Best show in town: Kentucky men's tennis can't stop winning

Calling one, calling all. Kentucky men’s tennis very well may be the hottest show in Lexington.

It truly is time to stock up on tickets because the No. 6 Wildcats are on a tremendous run. Sunday, Kentucky knocked off No. 12 Mississippi State, 4-3. While a top-15 win goes a long way — this being Kentucky’s third top-15 dub of the season — the current winning streak may be even more impressive.

The ‘Cats move to 19-2 (7-1) on the year after the victory over the Bulldogs. UK has now rattled off seven-consecutive wins, all of them coming in SEC play. While a perfect road record sure does help, the Wildcats have also made Lexington a fortress as of late. I suppose everywhere is a fortress when you’ve won your last seven matches.

Kentucky picked up right where they left off on Friday evening when they swept Ole Miss. Doubles play has been working like a charm for the Wildcats and they made sure to keep the momentum going as the first serve got underway in Lexington. The ‘Cats have another streak going in doubles and it looks to have a direct relationship with their overall win streak.

Never trailing

It’s a doubles domination!

Kentucky picked up a crucial doubles point to open the match. The No. 1 pairing of Taha Baadi and Alafia Ayeni cruised to a 6-2 win, their six-straight victory when paired together. Kentucky’s No. 2 pairing of Joshua Lapadat and JJ Mercer was defeated in one set, which would shift all eyes to court three where the point would be decided.

Liam Draxl and Jaden Weekes battled to a 7-6 (5) win. Draxl rifled a return back to cement a 1-0 lead for the Wildcats. That’s seven straight doubles points secured for UK.

Seven straight doubles points won in seven-straight victories. Coincidence? I think not.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑🇨🇦

😼1, 🐶0

1⃣No. 25 Ayeni/Baadi✅6-2
2⃣No. 38 Lapadat/Mercer❌5-7
3⃣Draxl/Weekes✅7-6 (5)

📊 https://t.co/4wtwBU3xlw
📺 https://t.co/tDCni6raVJ#WeAreUK | #UKRising pic.twitter.com/WHdQt0ec0g

— Kentucky Men's Tennis (@UKMensTennis) March 26, 2023

The Freshman Frenchman, Charlelie Cosnet, was next on the board for Kentucky. Cosnet flew out to a first-set victory 6-2, and then just dominated the second set 6-1. The straight-set victory gave the ‘Cats a commanding 2-0 lead over the Bulldogs.

Credit to Mississippi State, which erased the deficit quickly. Weekes and Ayeni both fell in straight sets and just like that it was 2-2 at the Boone Tennis Center. Give Kentucky even more credit though because they stormed to take the lead back.

It was none other than Liam Draxl who put the Wildcats up 3-2. The Canadian won two massive sets 6-3, 6-2 and Kentucky was one point away from extending its win streak. Additionally, Lapadat wasn’t going to leave the Boone Center without earning himself a victory on the day. He avenged the doubles loss with a straight-set dub that clinched the match for UK.

𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐇. 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑.

😼4, 🐶2
1⃣No. 22 Draxl✅6-3, 6-2
2⃣No. 27 Ayeni❌6-7 (5), 2-6
3⃣No. 44 Lapadat⬆️6-3, 4-3
4⃣Baadi↔️6-1, 4-6, 3-3
5⃣Weekes❌3-6, 2-6
6⃣Cosnet✅6-2, 6-1

📊 https://t.co/4wtwBU3xlw
📺 https://t.co/tDCni6raVJ#WeAreUK pic.twitter.com/7LKe9ei6aC

— Kentucky Men's Tennis (@UKMensTennis) March 26, 2023

All of the singles matches that Kentucky won on Sunday were in straight sets. We talked about efficiency in the match vs. Ole Miss, but this was another level of it. Both squads ended up playing out the final singles contest which featured Baadi, who fell in three sets, finalizing the score at 4-3 for the Wildcats.

A perfect 2-0 weekend at home came to a close for Kentucky.

Road warriors

Why should anyone be worried about road matches that concern this Kentucky team? Well, the next two will be extremely important to the SEC standings. The ‘Cats travel to No. 7 Georgia and No. 20 Tennessee next week in hopes of keeping the rackets hot and the winning streak hotter.

Georgia currently sits in first place in the SEC, so that Friday showdown between the ‘Cats and ‘Dawgs just got spicier. Georgia is 12-5 (6-0) on the year and is the only squad in the conference with an unblemished SEC record. We’ve got a marquee match between the top teams in the SEC slated for Friday. Something’s got to give, right?

After Georgia, Tennessee waits for Kentucky in Knoxville. What a weekend for SEC tennis. We’ll see if the road-perfect ‘Cats keep the outstanding play going. The best show in town, ladies and gentlemen.