St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Oracle/ITA Masters Day Four
Roberto Livi Reaches Consolation Finals at Oracle/ITA Masters
10/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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Oracle/ITA Masters Event Page
Men's Singles Consolation Bracket
QUEENS, N.Y. - Reigning two-time BIG EAST Player of the Year Roberto Livi reached the finals of the men's singles consolation bracket this weekend at the Oracle/ITA Masters Tournament. The St. John's men's tennis standout senior went 3-2 overall in the prestigious 32-player tournament held at the Malibu Racquet Club in Malibu, Calif.
"[Roberto Livi] had a really good tournament and played some of the best tennis I have seen from him. This event gave him the chance to play against five really good players, and to come away with three wins and make it to the consolation finals is a great achievement," said Assistant Coach Cory Hubbard.
Livi opened up play in the men's championship bracket on Thursday afternoon as he squared off against the No. 25-nationally ranked Or Ram-Harel of Tulsa. Livi took control of the first set of this match; however eventually fell by a score of, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
"In his first match, he played a top-25 player in the country, and Robbie had the match on his racket. After winning the first set, he was in control in the second set, 3-1, but couldn't close the guy out. Even though he was upset with the result, we talked about gaining confidence from controlling the play against one of the best players in the country," added Hubbard.
The Port St. Lucie, Fla., native did not let this first loss slow him down he went on to win three-straight matches in the men's consolation bracket, reaching the finals in the process. In the first round of the consolation bracket, Livi took down Nathan Boniel of Portland St. in straight-sets, 6-3, 7-6(3).
On Saturday, the third day of the tournament, Livi captured two more victories, both in straight-sets. In the quarterfinal of this consolation bracket, Livi defeated No. 117 Guilherme Hadlich of Pepperdine, 7-5, 6-2. Livi also made quick work of his semifinals opponent, defeating Vinny Gillespie of Drake, 6-2, 6-1.
In the consolation finals, Livi played another top-60 ranked opponent closely throughout the match. The senior would fall to No. 52 Andrew Watson of Memphis, 6-4, 7-6(3).
"His next 3 matches were all impressive wins and especially impressive to beat quality players in straight-sets. In the final, he didn't play his best tennis, and was physically and mentally exhausted from four matches in three days, but he still played another top-60 player extremely close and was a few points from getting to a third set," said Hubbard. "This result shows Robbie can play with top players from around the country and overall was a great experience. We came away seeing what he needs to do to consistently to compete at this level. Robbie's deep run at this event also showed our program can compete with the best and garnered a lot of respect from players and coaches around the country."
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