STARKVILLE — In tennis, it may take a novice fan longer to identify a program’s best overall player than it does its best drawing card.
The Mississippi State University men’s tennis team has the best of both worlds with Artem Ilyushin.
“When you play out here in the home match, you have to realize people aren’t here to just see good tennis,” Ilyushin said. “They’re here to see a show. Why not give them part of the show?”
Along with being the No. 1 player on a top-10 team, Ilyushin has been used in marketing campaigns to promote the team, and has been shown in promotional videos on the jumbotron at MSU football and men’s basketball games. The excerpts capture the energy Ilyushin plays with and the excitement he generates when he celebrates shots and the way
he pumps up himself and the crowd at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Center. Ilyushin is noted for his fist pumping and chest bumping his doubles partner during matches.
MSU coach Per Nilsson encourages his players to engage in that behavior.
“People are coming to see Artem’s craziness, and that’s so good for our sport,” Nilsson said. “I turned on a (Roger) Federer and (Juan Martin) Del Potro match on television and I got bored after two minutes because there was no emotion. He’s not trying to put on a show or even realizes what he’s doing half of the time. Every coach we play wishes he had guys on his team that are like that.”
Ilyushin said he could play without the antics on the court, but he said that’s not the point of college athletics.
“Could I not do it? Sure, but what’s the fun in that?” Ilyushin said. “When I see 200-300 people every match cheering for me and my teammates, it gives you all the spirit in the world to jump over your head.”
Ilyushin’s exuberance worked against him earlier this season in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to the University of Virginia’s Jermere Jenkins, who was ranked No. 8 in the nation, on March 6 in Starkville. Jenkins’ teammates matched Ilyushin’s energy and answered with more of their own to help turn the tide in three-hour match. But Ilyushin, who was ranked No. 27 at the time, said he’s willing to play with that emotion to helps his game and to energize his teammates in their matches.
“I was up a break in the second set and the guy came up with some great shots,” Ilyushin said. “After the match, I went in the training room and couldn’t move because I was so exhausted. It could’ve gone either way.”
Ilyushin has won nine out of his past 10 matches and has climbed to No. 15 in singles. He and George Coupland also moved into the doubles rankings for the first time this season at No. 43 thanks to their win Friday against the University of Florida on Friday in Gainesville, Fla.
Ilyushin, the Southeastern Conference’s Player of the Week, has defeated eight ranked opponents, including six in the top 40. His most biggest singles came against No. 3 Will Spencer of the University of Georgia in a 4-3 loss March 9 in Athens, Ga.
“I had that same thing and situation happen in the match at Georgia, and I looked at Per to say this isn’t happening again and it’s not going anywhere,” Ilyushin said.
Ilyushin said a talk with Nilsson about his chances of playing professional has helped him this season.
“He wasn’t sure if he had it or was good enough and we told him, ‘Are
you crazy? You’re 400 in the world without playing full-time pro, so of course you’re going to go pro,” Nilsson said. “You’ll regret it the rest of your life if you don’t.”
Ilyushin said that talk gave him the confidence he needed to compete against the nation’s best.
“I had my doubts in the beginning of the semester because I took the fall off and played a lot of professional tournament, getting to No. 650 in the world,” Ilyushin said. “What happened was the loneliness of the road made me not want to do it. Then my results early on weren’t good. That conversation turned it all around.”
On Friday against Florida, Ilyushin defeated Bob van Overbeek in straight sets at No. 1 singles. He teamed with Coupland in doubles to earn a top-10 victory to help MSU earn a 4-3 victory and beat the Gators first time since 2001.
At No. 10, MSU broke into the top 10 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings Tuesday for the first time since it was No. 3 in March 1999.
Following a run last season in which MSU claimed the SEC Western Division title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships, MSU is 14-4 and 5-1 in the in SEC this season.
Wins last weekend against Florida and the University of South Carolina boosted MSU into sole possession of first place in the SEC West.
“Great teams aren’t all about how good are the players, but it’s about how can they help each other in difficult moments,” Ilyushin said. “If one player on our team goes down then five other guys are picking him up immediately. That’s what great teams do.”
MSU will face No. 27 LSU at 2 p.m. Friday and the No. 39 University of Arkansas at 1 p.m. Sunday. MSU will recognize seniors Louis Cant, Coupland, and Ilyushin for their achievements Sunday.
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