Reco Advances to Second Round of NCAA Tournament with Straight-Set Win

URBANA, Ill. – Razorback senior Alex Reco kicked off his NCAA Individual Championships campaign on Monday with a 6-4, 7-6 first round win over No. 81 Diego Nava of Xavier.

Reco came into the season’s finale on a tear. The France native entered Monday’s match riding a four-match winning streak, three of those wins coming against ranked opponents. Nava compiled a 13-3 record at the top singles spot for Xavier in 2022. He was also 1-0 against ranked opponents before falling to No. 23 Reco.

The top singles player for the Hogs in 2022 gained control in the first set after breaking Nava at 2-2 to go up 3-2. Reco looked sharp in his service games and did not allow Nava back in the set, taking it 6-4.

The second set was tighter with Nava playing more pressing tennis. Neither player was able to break through, sending the set to a tiebreaker at 6-6. Reco played his best tennis in the waning moments of the set, claiming the second-set tiebreak and stamping his spot in the second round.

Reco now awaits his second-round opponent with the winner of Eduardo Nava of Wake Forest and SEC foe Liam Draxl of Kentucky next up on the bracket. Draxl was the National Player of the Year in 2021 and played at the top singles spot for Kentucky in 2022, who finished runner-up at the NCAA Team Championships last week.

Draxl and Reco have met twice this season, with Draxl claiming their first match in Fayetteville in three nail-biting sets. The two’s second meeting came at the SEC Tournament in Athens, and the match was left unfinished after Kentucky claimed the win. Draxl won the first set, 6-4, while Reco was leading the second set, 5-3, when the match was called.

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