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After Viktoriya Kanapatskaya wasted a 15-40 lead late in the second set of her singles match against Cornell, she put her racket down and walked to the back of the court. She took a deep breath, collected herself, and prepared to return a serve. Up one set and tied 4-4 in games in the second, a break for Kanapatskaya would put her in a great spot to close it out on her serve.

She got in her stance and reacted. She slammed a forehand cross-court, straight off the serve. As Cornell’s Emma Baker attempted to return it, Kanapatskaya was already confidently walking off. The ball sailed by her to give Kanapatskaya 5-4 lead in the second set.

Kanapatskaya did not lose a single set in both her doubles and singles match, but she had to work for the wins. She won 7-5 and 6-4 in the No. 3 singles spot after dominating her doubles match 6-1 with Shiori Ito. The former All-American started off slow in her singles match. Baker jumped out to an early 2-0 lead while Kanapastakaya’s first two games were filled with unforced errors before she came storming back.

In the third game on Baker’s serve, Kanapatskaya started to turn it up. After going down 0-15, she won four-straight points to win the game.

Kanapatskaya nailed the lines and dominated at the net throughout singles. After dropping the first two, she won the next three in dominating fashion to take the lead.

But Baker would not back down. She broke Kanapatskaya to tie the match at 3 games apiece. The next game was a battle, going back and forth. In deuce, Baker forced a Kanapatskaya into the net to take the lead once again.

Kanapatskaya kept herself in it, winning the next game by utilizing her commanding serve that gave Baker with elite placement. However, Baker’s serve was causing just as many problems, and she took a 5-4 lead in the first set.

The serves continued to be dominant for both players. After taking an early lead down 5-4, Kanapatskaya used her net game to tie the match back up.

It was on Baker’s serve where the first set was decided. In perhaps the best point of the match, Kanapatskaya was able to jump up 6-5 in games. Kanapatskaya hit a deep forehand that Baker was barely able to return. Kanapatskaya then sliced the ball, bringing Baker close to the net right before hitting it over her head to grab a huge momentum boost, as well as a pivotal game in the set.

After that break, Kanapatskaya had some added energy to her serve. However, after a point where Baker sent Kanapatskaya the wrong way with a shot, the SU junior had to take a second, and was flexing her ankle. The ankle did not hold her back too much, as she took the set 7-5.

The second set was just as close as the first. After taking an early lead in the third game of the set on Baker’s serve, Kanapatskaya couldn’t earn back-to-back breaks. Baker battled back and grabbed the 2-1 lead. Kanapatskaya locked the match right back up with a cross-court forehand after coming to the net. For the next four games, both players won the games on their serve to lock it up at 4-4.

Kanapatskaya stepped up in the biggest game of the match. After getting beat by Baker’s serve in the past few games, Kanapatskaya knew how important that game was. Baker crawled back to get the game to deuce, but Kanapatskaya did enough to force Baker to make a mistake.

At this point, Kanapatskaya knew she was in a position to win. She had to work the entire match, but kicked it into another gear for the final set. She ended the match on back to back aces, winning in emphatic fashion.

“Super, super proud of her,” Head coach Younes Limam said. “I think she’s on the right track, to find her best tennis.”

In her doubles match, Kanapatskaya Ito walked their way to a win. After being tied at 1-1, the SU pair rattled off five-straight games, winning the match 6-1, getting in position for easy net shots as well as deep ground strokes.

Published on January 27, 2023 at 7:26 pm

Contact Jason: jdmazer@syr.edu