When Maxx Lipman entered the Ring Tennis Complex for Sunday’s match against TCU, he hoped to make an impact for Florida.
After earning the match-clinching point, the freshman’s hopes were more than fulfilled.
Lipman’s singles victory against Jhonathan Gonzalez in straight sets (6-5(4), 6-2) clinched the match for the Gators (3-0) against TCU (1-1) 4-2 in the ITA Kickoff Championship on Sunday.
Studying his opponent and never backing down worked to Lipman’s benefit as he came away with two victories.
“I really buckled down and played a really good tiebreaker, played really smart,” Lipman said. “He started making a few more errors, got a little nervous, and I tried to capitalize on that.”
Lipman fell into a 5-3 deficit in the first set but mounted a comeback against Gonzalez to win the set in a tiebreaker 7-4.
Coach Bryan Shelton said Lipman is a strong player to work with because he uses different skills on the court while competing. He can go heavy with his forehand and push opposing players off the court with strong volleys.
Along with sophomore Gordon Watson, Lipman earned the first doubles victory of the match to lead UF into position for the doubles point.
Redshirt sophomore Diego Hidalgo and senior Spencer Newman would go on to win their doubles match as well to seal the point for Florida.
Hidalgo and Newman won in a competitive tiebreaker 7-3 to win six games to five.
“We’re very resilient,” Shelton said. “We didn’t close it out and a lot of teams would’ve put their heads down at that point.
“But I thought Spencer did a good job as the leader out there to make sure Diego kept his head high and continue to battle in the tiebreaker.”
UF won three of its singles matches in straight sets.
In addition to Lipman’s victory, Watson defeated Rodolfo Bustamante 6-2, 6-1 and Florent Diep defeated Trey Daniel 6-0, 6-3.
After their hard-fought victory, Florida will compete next on Feb. 1, when it faces UCLA in Los Angeles.
Despite an undefeated start, Shelton wants his team to improve before traveling to the West Coast.
“You gotta weather the storm,” Shelton said. “Sometimes guys are going to play great tennis and you got to just hang in there, and keep battling, keep looking for answers.”
Follow Lawrence Laguna on Twitter @LagunaLawrence
