No. 11 Harvard Men’s Tennis Battles Past Middle Tennessee, Sweeps Weekend Competition

In a weekend that featured dominant victories over Memphis and Quinnipiac, a packed Murr Center witnessed a three hour battle on Sunday afternoon as No. 11 Harvard fought past a talented and unrelenting No. 36 Middle Tennessee State squad, 4-2.

Featuring four intense three-set singles matches and a heroic effort from junior Melchior Delloye, razor-thin margins on deuce points ultimately propelled the Crimson to victory. The showdown between the perennial NCAA tournament contenders solidified the team’s standing as a force to be reckoned with as the outdoor season approaches.

Opening doubles action, junior Masato Perera and freshman Benjamin Privara, the 18th-ranked team in the nation, quickly struck first with a break of serve. However, their advantage wouldn’t last long as the Blue Raiders’ consistency and lack of unforced errors quickly gave their opponents a decisive 6-2 victory.

Just as the court one match was wrapping up, seniors Daniel Milavsky and David Lins — who jumped out to a lead with an early break of their own — held serve the entire set, securing a 6-4 victory.

As the Crimson evened up the tally at one, all eyes darted towards the third court, where things stood even at 4-4 between the junior tandem of Delloye and Valdemar Pape and Middle Tennessee’s Rostislav Halfinger and Shu Matsuoka.

Battling from a break down, the juniors overcame several unforced errors to score a break of their own. Returning serve at four games apiece, Pape blistered a down-the-line backhand past the net player, giving Harvard a 15-0 advantage as the crowd erupted. A string of high quality points featuring a balanced attack earned the Crimson a break, putting the match — and doubles point — on Pape’s racquet.

“We're two tall guys who have great serves,” said Delloye. “There's no reason why we can't provide the goods in the tight moments.”

In his service game, Pape didn’t miss a beat. At 15 all, the Dane dialed up a flat ace down the T, inching the team towards the finish line. Two more unreturnable serves gave Harvard the edge it needed to secure the doubles point — its 11th on the season — as play shifted to singles.

In the second hour of the contest, things looked good for the Crimson as it won the first set of singles on courts one, two, four, and six.

Freshman Mitchell Lee, stepping into the court and dictating points with his inside-out and inside-in forehands, extended the lead to 2-0 as he closed out his match 6-2, 6-3.

Similarly, Milavsky pushed his opponent over with strong, overpowering forehands and a smooth touch at the net. The 21st-ranked singles player in the nation put Harvard just one point away from victory with a 7-6(6), 6-3 victory.

“He’s been an amazing senior captain,” said Head Coach Andrew Rueb ’95. “His maturity, his composure. I mean, he's really one of the top players in all of college tennis.”

The four remaining courts featured tight matches in which the players split the first two sets. All the Crimson needed was one domino to fall to secure its weekend sweep.

On court three, after battling back from behind a set, sophomore Rohan Murali fell victim to a controversial line call in the opening game, ultimately falling behind a break and dropping the set, narrowing the gap to 3-1. Similarly, the speedy Perera fell behind early in his deciding set and was unable to recover, falling to Matsuoka.

With the score standing at 3-2 in Harvard’s favor, Delloye and Pape found themselves in a similar situation: fighting to clinch the deciding point. As Pape started to fall behind in the third set, the coaches, fans, and players alike started to focus in on Delloye’s court, where the match would likely be decided.

“It was definitely a physical match, especially in the third set. We stepped up our game at the same time. In the first and second set, we were both serving well and coming to net and playing more attacking tennis,” said Delloye.

In back-and-forth rallies that often eclipsed 20 shots, Delloye utilized his precise down the line backhands to facilitate opportunities to be aggressive and approach the net. Controlling these points, he was able to hold serve throughout the set.

“We both were matching each other. So I just wanted to be a little bit more aggressive and hit a little bit harder, and commit to my game a little bit more than him,” added Delloye.

At 5-3 in the third, Delloye served for the match in comfortable form. The energized team cheered in celebration after every point that ended in the junior’s favor. Finally, as he clinched the match, the Murr Center’s dedicated fans gave the star of the match a long ovation.

The victory should provide confidence for the team as it prepares for its spring break swing in Southern California.

“You got to bring your A game, otherwise people will take it from you,” said Rueb. “Melchior’s finish there was spectacular.”

Now, the team shifts its focus to the outdoor tennis season and starts a road trip that includes a challenge against No. 7 University of San Diego.

– Staff Writer Praveen Kumar can be reached at praveen.kumar@thecrimson.com