Micah Braswell, the singles champion of the Greenview Development & Majestic Realty Men’s Pro Tennis Open. Photo by Kayla Thompson
American Micah Braswell defeated Andres Andrade of Ecuador, 6-2, 6-2, on Sunday winning the singles title at the Greenview Development & Majestic Realty Men’s Pro Tennis Open at the Texas Tennis Center. Andrade had rallied past current Longhorn Siem Woldeab in second round and defeated UT alum Colin Markes in Saturday’s semifinals. But he said in his post-match interview that Braswell was one last Longhorn he couldn’t overcome.
The first set started with the players breaking each other’s serves. Braswell, a University of Texas junior, played his game with energy, eventually pulling away from Andrade and breaking the tie of 2-2 in the first set. Andrade played excellently at the net, pulling Braswell into the forecourt to score points on him with passing shots.
“I knew Andy can be a crafty player,” Braswell said of his opponent. “I knew he was going to try to throw me off with some of my bigger shots.”
Braswell lost his momentum from the first set as the second set began, but eventually, the set’s action started to mirror that of the first. Braswell quickly found a lead in the second set with a score of 5-2. Andrade started to make errors attempting to handle Braswell’s speedy forehand but instead sending it into the net.
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” Andrade said. “[Braswell] grew as a player. He has a big game, a big serve, a big forehand,” he said of Braswell since playing him last year at UT.
The Longhorn credited the spectators’ energy at his home court for his win.
“It feels really special having family, friends and coaches out the whole week,” Braswell said. “It kept me going the whole week. It kept me fired up the whole time.”
By Aaron Sullivan