Minnesota junior Petr Satral covered the length of the baseline, lunged forward, and fired a forehand winner down the line to break a deadlock with No. 40 Minnesota and claim a 4-3 victory for the No. 75 Wisconsin men’s tennis team on Saturday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
The Badgers improved to 7-1 and earned their first win over the Gophers since 2010. It also marked the first time since 2008 that Wisconsin has won its conference opener. Meanwhile, Minnesota fell to 3-6.
As the rivalry kicked off with the doubles portion of the match, the Badgers took advantage of several unforced errors by the Gophers en route to a quick start. While the No. 2 team of Satral and freshman Alexander Kokorev won effortlessly over their Minnesota counterparts, Jack Hamburg and Brendan Ruddock, in an 8-2 decision, the No. 1 team of freshman Oskar Wikberg and senior Billy Bertha was unable to hold onto their 4-0 lead and fell 8-6 to Rok Bonin and Mathieu Froment. When the #3 Gophers’ team of Leandro Toledo and Eric Frueh staved off the pesky pair comprised of freshman Jakhongir Jalalov and senior Alexander Kostanov, 8-6, Minnesota had an early 1-0 lead.
Wikberg and Bertha became the main focus of the Nielsen spectators as they looked to bounce back from their tough doubles loss. However, neither was able to come through in their singles matches. Wikberg demonstrated flashes of the brilliance that has earned him the No. 1 distinction as a freshman, but his inexperience was also evident as he dropped a 6-2, 6-1 decision to the senior Bonin. At the No. 2 spot, Bertha lost in a competitive tiebreaker in his first set but could not keep it together in his second, losing 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 to Minnesota sophomore Toledo. Before the No. 2 match was completed, the Badgers rebounded and claimed two 6-4, 6-4 victories, first by Jalalov at No. 5 and then Kokorev at #6. This put the Gophers ahead 3-2 overall, leaving the No. 3 and No. 4 matches to decide the outcome.
With each match on opposite sides of the overhead balcony, fans turned back and forth to keep their eyes on all the action. The Badgers who had finished their matches joined the fans in cheering and applauding every point, creating an electric and intense atmosphere inside Nielsen. Kostanov completed his match first at No. 4, winning 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 over Hamburg. With the overall tally tied at three points apiece, it all came down to whether or not Satral could finalize his match at No. 3. When his line drive forehand sailed past Froment and landed in-bounds, the Badgers had collected a 4-3 win.
The competition returns to Nielsen Stadium next Sunday as the Badgers take on a No. 25 Notre Dame team fresh off a 7-0 defeat at the hands of No. 4 Ohio State.
