STANFORD, Calif. — For a moment, the match looked bleak for Pepperdine men's tennis freshman David Fix.
Staring down a 5-2 deficit in a third-set tiebreaker to decide the match, Fix persevered and rattled off five-straight points to clinch #25 Pepperdine's 4-3 win over #34 Alabama in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon. The freshman's 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over senior Damien Nezar capped off a thrilling, three-hour and 44-minute marathon at Stanford's Taube Tennis Pavilion, giving the Waves their fourth postseason win in the last five years.
Although the Waves (17-10) won the doubles point easily over the Crimson Tide (15-13) and took a big lead with straight-set wins from Lasse Poertner and Aleksa Pisaric, Pepperdine needed to fend off a furious Alabama comeback. Playing in their 13th 4-3 match of the season, the Crimson Tide battled back from a massive 3-1 deficit to tie the match with two three-set wins. Alabama needed to win three three-set matches to pull off the comeback, yet Fix quashed their hopes.
The result was the fourth NCAA Tournament win for Pepperdine Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle. Pepperdine will go for its first Super Regional appearance since 2013 against the 4-seed and host team Stanford tomorrow at noon.
Coming into the tournament, the first-round contest between Pepperdine and Alabama was one of the most exciting matchups on paper. Early on, it was easy to see why. On one hand, Alabama boasted spring 2024 NCAA Singles Champion Filip Planinsek, a veteran core and solid doubles play. Meanwhile, Pepperdine came into the NCAA Tournament with four freshmen in the starting lineup, a top-25 singles player in sophomore Edward Winter and a squad searching for its first postseason win in two years.
But Pepperdine landed the first punch in doubles play with two convincing wins at the second and third positions. The all-freshmen duo of Aleksa Pisaric and Lasse Poertner came through at the third position with a 6-3 win that was never in doubt. Pisaric and Poertner broke the Crimson Tide in the fourth game, then Pisaric served out the match in the ninth game to give Pepperdine a quick advantage in doubles play.
One court over, Pepperdine veterans Linus Carlsson Halldin and Maxi Homberg played in a back-and-forth match which saw both teams struggle to hold serve. The Waves and Crimson Tide traded breaks to start the match; the first three games needed deciding points, yet the Waves held serve in the third game for a 2-1 lead. However, Pepperdine broke Alabama in the fourth game and the Waves consolidated the break to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish. On yet another deciding point in the eighth game, Alabama saved a match point and held serve for a 5-3 lead before Carlsson Halldin served out the 6-3 win to clinch the doubles point.
Despite dropping the doubles point, Alabama had been in this situation before. The Crimson Tide ended up winning four first sets in singles, setting the stage for a long battle.
Yet just like they did in doubles play, Poertner and Pisaric helped lead the charge in singles. Playing at the third position, Poertner was the first player to finish his first set.
Facing off against Mathias Ponce de Leon — who was playing his first match in nearly a month due to injuries — Poertner looked sharper throughout the match and overpowered the Alabama senior. Poertner broke Ponce de Leon early, then held at deuce in the fourth game before breaking Ponce de Leon again for a 4-1 lead. The German freshman served out his 6-2 set, broke Ponce de Leon to start the second and didn't look back. Poertner blazed through his 6-2, 6-1 match, giving Pepperdine a 2-0 lead less than two hours into the match.
Over on court five, Pisaric was the other Wave to win his first set. The Serbian freshman went up a break on Matic Kriznik and consolidated the break for a 3-0 lead in the blink of an eye. Kriznik held on deuce point to get on the board, then the set was played on serve until Pisaric broke Kriznik at deuce in the eighth game for a 6-2, first-set win.
However, Kriznik raised his level in the second set. He broke Pisaric to start the set and went up 3-1, yet Pisaric came roaring back and won the next two games to put the match back on serve. With Pisaric serving in the ninth game, Kriznik went up 40-15, giving him three chances to break Pisaric and flip the match. Pisaric won the next two points to force a deciding point, then won a pivotal deuce point with a pair of forehands to go up 5-4. Never one to shy away from the moment, Pisaric broke Kriznik for the 6-2, 6-4 win, which fired up the Pepperdine bench and gave the Waves a 3-0 lead.
Alabama began its steep climb into the match with a straight-set win on court two. Pepperdine countered by pushing the remaining three matches to the third set. Right around the three-hour mark, the Crimson Tide began to seize momentum — first with Andrii Zimnokh's three-set win on court four, and then with No. 22 Filip Planinsek fighting off three break points early in his third set. Three hours into the match, Fix broke Damien Nezar for a 4-3 lead in his third set.
Momentum in a college tennis match is a fickle, fleeting thing.
The next ten minutes nearly spelled doom for Pepperdine. Nezar broke back to put the match back on serve. Planinsek went up a break in the sixth game. Nezar held on deuce point in the eighth game, then had four break points against Fix. Finally, Nezar broke Fix for a 5-4 lead. A first-round exit seemed imminent.
Nezar went back to serve with the match on his racquet. But Fix had other ideas.
Fix broke Nezar with a backhand winner that made Pepperdine's bench erupt. Both players held serve in their final service games to force the match to a third-set tiebreaker.
Alabama appeared to have the upper hand in the breaker, as Nezar won a mini-break right away before taking a 3-1 lead on a Fix double-fault. Yet Fix responded with an ace on the next point. With Nezar back behind the service line, Fix lunged to return the Alabama senior's serve, then was out of position for a forehand winner to make the score 4-2. Nezar took a 5-2 lead when Fix returned his serve long. The Crimson Tide could nearly taste the second round.
The next rally was the longest of the breaker up until that point. Staring down a huge deficit, Fix hung in the rally and snapped Nezar's 3-0 run when the Alabama senior's forehand leaked into the doubles alley. Fix went back to serve and popped five backhands on the ad side, went to his forehand and finished off the 15-hit rally to pull within one. Then Fix hit two forehands on the run to break Nezar. Unbelievably, Fix tied the score at 5-5.
Nezar went behind the service line one last time. On the eighth hit of the rally, Nezar returned a backhand from Fix just inside the doubles alley. 6-5 Fix.
After receiving instructions from Schaechterle, Fix served from the ad side. He hit one forehand and then went to his backhand twice before backpedaling to the ad side for one more forehand. Fix charged the net.
By the time he reached the service line, Nezar's passing shot flew past Fix and out of bounds. The freshman collapsed in front of his coach and the celebration commenced.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #22 Filip Planinsek (ALA) def. #21 Edward Winter (PEPP), 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3
2. #77 Roan Jones (ALA) def. #86 Maxi Homberg (PEPP), 6-4, 6-4
3. Lasse Poertner (PEPP) def. Matias Ponce de Leon (ALA), 6-2, 6-1
4. Andrii Zimnokh (ALA) def. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
5. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. Matic Kriznik (ALA), 6-2, 6-4
6. David Fix (PEPP) def. Damien Nezar (ALA), 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Order of finish: 3,5,2,4,1,6*
Doubles
1. #80 EdwardWinter/Hugh Winter (PEPP) vs. #14 Damien Nezar/Andrii Zimnokh (ALA), 5-6 unfinished
2. Maxi Homberg/Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) def. Enzo Aguiard/Matic Kriznik (ALA), 6-3
3. Lasse Poertner/Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. Matias Ponce de Leon/Carlos Gimenez Perez (ALA), 6-3
Order of finish: 3,2*
