UC Davis’ Ivan Savkin advanced to the Mountain West Fall Championships quarterfinals Thursday, outlasting Hawaii’s Soeren Grandke in a three-set match that lasted 2 hours, 35 minutes. The seventh seed will face No. 2 seed Nikos Lehmann of Grand Canyon on Friday.

By the Numbers
  • Savkin won 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 7-6 (7-4).
  • He converted his eighth match point and won the third-set tiebreaker 7-4.
  • Savkin was the only Aggie among five UC Davis players in the Round of 16 to advance.
  • His quarterfinal is scheduled for Friday at 9:30 a.m. PT.
Yes, But

Savkin’s win came after Grandke saved seven match points in the second set to force a decider. The rest of the Aggies’ singles lineup was eliminated, and Ahmad and Cheam also lost in doubles.

What's Next

Savkin faces Lehmann in Friday’s quarterfinal. The five-day tournament ends Sunday, with the singles and doubles champions earning spots at the ITA Conference Masters Championships, Nov. 5-8, in Rome, Georgia.

Bottom Line

Savkin kept UC Davis’ title hopes alive with a hard-fought comeback; advancing further will require another win over a higher-seeded opponent.