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Wake Forest Tennis 2023-2024: Men #3

Also fairly certain Squire is turning pro.

Our lineup is ridiculously deep, so we should really clean up at 4-6. Look for a comeback year for Melios after the COVID year really had him struggling.

Our problem is still going to be at 2/3 against other elite teams. Throwing Squire and Karimov out there would’ve been championship worthy but Henri got too good too quick. Nava and Taha are solid, but will need yet another step up to have us back in title consideration.

I agree with you all about Squire, which is a bummer. I listened to a Bresky podcast a few weeks back, and he indicated that Squire is getting a lot of support for a pro career from the German tennis federation, so college does not offer him as much as it might for other players not getting that support.

Karimov is a big unknown, as he has not played many matches in the past year.
 
same thing is happening to UNC #1, Rinky Hijakata. It is going to be incredibly hard for him to come back as Aus Fed is willing to help him. I'm as clueless as anyone about Karimov, but once upon time he was beating guys that are now top 10-20 in the world, so if he can regain some of that form, he should be able to help us. It's incredibly hard to win a natty without a really solid 1.
 
Listened to most of the Bresky podcast with Cracked Racquets last night. My guess is it was recorded sometime in late November. The nuggets of info I found interesting:

- Sounds like Squire is all but gone
- If Karimov can get and stay healthy, Bresky thinks he can be a top 5 college player. Also said they are working on getting him eligible for a second season
- he expects a much improved Melios this season
- also expects Moroni and Tacchi to have much different seasons than a year ago
 
Listened to most of the Bresky podcast with Cracked Racquets last night. My guess is it was recorded sometime in late November. The nuggets of info I found interesting:

- Sounds like Squire is all but gone
- If Karimov can get and stay healthy, Bresky thinks he can be a top 5 college player. Also said they are working on getting him eligible for a second season
- he expects a much improved Melios this season
- also expects Moroni and Tacchi to have much different seasons than a year ago

Good takeaways. I don't know what to make of Karimov - big mystery. It's interesting that he has never played college tennis or attended college and will be starting as a senior or grad student from an eligibility standpoint.
 
Twitter (Parsa) confirms that Squire has turned pro. Bummer.
 
Pretty routine weekend in the two matches vs Tenn Tech. The tougher matches probably took place in the UTR, where Nava and Schnaitter opted not to play the finals. The only thing I found a bit surprising, and it could have been due to Covid or other injuries, is that only 7 guys played singles across the double headers. No Karimov, Taha, Rezi, or Schnaitter in singles. Taha did play some dubs. We are rolling with a triple header on Saturday. Certainly he'll need to rotate some guys in. Looks like Nava is slotted to play 1 or 2. Taha behind him. Melios next. Filo, then Sid. I expect Karimov, Schnaitter, and Rezi to slide in there somewhere in the top 5 and make up the 8 that will play singles consistently.
 
Hopefully Karimov and Cungu are healthy or close to it. For us to have any chance of major success this season Karimov has to be at the 1. If we can play Melios at 5 it would be ideal I think until he proves he’s back. Can’t get a good read on how good Schnaitter is in comparison to the others.
Something like Karimov, Nava, Taha, Sch/Melios, Cungu, Moroni/Sid.
 
Hopefully Karimov and Cungu are healthy or close to it. For us to have any chance of major success this season Karimov has to be at the 1. If we can play Melios at 5 it would be ideal I think until he proves he’s back. Can’t get a good read on how good Schnaitter is in comparison to the others.
Something like Karimov, Nava, Taha, Sch/Melios, Cungu, Moroni/Sid.

i think this is spot on. I am going to be interested in how those bottom 3 slots play out. The parity between Melios, Cungu, Schnaitter, Moroni, and Sid is pretty close, and I can't imagine Melios, CUngu, or sid sitting as seniors, but Schnaitter and Moroni probably have more firepower than sid. Cungu outside is a tough out, so maybe he holds off until March.
 
Hopefully Karimov and Cungu are healthy or close to it. For us to have any chance of major success this season Karimov has to be at the 1. If we can play Melios at 5 it would be ideal I think until he proves he’s back. Can’t get a good read on how good Schnaitter is in comparison to the others.
Something like Karimov, Nava, Taha, Sch/Melios, Cungu, Moroni/Sid.

I just don't know what to make of Karimov. He hasn't played competitive matches in almost a year. Plus, he's never been to college (that I know of) but is listed as a grad student. Just speculation, but he could have injury or eligibility issues - I guess we'll know more on Saturday.

I think Schnaitter will play top 6. His results suggest he knows how to win and can play up to his level of competition.
 
There definitely has to be some lingering or recovering injury for Karimov, and i think Bresky even alluded to that on his podcast wtih CR. He really hasn't played much real pro tennis since 2017 and 2018. But he played a ton of UTR exhibitions in California in the summer and fall of 2020. Played a bunch of former top US college guys and while results were mixed they were good enough that he should be able to win a bunch at 1 if healthy. He's definitely a mystery. With 18 singles matches tomorrow over the course of 9-10 hours, we should get to see a bunch of guys play.
 
We are playing a 4th dubs match on court 8 - Azcona and someone else with a 1-hand BH that i don't recognize. Anyone?
 
We are playing a 4th dubs match on court 8 - Azcona and someone else with a 1-hand BH that i don't recognize. Anyone?

Not sure who that would have been.

Deacs with two more 7-0 wins. Karimov warmed up but obviously didn’t play. I heard him say his shoulder is still sore. I bet he’ll play Monday (if matches occur).
 
Quote from Bresky is promising

"Another good day. The team is doing a great job on these doubleheaders with how long these days are. It is tough mentally and physically. I feel like our doubles are getting better and better. I'm glad we got Rrezy (Rrezart Cungu) and Taha (Baadi) back to playing and it was good for them to get in matches. We are looking forward to getting Jurabek (Karimov) eligible and ready to go on Monday. We are making good progress and looking forward to another test on Monday. "
 
Predictions on lineup against Tenn?

Great question. I'll go with:

Karimov
Nava
Mel
Rezi
Schnaitter
Moroni

Draper/Maciag
Nava/Moroni
Banthia/Karimov

I think Karimov is still rounding into form, but Bresky will play him at 1 to move everyone else down. I also have no idea if Schnaitter will play or not, but I do think he is a top 6 player for us.
 
Rafi, what do you think this team’s ceiling is?

Our ceiling is final 4, but that's with Karimov as a strong #1. We are incredibly deep, which helps as the season progresses and injuries potentially occur, but I don't think we're as good as Florida and Texas.
 
Great question. I'll go with:

Karimov
Nava
Mel
Rezi
Schnaitter
Moroni

Draper/Maciag
Nava/Moroni
Banthia/Karimov

I think Karimov is still rounding into form, but Bresky will play him at 1 to move everyone else down. I also have no idea if Schnaitter will play or not, but I do think he is a top 6 player for us.

No taha? Where has schnaitter been the last couple of weeks?
 
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