No. 4 Demon Deacons Earn Hard-Fought, 4-3 Win Over Georgia

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Behind a sensational comeback from freshman Charlie Robertson on court four, the No. 4-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team downed Georgia, 4-3, Saturday afternoon at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center.

The Demon Deacons (8-0, 0-0 ACC) are now a combined 30-3 in singles and 16-2 in doubles to open the season. Saturday marked the first time this season Wake Forest conceded a singles court, but the Deacs have still taken all possible doubles points this campaign.

Robertson battled back from a 2-5 deficit with the match on the line in the third set to take down Rativ on court four and clinch the 11th-straight home win for the Deacs. It marked Robertson's first collegiate victory in his first-ever collegiate singles match.

Of note, the Demon Deacons are now an incredible 25-1 in Winston-Salem since the start of last season

Junior DK Suresh Ekambaram and graduate student Stefan Dostanic, both former ITA Doubles All-Americans, won their second match together this campaign as they took down Pena/Ratiu on court one, 6-4.

With the doubles point riding on the shoulders of Franco Capalbo and Ioannis Xilas on court three, the pair earned a clutch 6-4 victory over Blaydes/Sansano and sent Wake Forest into singles with the advantage.

In singles, Dostanic improved to 3-0 as a Demon Deacon with his second ranked win of the season as he defeated No. 17 Thomas Paulsell in dominant fashion (6-2, 6-2) on court one. Senior Luciano Tacchi shortly followed with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Freddy Blaydes on court six. Tacchi is now 5-0 in singles this campaign.

The Bulldogs took the first set on courts two, three, four and five, but Wake Forest refused to let up and forced a third set on three of the four courts, regaining control of the match until Robertson clinched on four.

Wake Forest has now won six-consecutive matches against Georgia dating back to 2017.

How It Happened

Capalbo/Xilas earned the match's first break to grab a 2-0 lead on court three.
Both teams fought to get on the front foot early with all three doubles courts tied at 2-2.
Georgia captured court two, but 6-4 victories from Suresh/Dostanic and Capalbo/Xilas gave the Deacs the doubles point and a 1-0 advantage.
In singles, the Demon Deacons went up a break early on courts one (Dostanic), four (Robertson) and six (Tacchi).
In dominant fashion, Tacchi was the first to take a first set (6-1) on court six, quickly followed by Dostanic (6-2) on court one.
Georgia took the first set on courts two, three, four and five.
Tacchi made it 2-0 in favor of the Deacs as he defeated Freddy Blaydes 6-1, 6-4 in sixth singles.
Not long after, Dostanic brought Wake Forest to within a court away from clinching the match as he downed No. 16 Thomas Paulsell, 6-2, 6-2 in first singles.
Georgia got on the board with a 6-1, 6-1 victory on court five.
Xilas forced a third set on court three with a 7-5 win in set two.
Robertson captured the tiebreaker on court four and was followed by Suresh forcing a third set just seconds later on court two.
Georgia grabbed their second point with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win on court three.
Georgia tied the match with a 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 victory on court two.
Trailing 2-5 in the third set, Robertson rallied to take the next five games and clinch the match for Wake Forest with a 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 victory on court four.

Singles Results
1. Stefan Dostanic (WFU) def. No. 16 Thomas Paulsell (UGA) 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 7 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) vs. No. 53 Ryan Colby (UGA) 6-7, 7-5, 4-6
3. No. 44 Miguel Perez Pena (UGA) def. No. 115 Ioannis Xilas (WFU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
4. Charlie Robertson (WFU) def. Niels Ratiu (UGA) 6-7, 7-6, 7-5
5. No. 125 Oscar Pinto Sansano (UGA) def. Luca Pow (WFU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Freddy Blaydes (UGA) 6-1, 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 6, 5, 3, 2, 4

Doubles Results
1. Suresh/Dostanic (WFU) def. Pena/Ratiu (UGA) 6-4
2. Colby/Paulsell (UGA) def. No. 4 Pow/Tacchi (WFU) 6-3
3. Capalbo/Xilas (WFU) def. Blaydes/Sansano (UGA) 6-4

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

From Coach Bresky
"That was a great matchup. Credit to Georgia, they played really well and we have a lot of respect for them and that program. We always have close matches with them. I think it was exactly what we needed. We've obviously gotten off to a great start to the year and won a lot of not-as-competitive matches. Today was great to get pushed that hard and obviously to have a freshman in that situation, in his first singles match ever, and come back from 5-2 down in the third is pretty incredible. I think it's a great learning experience for us and our team. Now we need to go eat well, recover, take care of bodies and get ready for a great Ohio State team coming in tomorrow. Excited for the opportunity." - Head coach Tony Bresky

Next Up
The Demon Deacons will return to the court tomorrow afternoon for a top-five clash against No. 3 Ohio State. The match is slated for 1 p.m. at the ITC.

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No. 4 Demon Deacons Earn Hard-Fought, 4-3 Win Over Georgia

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Franco Capalbo

Stefan Dostanic

Luca Pow

Charlie Robertson

DK Suresh Ekambaram

Luciano Tacchi

Ioannis Xilas

Wake Forest Athletics