WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 47 Purdue men's tennis (9-6, 1-5 Big Ten) suffered another tight loss against a ranked opponent as the Boilermakers fell 2-5 to No. 29 Michigan State (10-6, 5-1 Big Ten).
Junior Aleksa Krivokapic had himself a day, picking up a top-5 singles win vs. No. 5 nationally-ranked Ozan Baris, 6-4, 6-3, marking Krivokapic's highest ranked win of his career, the second top-12 singles victory this season in addition to the first time a Boilermaker has recorded a top-5 takedown since 2020 (last: #30 Athell Bennett def. No. 4 Sam Riffice of Florida, 6-2, 5-7, 10-8).
Krivokapic also secured a ranked win in doubles alongside teammate Juan David Velasquez, as the pair clinched Purdue's doubles point behind a 7-6 (7) tiebreak victory. The No. 2 position pair of Stefan Simeunovic and Daniel Labrador were the first to finish, picking up a quick 6-1 victory.
The doubles team point came down to the No. 1 position between Krivokapic / Velasquez vs. the No. 81 nationally-ranked Aristotelis Thanos / Ozan Baris. After Purdue got out to a fast 3-0 lead, Michigan State climbed its way back into the match, with the pairs going point-for-point with ties at 5-5, 6-6 before the Boilermakers pulled out the upset in the tiebreaker, 9-7. With the win, the duo of Krivokapic and Velasquez move to a 6-3 record this season, including the second top-87 win this season.
Up next, Purdue travels to Nebraska and Wisconsin next weekend in another Friday/Sunday matchup. First, Purdue will take on Nebraska on Friday at 5 p.m. ET followed by a trip to Wisconsin for a 3:30 p.m. Sunday start.
SINGLES
1. #104 Aleksa Krivokapic (PUR) def. #5 Ozan Baris (MSU): 6-4, 6-3
2. #22 Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) def. Juan David Velasquez (PUR): 6-7 (6), 7-5, 10-3
3. #79 Max Sheldon (MSU) def. Henrik Villanger (PUR): 7-6 (3), 6-3
4. #81 Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. Stefan Simeunovic (PUR): 6-3, 6-2
5. Vuk Radjenovic (MSU) def. Maj Premzl (PUR): 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
6. David Saye (MSU) def. Mujtaba Ali-Khan (PUR): 6-2, 6-2
DOUBLES
1. Aleksa Krivokapic / Juan David Velasquez (PUR) def. #81 Aristotelis Thanos / Ozan Baris (MSU): 7-6 (7)
2. Daniel Labrador / Stefan Simeunovic PUR) def. Danial Rakmatullayev / Taym Alazmeh (MSU): 6-1
3. Max Sheldon / Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) def. Maj Premzl / Henrik Villanger (PUR): 6-4
ORDER OF FINISH
Doubles: 2, 3, 1
Singles: 6, 4, 1, 3, 5, 2
Junior Aleksa Krivokapic had himself a day, picking up a top-5 singles win vs. No. 5 nationally-ranked Ozan Baris, 6-4, 6-3, marking Krivokapic's highest ranked win of his career, the second top-12 singles victory this season in addition to the first time a Boilermaker has recorded a top-5 takedown since 2020 (last: #30 Athell Bennett def. No. 4 Sam Riffice of Florida, 6-2, 5-7, 10-8).
Krivokapic also secured a ranked win in doubles alongside teammate Juan David Velasquez, as the pair clinched Purdue's doubles point behind a 7-6 (7) tiebreak victory. The No. 2 position pair of Stefan Simeunovic and Daniel Labrador were the first to finish, picking up a quick 6-1 victory.
The doubles team point came down to the No. 1 position between Krivokapic / Velasquez vs. the No. 81 nationally-ranked Aristotelis Thanos / Ozan Baris. After Purdue got out to a fast 3-0 lead, Michigan State climbed its way back into the match, with the pairs going point-for-point with ties at 5-5, 6-6 before the Boilermakers pulled out the upset in the tiebreaker, 9-7. With the win, the duo of Krivokapic and Velasquez move to a 6-3 record this season, including the second top-87 win this season.
Up next, Purdue travels to Nebraska and Wisconsin next weekend in another Friday/Sunday matchup. First, Purdue will take on Nebraska on Friday at 5 p.m. ET followed by a trip to Wisconsin for a 3:30 p.m. Sunday start.
SINGLES
1. #104 Aleksa Krivokapic (PUR) def. #5 Ozan Baris (MSU): 6-4, 6-3
2. #22 Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) def. Juan David Velasquez (PUR): 6-7 (6), 7-5, 10-3
3. #79 Max Sheldon (MSU) def. Henrik Villanger (PUR): 7-6 (3), 6-3
4. #81 Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. Stefan Simeunovic (PUR): 6-3, 6-2
5. Vuk Radjenovic (MSU) def. Maj Premzl (PUR): 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
6. David Saye (MSU) def. Mujtaba Ali-Khan (PUR): 6-2, 6-2
DOUBLES
1. Aleksa Krivokapic / Juan David Velasquez (PUR) def. #81 Aristotelis Thanos / Ozan Baris (MSU): 7-6 (7)
2. Daniel Labrador / Stefan Simeunovic PUR) def. Danial Rakmatullayev / Taym Alazmeh (MSU): 6-1
3. Max Sheldon / Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) def. Maj Premzl / Henrik Villanger (PUR): 6-4
ORDER OF FINISH
Doubles: 2, 3, 1
Singles: 6, 4, 1, 3, 5, 2