The Auburn men's tennis team opens the home portion of its SEC schedule this weekend with a pair of conference matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The Tigers (3-6) host Vanderbilt (4-3) Friday at 1 p.m. and entertain No. 15 Kentucky (11-2) Sunday in a noon match at Yarbrough.
"Any SEC win is so special for these guys in what we're trying to build for the future, so I'm excited about this weekend," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "We saw Vanderbilt a lot in the fall; we played them here in our fall tournament and we played in their fall tournament. I really like our doubles matchups one, two and three and how we match up against them.
"For us, it's going to be coming out and building on the positives from our last two weekends; that's what I want to continue into our Vanderbilt match. If we continue to play with energy and emotion, I like our chances.
"Kentucky loves the indoor courts; they don't typically get outside until the middle of March because of their weather, so they've recruited guys for that type of play. Getting outside with slower conditions and bringing in more elements with the wind and the sun should help us, so ultimately from the coaching side, if we can get back into rallies, if we can get their serve back and just play it like a baseline rally, I like our chances from two to six. Their No. 1 player Liam Draxl is very, very good – he'll probably be in the top three in the country this year. He's just an absolute grinder from the baseline, does not miss balls but rips the ball and is faster than anything you've ever seen, so he presents challenges to us and everybody in the SEC. That's what we'll stress to who is playing one this week – understand he's going to make a lot of balls, understand his ball is big, but bring in the target and challenge him. That's the exciting part and I know our guys are ready for this weekend."
Vanderbilt's George Harwell is ranked No. 117. Kentucky has three players nationally ranked in singles after the fall tournaments: Liam Draxl (45), Alexandre Leblanc (114) and Joshua Lapadat (123).
All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (1717 Richland Road, Auburn). Fans wearing face coverings are welcome to attend all matches played outdoors; fans may want to bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating to remain socially distanced. If weather moves the match indoors, only participants and officials will be admitted.
