Florida State University Athletics
Alex Knaff Claims M15 Tallahassee Title
10/30/2022 5:12:35 PM | Men's Tennis
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Former Florida State men’s tennis player Alex Knaff won his first professional singles title at the M15 Tallahassee professional tournament hosted at FSU’s Indoor Tennis Facility, becoming the first Seminole to win the tournament. Current players Andy Petrovic and doubles pair Joshua Dous-Karpenschif and Maks Silagy made semifinal appearances in the tournament.
“The M15 Tallahassee tournament was a great event to showcase our guys’ talents,” head coach Dwayne Hultquist said. “I am very proud of Alex Knaff winning the tournament, putting him at a career-high ranking next week.”
Second-seeded Knaff cruised through the first two rounds, earning straight-set victories over Kosuke Ogura and Marcus McDaniel. He battled in an intense match against his tournament doubles partner and fellow Nole, Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc, in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Knaff faced the 26th-ranked collegiate player, Philip Henning from Georgia, and won the second and third sets in a tiebreak to advance to the final. Knaff secured the title with a straight-set victory, winning 6-3, 6-0 against William Grant.
“I’m extremely proud to win my first professional title in Tallahassee, a place I consider my second home,” Knaff explained. “I’m very grateful for the support I felt this week which really helped me win some tough matches.”
While at FSU, Knaff notched records of 56-45 in singles and 56-37 in doubles and was named to the All-ACC Second Team in 2019. Since entering the professional stage, Knaff has won three doubles titles and represented Luxembourg at the Davis Cup.
The Seminoles had a great week on the home courts as Petrovic advanced to the singles semifinals and Cornut-Chauvinc reached the quarterfinals. Petrovic took down the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Andres Martin, 6-4, 6-4.
In doubles, sophomore pair Dous-Karpenschif and Silagy earned a spot in the semifinals where they fell in a tiebreak to the No. 1 seeded pair and eventual champions, Abraham Asaba and Jody Maginley.
Junior Loris Pourroy defeated the No. 5 seed, Axel Garcian, in the opening round of the main draw, and Youcef Rihane also recorded a win in the singles main draw.
UP NEXT: Florida State men’s tennis is participating in three tournaments across the country this week. Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc is competing in the ITA National Fall Championships in San Diego starting November 2 following his qualification at the ITA Southeast Regional. JB Bernard, Andy Petrovic, and Loris Pourroy will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the M15 Fayetteville professional tournament beginning Monday, October 31. FSU will host the Bedford Cup from November 4-6 at Scott Speicher Memorial Tennis Center in which JB Bernard, Alex Bulte, Jamie Connel, and Maks Silagy will feature.
RESULTS:
Singles Qualifying
Round of 32
- Martim Leote Prata def. Maks Silagy 6-3, 6-2
- Philip Henning def. Jamie Connel 6-4, 6-3
- Joshua Dous-Karpenschif def. Matias Ponce de Leon Gomila 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-6)
- Jonas Pelle Hartenstein def. Alex Bulte 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (13-11)
- John Bernard def. Sebastian Rafael Sotelo 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Round of 16
- Philip Henning def. Joshua Dous-Karpenschif 6-3, 6-1
- Rowland Phillips def. John Bernard 6-4, 6-4
Singles Main Draw
Round of 32
- Andy Petrovic def. Rowland Phillips 6-3, 6-2
- Loris Pourroy def. Axel Garcian 6-2, 6-4
- Youcef Rihane def. Jakob Schnaitter 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
- Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc def. Mark Wallner 7-6, (8-6), 0-6, 6-3
Round of 16
- Andy Petrovic def. Andres Martin 6-4, 6-4
- William Grant def. Loris Pourroy 6-4, 6-4
- Philip Henning def. Youcef Rihane 6-1, 6-1
- Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc def. Jonas Pelle Hartenstein 6-1, 6-3
Quarterfinals
- Andy Petrovic def. Cash Hanzlik 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-0
- Alex Knaff def. Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
Semifinals
- William Grant def. Andy Petrovic 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
Doubles Main Draw
Round of 16
- Abraham Asaba/Jody Maginley def. Andy Petrovic/Loris Pourroy 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (14-12)
- Joshua Dous-Karpenschif/Maks Silagy def. Chukwudumebi Smarty/Leonardo Vega 7-5, 6-2
- Axel Garcian/Cash Hanzlik def. Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc/Alex Knaff 7-6 (7-2), 2-6, 1-0 (10-8)
Quarterfinals
- Joshua Dous-Karpenschif/Maks Silagy def. Patrick Harper/Martim Leote Prata 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 1-0 (10-7)
Semifinals
- Abraham Asaba/Jody Maginley def. Joshua Dous-Karpenschif/Maks Silagy 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (11-9)
For more information on the Seminole Men’s Tennis program, check Seminoles.com and follow us on social media at FSUMTennis (IG) and @FSU_MTennis (TW).