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Ohio State Men's Tennis (2014/2019/2024 ITA Indoor National Champs, 17 Straight B1G Titles)

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BVistahC said:
Rola with a win over Delbonis (6-4, 6-2, 7-5).

Good win. Gets Klizan in Round 2.
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Thanks for the update!
Huge win over the #55 ranked opponent.
Delbonis had 8 break opportunities but could not break Rola.
Blaz would normally have faced #13 seed John Isner in the 2nd round, but he retired in the 3rd set.
Klizan at #106 is a much more winnable 2nd round match.
 
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The OSU official site has a summary of Rola's upset win at the OZ.
If the chart is accurate, for winning the first round, Rola will receive a check for $50,000.
Love the quotes from Tucker,
“I’m not shocked at all that he won his match,” said Ty Tucker, head coach and director of Ohio State tennis. “We thought as a coaching staff that college tennis has made him more of an all-around tennis player. He faced a guy that beat Roger Federer on a clay court six months ago but did not have as much experience on hard courts as Rola has gained after playing college tennis the last three years.”
Rola, a native of Ptuj, Slovenia, will now face Martin Klizan of Slovakia in the second round of the elite tournament. Klizan advanced in his opening round match after 13th-seed John Isner of the United States retired, 6-2, 7-6. Klizan currently stands 106th in the singles rankings. Rola becomes the second Buckeye in program history to win at a Grand Slam since Roger Smith in 1988.
“Blaz always was a true professional and I don’t think he’s won his last match at the 2014 Australian Open,” said Tucker.
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Blaz Rola becomes second Buckeye in program history to win at a Grand Slam

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/011414aaa.html
 
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Yeah, gracelink, you are correct about the $50,000. Plus, it looks like an additional $14,400 for advancing through the qualifying draw.

http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/event_guide/prize_money.html

What a life-changing moment. Not only an enormous payday, but he should also see a considerable jump in the rankings. He was 185 previously, and as he moves closer to the top 100 he will start to receive automatic bids into ATP tournaments, which means more big paydays just for making those draws. This is very exciting for him and a great accomplishment for OSU tennis.

Let's hope he continues the winning!
 
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After a suspension in play, Rola took the third set 7-5.
The fourth set went to a tie- breaker and Klivan closed out the set and match to advance.
Great initial tournament for Blaz. He is a class act and the real deal.
Anticipate this will jump his rankings significantly, give him some additional money, and push him to that next level of confidence in his game.
 
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Agreed, a great first tournament for Blaz and a sign of things to come. Hopefully he gets into some lower level tournaments and continues to build on his confidence while mixing in some Masters events if his rank gets up there....looking forward to seeing Blaz at the French!
 
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The Lantern had a preview of the upcoming season including lineup projections.
link
We have some work to do,” Tucker said. “We definitely have the chips, but we just have to figure out the best way to use them.”
When asked who could fill the open spots from last year’s team, Tucker first pointed to true freshman Herkko Pollanen and redshirt-freshman Ralf Steinbach, along with redshirt-juniors Kevin Metka and Hunter Callahan. Pollanen, who came to Columbus by way of Helsinki, Finland, reached No. 16 in the junior rankings before making his way to campus.
Perhaps Tucker’s most valuable chip, though, is senior Peter Kobelt....
The team’s high ranking should be put to the test all season as there are seven teams ranked inside the top 30 on OSU’s schedule.
“At Ohio State, we try our best to play the greatest and best in the country,” Tucker said.
Even with a treacherous schedule and four of the starting six being first-time starters, the goal for the team remains the same.
“The goal is to win the Big Ten title,” Tucker said.
Considering the team has won seven titles in eight years, anything less could be viewed as a letdown, Kobelt said.
“Our goal is to always win the Big Ten. The Big Ten is ours,” Kobelt said, “I don’t want to lose it in my last year.”
The Buckeyes begin play Jan. 22 against Butler and Xavier in Columbus.
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I know Diaz is also in the equation, even though Coach Tucker did not mention him.
 
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