It was an upset the home crowd wanted, but still couldn't believe happened.
Wake Forest Men's Tennis stars DK Suresh and Luca Pow wowed the fans with an entertaining and action-packed match on Court 2.
Instead of preparing to be back at school they won their first-round match with a 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 win over Ariel Behar and Andres Moleni.
Both Pow and Suresh were also in the singles with Suresh winning one of his qualifying matches, but now they are still in the tournament as teammates.
“I have no words right now,” Suresh soon after the match. “Especially that last point and it felt so good. It was amazing to do this in front of the home crowd and we want to thank all the fans who came out.”
This past season at Wake Forest the two never played doubles together but that all changed when they also received wild card entries into the doubles.
“It was tough,” Pow said. “Me and DK haven’t played doubles before together. I knew I was going to have to perform for him and I’ve won a lot, but I don’t have anything to my name, but I performed and DK performed and we played some great tennis.”
The Demon Deacons and Coach Tony Bresky are one of the top programs in men’s tennis in the country. When the two got entries into the tournament the moment wasn’t too big.
“Obviously it’s cool playing with the team and it’s a different environment,” Suresh said about playing college tennis compared to being in a pro tournament. “But actually, playing at the pro level you are playing for yourself. This is everybody’s dream to turn pro and I can’t explain what I’m going through right now.”
Pow, a rising sophomore from England, is thankful that Bresky gave him a chance to come to Wake Forest.
“I think it helps with Coach Bresky giving me an opportunity to play so I’m just grateful he gave me this chance,” Pow said. “About five or six days ago I didn’t even know if I’d play in this tournament.”
Bresky said his duo was solid throughout the match despite the troubles in the tiebreaker.
“I’m really proud of them and how they handled themselves and how they really care,” Bresky said. “They worked hard over the summer and I’m just happy for them.”
It’s the first time a current Wake Forest players won a match in the main draw since Cory Parr did so in the first Winston-Salem Open in 2011.
“The support was great, and everyone was cheering for us,” Pow said about playing on their homecourt. “And I consider this home now that I’ve been here a year (at Wake Forest).”
Once the two get back to Wake Forest and classes get started, they will certainly have some good stories to tell about their foray into a pro tennis tournament.
“This is like a dream come true,” Pow said, “and getting to play with DK is great.”
The pair faces Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the round of 16, slated to play on Wednesday.
