain the advantage and fell in high-scoring tiebreakers. Silva dropped the opening set to Nika Dolidze of Penn State, 4-6, and answered in the second set, 6-3, to force the tiebreaker. The Nittany Lion edged Silva 10-7 in the breaker. Silva is now 6-4 in his sophomore fall campaign.
Iowa's Andrews Estenssoro and Acosta exchanged wins in the first (6-3) and second (6-4) sets, respectively, to force the decisive tiebreaker. They went back and forth until the Hawkeye gained a two-point advantage to defeat the junior Boilermaker, 13-11. Acosta's fall record stands at 6-5 heading into the final tournament of the season.
Updated draws can be found here and real-time results from the Schwartz Tennis Center can be found through @PurdueMT.
Singles Main Draw
Quarterfinals
(9) Mark Kovacs (Purdue) def. Alex Buzzi (Michigan), 6-2, 2-1 Ret.
Semifinals
(9) Mark Kovacs (Purdue) def. John Patrick Mullane (Michigan State), 7-6 (5), 6-4
Singles Consolation Draw
Round of 16
Nika Dolidze (Penn State) def. Mateus Silva (Purdue), 4-6, 6-3, 10-7
Andres Estenssoro (Iowa) def. Diego Acosta (Purdue), 3-6, 6-4, 13-11
Aaron Dujovne (Purdue) def. Dominic Patrick (Iowa), 6-2, 6-2
Quarterfinals
Aaron Dujovne (Purdue) def. Ruben Weber (Minnesota), Default
Semifinals
Aaron Dujovne (Purdue) def. Elliott Yee (Indiana), 6-4, 6-4