Michael Zheng Returns to Semifinals

ORLANDO, Fla. – For the third consecutive year, Columbia men's tennis senior Michael Zheng is headed to the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championships. On Friday, Zheng defeated Michigan State's Ozan Baris 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals at the USTA National Campus.

"This was the toughest match of the tournament for me," Michael Zheng said. "Ozan is a guy I played in last year's final and he always does well in the NCAAs. I knew it was going to be a battle. He's such an unpredictable player, he comes up with big serves and big set points. But, I knew my game matched up well against his, but I knew it was going to be a three set match."

Friday's match was a rematch of last November's National Championship. Baris was the last of the tournament's top-seeded players heading into the quarterfinal matchup. After taking the first game of the opening set, Baris took control, breaking Zheng's serve to take a 3-2 lead. It was part of a 3-0 run that saw Baris take a commanding 4-2 lead in the opening set.

Zheng held serve to make it 4-3, and again to make it 5-4, but he was unable to break Baris' serve to get back into the first set.

In the second set, the defending national champion swung the momentum firmly in his favor. Zheng took the first two games, breaking Baris' serve for the first time in the match to go up 2-0 in the set. He eventually took the second set 6-3 to force a third set.

"I thought he (Baris) came out playing great in the first," Zheng said. "I couldn't get a read on his serve early on. In the first set, I felt like I was playing a little loose, especially on my serve and let him get a few breaks against me. I just tried to tighten that up in the second set."

In the third and final set, Zheng broke serve at 1-0. With the set tied at 2-2, Baris had one final chance to swing the momentum back in his favor, but Zheng once again broke serve and took a 3-2 lead. He broke serve once again to all but put the match away to go up 5-2.

Zheng will return to action on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET. He will face Ivy League foe Paul Inchausep from Princeton, who advanced to the semifinals after defeating Wake Forest's Luca Pow, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Saturday's match will be streamed on ESPN+.

FOLLOWING THE LIONS
Stay up to date on all things Columbia Men's Tennis by following the Lions on X (@CULionsMTEN), Instagram (@culionsmten) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Michael Zheng

Footer

Upcoming Events