Auburn men’s tennis alumni have been active on national and international stages this summer. From Paris, France, to Budapest, Hungary, to New York City, the former Tigers have showcased their talents at various professional tournaments worldwide over the past few months.
Tim Puetz
Auburn standout Tim Puetz had a busy summer overseas, participating in the Terra Wortmann Open, the Hamburg Open, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in men’s doubles alongside partner Kevin Krawietz.
Puetz and Krawietz began their eventful summer in Halle, Germany, at the Terra Wortmann Open. The German pair eased themselves into the semifinals with a couple of straight-set wins, where they defeated the French team of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in a third-set tiebreaker before falling in the final round to Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
They then headed to Hamburg, Germany, to defend their crown at the Hamburg Open. After three straight-set victories, Puetz and Krawietz quickly advanced to another final to meet Fabien Reboul and Édouard Roger-Vasselin of France. The former champions claimed the final in two dominant sets to secure their back-to-back titles.
The three-time All-American made the German Olympic team for the second time in his career in 2024 after becoming the first Auburn men’s tennis player to appear in the Olympics in 2021.
While in Paris, the German duo breezed through the first and second rounds of the Olympic Games to advance to the quarterfinals after defeating Daniil Medvedev and Roman Safiullin, a Russian duo playing as individual neutral athletes, as well as Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France in straight sets. Puetz and Krawietz were bested by Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek of Czechia in a match tiebreaker during the semifinal round.
Nearly a month later in New York City, Puetz began a run for his third career grand slam title in the 10-seed spot. Puetz and Krawietz logged their spot in the final after a third-set victory over Salvadoran Marcelo Arévalo and Croatian Mate Pavić in the semifinal. However, Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson secured the U.S. Open men’s doubles title with a victory over the German pair. The finish marked the best U.S. Open finish in Puetz’s career.
Puetz, a three-time All-American at Auburn, is currently ranked No. 13 in the world in doubles and has won nine ATP doubles titles in his career.
🇩🇪 duo Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz are into the men's doubles final with a win over Arevalo and Pavic! pic.twitter.com/gXUMglPLNu
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 6, 2024
Andreas Mies
In June 2024 at the Libema Open, Andreas Mies and his Australian partner John-Patrick Smith secured their spot in the semifinal after an electric third-set tiebreaker against Zizou Bergs and David Goffin of Belgium. The American duo Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow defeated Mies and Smith 10-7 in a third-set tiebreaker.
A month later, Mies and first-time partner Alexander Erler entered the Austrian Open Kitzbühel at the last minute and won the crown. The Austrian-German duo fought through three back-to-back super tiebreakers to meet Germans Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens in the final. Mies and Erler solidified the Kitzbühel title in a match tiebreaker.
Mies, who was an All-American and All-SEC player on the Plains, is currently ranked No. 61 in the world in doubles and has won seven ATP doubles titles in his career.
Tyler Stice
After graduating in Spring 2024, Tyler Stice secured his first ITF singles win at the M15 Budapest 2024 Tennis Tournament.
The Atlanta, Georgia native eased himself into the final to face Leonardo Rossi of Italy. The Italian got the early jump and won the first set 6-3, but Stice secured the final two sets 7-5 and 6-4 to solidify his first professional title.
— Auburn Men's Tennis (@AuburnMTennis) September 8, 2024