ORLANDO, Fla. – All three Illini are moving onto Monday's round of 32 after sweeping their matches today. Zeke Clark, Aleks Kovacevic and Siphosothando Montsi each defeated their opponents in straight sets. Kovacevic's win marks the 100th singles win of his career.
"It is an awesome milestone for Kova to reach, said head coach Brad Dancer. "He's played in tough positions his whole career so to get that number is special."
Montsi started the day for the Illini defeating Tyler Zinke of Georgia 6-3,6-2.
"I played good tennis today and just kept it simple," said Montsi. "I didn't try to do too much. Just went out and took care of business."
"That was a great start for Siphs," said Dancer. "We've got a ton of respect for Tyler so we knew it would be tough. Siphos handled the difficult situations well and started to use his serve more effectively in the second set. I'm excited he gets to move on".Â
Aleks Kovacevic then won his 100th singles match in the Orange and Blue. He defeated Tyler Stice from Auburn 6-3,6-2 to advance to the next round.
"Kova showed some small improvements today," said Dancer "I'm challenging him to be better every day so he clear on how he can move forward."
Zeke Clark closed out Illinois's day on court nine. He swiftly beat Connor Thompson from South Carolina 6-2,6-1.
"Today was a great day for Zeke, said Dancer. "He's been struggling while playing with the weight of the team so it was good to see him let loose a bit for himself."
UP NEXT
Clark, Kovacevic and Montsi will return to the court tomorrow during the round of 32.Â
