Ondrej Styler wins thriller to push Michigan past USC

Sprinting from corner to corner, senior Ondrej Styler was on the ropes, and so was the Michigan men’s tennis team’s season. 

As he flipped his body towards the deuce court, his opponent, Southern California senior Stefan Dostanic, whipped an inside-out forehand behind Styler. He could only watch as the ball whizzed past his back to give Dostanic a 4-1 lead in the seven-point tiebreaker for the match, the season and both of their college careers.

Styler was in a rough spot, but he trusted the process that had gotten him this far.

“My mentality was I was going after my game,” Styler said. “I was trusting myself, I was trusting the abilities that I have and sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t and that’s sports. I just fought, I never gave up and I fought out to the last point and it just worked out.”

Before it all came down to the No. 1 singles match, the Wolverines took an early lead with the doubles point. However, after winning No. 3 singles and losing at No. 2, 4 and 6, Michigan needed wins from Styler and No. 5 singles junior Gavin Young to survive and move on to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Styler’s match was back and forth from the start. The players traded blows for the first set before he was set to serve at 5-5. Dostanic’s pressure finally broke through, and he won four points in a row to break Styler and later take the set 7-5. Styler would win the second set 6-3 to move on to the drama-filled third.

After his opponent fought off two match points to hold, Styler had a chance to serve for the match at 5-4. He made two errors to begin the game, but on the adjacent court, Young won his match. The team score was officially 3-3, and all the marbles rested on center court. Styler fought but missed a backhand deep to even the set at 5-5. And just as the tension couldn’t get any higher, it started to lightly rain — but no one could stop this match.

Styler and Dostanic both uncharacteristically dropped service games to keep the match even at 6-6. The two-hour-long battle would be decided by the first man to seven points.

Down 4-1, Styler stayed calm and trusted his game. His monster serve followed by an overhead won the next point, and he outlasted Dostanic in a long rally to fight back to 3-4.

With Dostanic to serve, Styler hit a hard return deep but fell victim to the wet surface. He fell down immediately after his shot. Unfazed, Styler popped right back up to hit a backhand and later take the point to even the tiebreak at 4-4.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Michigan coach Adam Steinberg said when asked about the slip. “[Styler] is the ultimate gamer and competitor. When it’s game day, nobody loves it more. And when you think about that point and you think about him, it’s not shocking how he gets through these matches, but he finds a way he really does.”

The players dueled back and forth to make it 5-5. Styler smashed his serve out wide and Dostanic’s forehand sailed long. With Dostanic to serve, Styler had a 6-5 lead and match point.

Dostanic missed his first serve; the hundreds of people surrounding the court fell silent. 

He kicked the second serve toward Styler’s backhand, but as Styler swung his arms back to prepare for the shot, the ball sailed long. Styler collapsed on the court as the rest of the Wolverines piled on.

“It was literally everything you could possibly imagine,” Styler said. “And to come out at the end on the top is just an incredible feeling. The feeling that this sport has given me, I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”

After a moment the team will never forget, Michigan will look to continue its tournament run in its second straight Elite Eight.