URBANA, Ill. – Illinois rising senior Aleks Vukic earned his first professional singles title on Saturday at the 2017 JSM Futures. Vukic defeated Deiton Baughman, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.
"First and foremost I want to thank the entire community of Champaign for the awesome support and showcasing why we feel this is special place to play tennis," said head coach Brad Dancer. "JSM has been partners in excellence for so many years and we couldn't do it without them. For Aleks [Vukic] we discussed just how tough and resilient he was. He wasn't anywhere near his best but his mental fortitude enabled him to survive this match against a great player. Deiton [Baughman] has a huge future in front of him.
I'm thrilled for Aleks that his first professional title was here in front of so many people that just love watching him play. What a special moment and memory for him."
The Sydney, Australia native topped qualifier Jonathan Chang, 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in the first round of the USA F25 Futures. The second round saw Vukic defeated former Texas A&M All-American, Shane Vinsant, 6-2, 6-1.
In the quarterfinal round, Vukic used a gritty, comeback victory to defeat Santiago Fa Rodriguez Taverna, 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-3. The current Illini met former Illinois All-American, Dennis Nevolo in the semifinal round. Playing on their home courts, Vukic defeated Nevolo 6-3, 6-3 to earn a berth in the final.
Baughman and Vukic traded holds until the Sydney, Australia native broke Baughman's serve to go up 3-2 in the match. Vukic took the next two games, but Baughman rallied back to bring the set to 5-all. The Illini took the final two games to win the first set, 7-5. In the second set, Baughman and Vukic traded holds until Baughman earned the first break of the set to force a deciding set, 6-4. The third set saw Aleks open with a break and then rolled to a 6-2 deciding set win.
"That was an unbelievable crowd," said Vukic. "I was not expecting that. Brad and the staff did a great job of setting it up and it was a pleasure to play in front of them like I do in the college season. It is a different playing a professional tournament."
The finals appearance was the first for the Illini senior since 2015 and his first overall professional title on the ITF Pro Circuit.
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