No. 11 State Squeezes By No. 33 Alabama in Regular Season Finale

Sunday, April 13

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

1 p.m.

Mississippi State

Alabama

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

No. 11 State Squeezes By No. 33 Alabama in Regular Season Finale

April 13, 2025 | Men's Tennis

By: Peyton Burkhalter, Student Assistant

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 11 Mississippi State men's tennis team defeated the No. 33 Alabama Crimson Tide in a close battle that spanned over four hours.

No. 2 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez stayed undefeated for the entirety of the SEC regular season, notching another victory against No. 28 Damien Nezar and Andrii Zimnokh, 6-4. Even with their win, MSU lost the doubles point for the first time since January, but they came back with a vengeance in singles.

No. 61 Petar Jovanovic kicked off singles play with a W by defeating No. 76 Roan Jones, 6-1, 6-0. Right after Jovanovic finished, Hernandez Cortes beat Damien Nezar 6-0, 6-3, to give MSU the lead. No. 41 Sanchez Martinez earned his 10^th straight victory in singles with a huge win to keep the match alive over No. 14 Filip Planinsek, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Dusan Milanovic climbed back from one set down to clinch the match for Mississippi State, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(8).

Records
No. 11 Mississippi State (21-4, 11-3 SEC)
No. 33 Alabama (14-11, 4-10 SEC)

Match Notes

Mississippi State's win streak has now been extended to seven, all seven of them coming against ranked opponents.
They have now also surpassed their win total from last year by 2 by going 11-3 in the SEC, and have secured the No. 2 spot in the SEC tournament next week.
Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez now have 53 career doubles wins together with their win tonight, which is good for second-place all-time. They need four more doubles wins together to tie Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic for first place in school history.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have not lost in SEC doubles play yet. They are 12-0, and nine of their wins have been over ranked opponents inside the top 40. Their 12 game win streak is a career best for both players as well.
The duo also now have earned 15 ranked wins on the year, which is the most by a pair in the SEC.
Dusan Milanovic clinched the match for MSU once again this weekend, which marks his second straight match clinch. He came into the weekend with none on the season.
No. 41 Sanchez Martinez had his biggest ranked singles victory of his career today, downing No. 14 Filip Planinsek 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. This marks his 10^th singles victory in a row, which is a career-best for the German, and it extends his team-high ranked wins total to 11.
No. 61 Jovanovic is also on a roll in singles play, extending his streak to seven today with his win over No. 76 Roan Jones.
Bryan Hernandez Cortes continues to be a consistent player on line six, helping the Bulldogs win with a dominating 6-0, 6-3 victory over Damien Nezar.

Up Next
No. 11 MSU will be competing in the SEC tournament next week. Brackets will come out as soon as all teams finish their regular season schedule. Stay tuned for a release containing all of the bracket information.

Match Results
Doubles:
1. No. 2 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 28 Damien Nezar/Andrii Zimnokh (UA) 6-4
2. Zach Foster/Filip Planinsek (UA) def. No. 63 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) 6-1
3. Roan Jones/Matic Kriznek (UA) def. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) 7-6(2)
Order of finish: (2,1,3)

Singles:
1. No. 41 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 14 Filip Planinsek (UA) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
2. No. 61 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. No. 76 Roan Jones (UA) 6-1, 6-0
3. Andrii Zimnokh (UA) def. No. 96 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. Enzo Aguiard (UA) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(8)
5. Matic Kriznek (UA) def. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Bryan Hernandez Cortes (MSU) def. Damien Nezar (UA) 6-0, 6-3
Order of finish: (2,6,5,3,1,4)

For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.

– HailState.com –