May 23, 2008

Arnau Brugues (Tulsa)

Steven Moneke (Ohio State) def. Arnau Brugues (Tulsa) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
Talk about the match . . .
"It was a tough match. It was a really long one. I didn't play as good as I wanted to. I fought hard. He played really well today. I had my chances in the first set when I was up 4-1. I was playing with the wind, and then going to the other side against the wind it's hard to win games. I didn't play as good as I wanted to."

The wind seemed to pick up during the match . . .
"It started to pick up. The wind wasn't a factor. I was just missing easy balls that I usually don't miss, and that's what happens. At this level when you miss balls you shouldn't, the other guy beats you."

Is it really tough to follow-up and play well after you had a great match yesterday?
"Yes. It's difficult. You have different players and different conditions. You have to adapt every day. Games like Steven's was different than the guy I played yesterday. It was a tough match. He's a really good player. He was ranked No. 1 in the nation last year. I tried to do the best I could."

You had several aces and then you double-faulted a couple times. Was that a love-hate relationship?
"I don't hit a lot of aces, but I don't double-fault. I double-faulted a lot today. I usually don't do it and I usually don't get a lot of aces."

He kind of grinded it out and kept some balls in play in the third set . . .
"You try hit side to side, then when you see the guy getting every ball after three hours play, that surprises you. With that said, I have to give a lot of credit to him."

What does it mean to play here and be an All-American?
"It means a lot. I'm very happy for being an All-American again, but I obviously wanted more, because I think I can go farther in a tournament like this. At the start of the tournament, I wanted to be an All-American, honestly. But as you keep playing you want to go as far as you can, but it didn't happen."

#1 Somdev Devvarman (Virginia)

#1 Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) def. Erling Tveit (Mississippi), 6-3. 6-1
On the match...
"I thought I played pretty well today. Obliviously through this whole tournament my serving has been my strength and I have returned really well. I have been putting a lot of pressure on their return games, that was pretty much my game plan today."

Talk about your possible opponents in the next round, Robert Farah or Denes Lukacs?
"Well I have played (Denes) Lukacs before. His game is very good and he is playing really well, he beat one of my teammates earlier. Robert (Farah) has had a great season also; he made the finals of Polo All-American the last time he was in Tulsa. They are both pretty tough opponents, I'm sure they are going to have a battle out there. I am ready for either one."

Talk about your doubles match this afternoon?
"We play Texas A&M (Austin Krajicek and Conor Pollack). They played a good doubles match against Pepperdine (Altmann/Begemann) yesterday. It looks like they are playing well and are pretty confident, but so are we. I am looking forward to the doubles match this evening."

#3 Oleksandr Nedovyesov (Oklahoma State)

#9-16 Andre Begemann (Pepperdine) def. #3 Oleksandr Nedovyesov (Oklahoma State), 6-3, 7-5
On the match...
"First of all, I want to say congratulations to Andre. He is a really good player. He played really, really well today. His serve was amazing. I expected to serve better today, but I served really, really bad. I gave him a couple of chances to get close up to the net and play some volleys. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."

On having played Begemann previously...
"Yes, we played once last year at the All-American tournament and I won. He's a serve and volley, and tries to get close to the net. He has very, very good volleys. He's just serve and volley, serve and volley."

Andre Begemann (Pepperdine)

Andre Begemann (Pepperdine) def. #3 Oleksandr Nedovyesov (Oklahoma State), 6-3, 7-5
On the match . . .
"I played him before. I played him last fall and lost 2, 3, and didn't make the best effort, so going into the match I knew I'd have to be really aggressive and really intense, especially with my game of serve and volley. I think I got off to a good start. I always pressured him with my serve and volley game. I was able to break him twice, and that was enough to win the match."

Oleksandr said you're a good serve and volley player . . .
"Serve and volley is my strength, and I think everyone knows that by now. It could have been my last match and I just wanted to leave my heart on the court. If I can play like that I think I have a good chance of going far in the tournament."

He had you three break points to start the match, was that a big lift for you?
"That was a really big lift. He hit some really good returns, and I was a little nervous right from the start. I'm just happy I won the first game. It's always important. I was actually thinking if I should maybe let him start serving because last time I got broken too. I think I just believe in myself today."

#4 Travis Helgeson (Georgia)

Bassam Beidas (Pepperdine) def. #4 Travis Helgeson (Georgia), 6-1, 6-4
On playing seven matches in eight days...
"It was tough because he (Bassam Beidas) played well and he ran me and I just didn't have the legs under me. It's tough to keep grinding out there when your legs aren't really there. Once your legs go everything else kind of goes. It was too bad, but back to work."

Bassam Beidas (Pepperdine)

Bassam Beidas (Pepperdine) def. #4 Travis Helgeson (Georgia), 6-1, 6-4
On the match and playing Helgeson a week ago...
"The first time he (Travis Helgeson) knew my game, so I guess it was much easier for me. The second time coming in, I knew he would really want to get revenge, and if he loses he has no more matches because he was a senior. I knew I had to be even more fired up than last time; I just stayed tough throughout, no matter what happened. I made him play a lot of balls. I think both of us were a bit tired from yesterday, so I tried to show more energy on the outside than him. He was trying to jerk me around, but I tried to bounce around a lot and act as if I wasn't tired."

Tulsa Men's Tennis

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