State’s Rakic Reaches Birmingham Futures Main Draw

Monday, October 29

Birmingham, Ala.

All Day

Mississippi State

USTA Futures

Strahinja Rakic won four straight matches en route to reaching the main draw of the 2018 USTA Birmingham Futures.

Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics

State’s Rakic Reaches Birmingham Futures Main Draw

October 29, 2018 | Men's Tennis

2018 USTA Birmingham Futures HQ

by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – All four members of the Mississippi State men's tennis team playing in singles qualifying in the Players Choice Open, a USTA Futures event, notched wins over the weekend, including one reaching the main draw.

State senior Strahinja Rakic notched four hard-fought victories, including a three-set comeback win in Monday's final round to punch his ticket to the singles main draw at Highland Park Tennis Center. Rakic battled back from down a set to defeat two-time NCAA Division II champion Kiranpal Pannu.

En route to reaching the main draw, Rakic defeated a fellow Southeastern Conference foe in Florida's McClain Kessler in his third-round bout.

MSU sophomore Florian Broska also saw success in Birmingham, reaching the third round of qualifying with a pair of straight-set victories. Bulldog rookie Gregor Ramskogler and senior Trevor Foshey both reached the second round with straight-set triumphs in the first round.

Rakic will face Lucas Renard of Sweden (ATP 1104) in the first round of the 32-player singles main draw on Tuesday after the 10 a.m. CT match.

In addition to the Bulldog Rakic, the main draw features eight current players from five other SEC programs, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.

Borges Reaches Final Round Of Qualifying At Charlottesville Challenger

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – In his second ATP Challenger Tour tournament of the fall, MSU All-American Nuno Borges notched a pair of stellar victories en route to reaching the final round of singles qualifying at the Charlottesville (Virginia) Challenger.

In his first-round match, Borges made quick work of former NCAA No. 1 Martin Redlicki, downing the former UCLA Bruin and 2018 NCAA singles semifinalist 6-2, 6-4—the same score as the last meeting between the two in the semifinals of the 2017 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.

Borges then went on to defeat the highest-ranked opponent he has ever beaten, ousting top-seeded Jan Choinski (ATP 271) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in his second-round contest on Sunday.

In Monday's third round, Borges dropped a tough 6-3, 7-6(3) decision to former All-American Lloyd Glasspool (ATP 453). Despite the loss, the two-time All-American Borges still has a chance to reach the singles main draw as a lucky loser on Tuesday.

For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

MSU at the 2018 USTA Birmingham Futures
October 26-29, 2018 – Birmingham, Alabama (Highland Park Tennis Center)

Singles Qualifying Draw
First Round – Florian Broska (MSU) def. Aleksandar Petrovic 6-2, 6-0; Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Andrew Garman 6-1, 6-3; Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Murkel Dellien 6-3, 6-3; Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Juan Ignacio Batalla Diez [11] 7-5, 6-4

Second Round – Broska (MSU) def. Andrea Caligiana 6-4, 6-4; Simon Baudry def. Foshey (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; Rakic (MSU) def. Marko Ilic 6-2, 6-3; Preston Touliatos def. Ramskogler (MSU) 7-5, 6-4

Third Round – Oscar Mesquida Berg def. Broska (MSU) 6-1, 6-3; Rakic (MSU) def. McClain Kessler 7-6(7), 6-2

Fourth Round – Rakic (MSU) def. Kiranpal Pannu 1-6, 6-1, 6-4

MSU at the 2018 ATP Charlottesville Challenger
October 27-29, 2018 – Charlottesville, Virginia (Boar's Head Sports Club – Indoors)

Singles Qualifying Draw
First Round – Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Martin Redlicki 6-2, 6-4
Second Round – Borges (MSU) def. Jan Choinski [1] 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Third Round – Lloyd Glasspool def. Borges (MSU) 6-3, 7-6(3)

Tournament seeding in brackets.