ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 8 nationally seeded and ninth ranked Gabriel Decamps advanced to the NCAA Singles Championship Round of 32 with a thrilling 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) comeback victory on Sunday night over Texas' No. 38 Micah Braswell.
"It was a very tough match," said Decamps. "I was just trying to play point by point and try to stay in the match as long as possible and thankfully it went my way. It feels pretty good [to move on]; now, I've just got to get some rest and get ready for tomorrow.
Braswell started out the match with the upper hand, taking four of the first five games. Decamps earned a break back to cut the deficit to 2-4 but saw Braswell break right back and finish out the set by a count of 6-2.
It was all Decamps in the second stanza as he picked up a burst of energy with an early break. He ended up coasting to 6-1 second set victory, forcing a final frame.
The third set started heavily in favor of Braswell as he held serve twice and broke Decamps once to pull ahead 3-0. Decamps gave Braswell a taste of his own medicine as he held his next two serves and earned a break to level things at 3-3. Decamps survived a deuce match-point to tie the final frame at 5-5 and force extra games. Braswell held serve and Decamps followed suit, sending the set into a tiebreaker.
The tiebreaking session saw Braswell jump out to a 4-1 lead and carry a 4-2 edge into the changeover. Decamps weathered two more match points to even the tiebreaker at 6-6. Braswell took the first point out of the second changeover to take a 7-6 lead. That ended up being Braswell's last point of the match as Decamps powered his way to three straight points, sealing an epic come from behind victory.
The win is the second NCAA Singles Championship victory in program history as Decamps was triumphant in his second attempt in the tournament. Korey Lovett was the first to earn a win in the NCAA singles draw back in 2017 when he edged Kentucky's No. 66 Ryotaro Matsumura in a three-set battle. Lovett and Decamps are the only Knights to reach the NCAA Singles Championship. Lovett's 2017 journey ended in the round of 32 at the hands of the top seeded Mikael Torpegaard of Ohio State. A Decamps victory in the round of 32 would make him the first Knight to reach the Sweet 16 of the singles tournament.
UP NEXT
Decamps advances to face Florida's No. 18 Andy Andrade at 3 p.m. on Monday. Andrade was victorious over Middle Tennessee State's No. 55 Francisco Rocha.
No. 5 Trey Hilderbrand and Bogdan Pavel are also in action on Monday as they'll begin their journey in the NCAA Doubles Championships at 4 p.m. against Alabama's No. 23 Patrick Kaukovalta and Riccardo Roberto.
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