University tennis player Marcos Verdasco knows a thing or two about world-class tennis. Back in his native country of Spain, he’s rubbed shoulders with two of Spain’s best tennis stars, both of whom are making a splash down under in the 2009 Australian Open.
Verdasco’s cousin is Fernando Verdasco, ranked No. 14 in the world, and the pro has made headlines in recent weeks because he’s fared very well in the first “grand slam” event of 2009. On Tuesday night Verdasco beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the semi-finals against none other then Spain’s golden child, No.-1 ranked Rafael Nadal.
Marcos also knows Nadal, being the same age as his countryman. He says that since an early age he’s played in the same events as him and gotten to know him a bit.
“I’ve played with him since I was 12,” the junior said. “He’s exactly my age so we went to a lot of the same tournaments. I never played against him, but he’s an unbelievable player. I traveled with (Fernando) a bit and I’ve gotten to know Nadal on tour.”
Marcos has used the experience this summer of working out with his cousin, and translated it into a newfound confidence here in Eugene. He’s playing in the top spot for the Ducks in singles, and through the first four matches he’s 5-5 overall.
In doubles, with partner Alex Cornelissen, Marcos is 6-2.
Nils Schyllander, the men’s tennis head coach, said that Marcos’ summer was just what he and the team needed.
“When you play against someone like (Marcos’ cousin) day in and day out, you can only get better,” Schyllander said. “He has also learned from his professionalism and learned how to take care of the little details.”
Schyllander hopes the rest of the team can learn from Verdasco’s newfound confidence. Last year, the team finished with an 11-14 record and an 0-7 mark in conference matches. Because the Ducks ended on a seven-match losing streak, they didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, something they have their sights on making this year.
“The goal is to get into the tournament,” Verdasco said. “Winning the conference is too big for us right now; we don’t even have a ranking. We have to go step by step. Last year we beat a few teams that made it to the tournament, but then we lost to a few bad teams. This year, we need to beat a few tough teams, and then not lose to the teams we should beat.”
But it’s not the non-conference matches that have Schyllander worried. The Pacific-10 Conference has five teams ranked in the top 25, with No. 4 UCLA at the top. He said that in order to make any run, the doubles play will have to be more consistent.
“Once you get into the Pac-10 it’s just brutal,” he said. “Week in and week out it’s very tough. We’ve been up and down a lot in doubles, and we are going to work on that this week, but our singles play has been very good. It’s been a big surprise.”
On the women’s side, senior Carmen Seremeta is trying to finish strong in her last year at Oregon. She’s 5-8 through the first full month of the season, leading the team at the No. 1 spot to a 3-0 overall record.
“My play has been getting better as I go along,” Seremeta said. “As a team, I’m pretty confident, though. With the freshmen we added, plus Pavlina (Smatova) and Claudia (Hirt) being able to always play doubles, I think we’ll be good. We will definitely be deep.”
Hirt is another senior, and between her, Seremeta and the third senior, Ana Cecilia Olivos, head coach Paul Reber expects them to lead the six underclassmen.
“Our three seniors should really step up and carry our team,” Reber said. “However, the thing about tennis is that we are a team sport and also an individual sport. We need everyone to step up, not just one or two players.”
Last year, the Ducks finished sixth in the Pac-10 with a 3-5 record, and they were 10-12 overall. Reber has set the goal of staying near the top teams again this year, and he hopes his team can knock off a few of the top squads in the country.
“For us, we have a goal staying in the top six in the conference,” Reber said. “The Pac-10 is extremely tough, and every year four or five teams are ranked in the top 25. I don’t think you can find another conference that is this strong top to bottom in the country.”
Building up to conference play, the Ducks travel to Little Rock, Ark., for the National Indoor Qualifiers this Friday and Saturday, then they come home for four matches in Eugene. Their first Pac-10 match is against Arizona on Feb. 27.
The men take their 3-1 record into two matches this weekend in Eugene against Idaho and Samford, before returning to action the following weekend against UC Santa Barbara and New Mexico.
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Daily Emerald
January 27, 2009
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