Sysoeva, Shastova shine against top-25 opponents in loss to California
Syracuse tennis singles players Serafima Stastova and Anastasia Sysoeva held their own despite losing to two top-25 ranked opponents in the Orange’s 4-1 defeat to California Sunday. Dana Kim | Staff Photographer
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Early in Serafima Shastova’s bout with Berta Passola Folch, it looked like what you would expect from a top-10 ranked player facing off against an unranked opponent.
Passola Folch burst out to a 2-0 lead in the No. 2 singles match in about five minutes, but Shastova held fast, and eventually came back to win the first set 7-5.
Despite Syracuse (5-8, 1-5 Atlantic Coast) falling to California (8-3, 5-1 ACC), it was Shastova and Anastasia Sysoeva who were the story. Against opponents in the top-25 of the ITA rankings, the top two singles players for SU took their matches to the wire and gave the Orange a shot at the biggest upset since they beat Clemson in the ACC tournament a year ago.
Sysoeva led Johanne Svendsen from the get-go. She, like Passola Folch in the No. 2 match, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first set. Svendsen battled, and she ultimately came back to earn a victory in a tiebreaker game.
Sysoeva seemed to use losing the first set as motivation. She stormed out of the gate in the second set, earning a crucial 4-1 lead that had her seemingly bound for a third set.
Despite being visibly rattled, even going as far as to swing her racket against the curtain between the walkway and courts in a fit of frustration early in the second set, Svendsen buckled down.
She caught Sysoeva’s fire, and went on a tear, winning four straight games to take the lead back.
Down 5-4, Sysoeva needed some magic to force a tiebreaker set.
Instead, the opposite happened. Down 30-15 in the final game of the match, with California needing just one point to win, Sysoeva double faulted. With the match on the line, Svendsen, the 16th ranked player in the country, tapped the ball lightly over the net, where it bounced twice before harmlessly rolling out of bounds to end the match.
“She expects a lot from herself,” Syracuse coach Younes Limam said. “She showed that today, and it will do a lot for her confidence.”
The story of Shastova’s match was more uplifting. Despite being inconsistent for most of the season, Shastova showed why she was the Orange’s lone invite to the NCAA singles championship tournament this fall.
Shastova kept Passola Folch honest. From the beginning, Shastova hung with her. No game was a blowout, and neither player led by more than two at any point in the first match.
Passola Folch was on the verge of sending the match to a third set when Sysoeva’s match abruptly ended the duel.
“It’s always great to know you are on a similar level to those kinds of players,” Shastova said. “I’m just focusing on the ball and not the name of who I am playing against. It’s about keeping it simple.
The loss for Syracuse marks its third straight, tying its longest streak of the year. With a trip to Raleigh to face one of its toughest opponents of the year in NC State looming, it looks like that streak is not yet over.
Time is running out for Syracuse to turn it around ahead of the ACC Tournament, but performances like Shastova and Sysoeva’s should give fans faith that it’s possible.
