Kentucky men's tennis opens SEC Tournament with statement victory over Alabama

No. 5 Kentucky men’s tennis is on to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament after demolishing Alabama 4-0 on Friday.

The sweep over the Crimson Tide means that the Wildcats will play Tennessee on Saturday. With the win over Alabama, Kentucky has now won three-straight matches. Dare I say, here come the ‘Cats? 

The Wildcats woke up to play when they took the court at 10:00 a.m. EST this morning. Perhaps the early starts are good omens for Kentucky, considering they came out firing in doubles. That fire was never put out as singles progressed. Get to bed early, so you can enjoy these mornin’ Wildcats. Breakfast and Kentucky. A combination that I could really get used to. 

It was as clean as could be when doubles action arrived. Kentucky won all three of their matches down the ladder from court one to court three. The No. 1 pairing of Taha Baadi and Alafia Ayeni was the first on the board with a 6-3 win. Next was the No. 2 duo consisting of JJ Mercer and Joshua Lapadat, who came away victorious 6-4. Finally, the last pairing of Liam Draxl and Jaden Weekes squeaked out a 7-5 win.

It was an early sweep to set the tone for Kentucky. That same tone would continue into singles. 

Kentucky perfection

Singles were as perfect as they could be for Kentucky. With the ‘Cats up 1-0 after the doubles point success, the onslaught began.

Ayeni was successful in his 1 v. 1 efforts, earning himself a second win in the contest. The Kentucky singles No. 2 dominated Bama’s Enzo Aguiard 6-4, 6-1 as the Wildcats found themselves with a 2-0 cushion. Straight sets seemed to be the name of the game for Kentucky on Friday.

Next up was freshman Jaden Weekes, who picked up a massive victory. Weekes cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 win which put Kentucky one match away from a perfect sweep of the Tide. It was then Lapadat who delivered the crushing blow. He won a mirrored 6-4, 6-4 contest and UK had finished the job, winning 4-0.

Kentucky finishes off the shutout to move on 😤#SECChampionship #SECTennis pic.twitter.com/EtfcQDaZpO

— SECMTennis (@SECMTennis) April 21, 2023

Kentucky now has a revenge match with Tennessee scheduled for Saturday at noon EST. The Vols blanked the ‘Cats 4-0 in Knoxville early on in the year, so the headlines for this tilt don’t need to write themselves. Tennessee looked solid in a 4-0 thrashing of Ole Miss in their SEC Tournament opener. It will for sure be some marquee tennis to watch on Saturday.

The No. 2 vs. No. 3 seeds in the SEC going at it? Sign me up, please!