CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Swarthmore College's
Michael Melnikov continued his run at the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championship on Sunday, grabbing a victory in the quarterfinals to move into the final four.
Melnikov defeated Denison University's Kael Shah in comeback fashion, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Already reaching a new peak with his quarterfinals appearance, the Garnet senior got payback for Saturday's doubles loss to Shah and became the first Swarthmore player to advance to the national semifinals in singles since Hall of Famer Shep Davidson in 1986.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Melnikov earned a break to start the match and that propelled him to a 4-1 lead in the opening set. However, Shah recovered and rallied to win five straight games, three of them against serve, to steal the set 6-4.
- Melnikov broke Shah's serve again to begin the second set and rode the momentum to a 5-1 advantage. Shah held serve to make it 5-2 before winning the first two points on Melnikov's serve. However, the Garnet standout bounced back to take four consecutive points and win the set, 6-2.
- For the third straight set, Melnikov opened with a break of serve before holding his own for a 2-0 edge. The two players alternated games until Melnikov led 4-2. Melnikov looked to take control with another break but Shah answered with a break of his own and a hold to cut the deficit to 5-4 and put the pressure on Melnikov. Serving for the match, the Swarthmore senior fell behind 30-0 but rebounded for three points in a row to get to match point. Shah stayed alive and brought it to deuce point, where Melnikov finally put away his foe and secured the victory, 6-4.
UP NEXT
Melnikov battles Amherst College's Andreas Sillaste in the semifinals on Monday with play beginning at 10 a.m.
