Nicolaas Scholtz dug deep to win his USTA Pro Futures semifinal match Saturday.
Scholtz, of South Africa and a former Mississippi tennis player, defeated former Texas A&M player Harrison Adams 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 at the Bolo Bash tournament at Rebsamen Tennis Center in Little Rock.
At a glance
At Rebsamen Tennis Center, Little Rock
SATURDAY’S MATCHES
SINGLES SEMIFINALS
Nicolaas Scholtz (5), South Africa, def. Harrison Adams, United States, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
Karue Sell, Brazil, def. Sam Riffice, United States, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
DOUBLES FINAL
Collin Altamirano, United States, and Vasil Kirkov, United States def. Henry Craig, United States, and Miles Seemann, United States, walkover
TODAY’S MATCH
SINGLES FINAL
Scholtz vs. Sell, 1 p.m.
With Saturday's victory, Scholtz, ranked No. 356 in this week's ATP World Tour rankings, moves to today's championship match against Karue Sell of Brazil at 1 p.m. Sell defeated Florida signee Sam Riffice 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in Saturday's other semifinal match.
The third set was tied at 4-4, but then the No. 5-seeded Scholtz capitalized on a break point to go ahead 5-4. He clinched the match by scoring the final two points.
"I knew it was going to be tough," Scholtz said. "He's [Adams] a good player. I knew it was going to be a battle and come down to the key moments in the end. That's what happened.
"I'd like to call it luck, but I went for the big shots. It was a good match. He had a great tournament, but today was my day."
Adams won the first set 7-5 after trailing 3-1, but Scholtz jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second set and won 6-2.
Scholtz is the only remaining seeded player in the tournament. That's not a huge surprise to him.
"There's so much depth," Scholtz said. "There are a lot of guys. Sometimes, you'll play a guy in the first round who was an NCAA champion, but doesn't have an ATP ranking. In America, that happens very often. Being seeded doesn't really count for much."
Saturday's match was the second time Scholtz, 27, and Adams, 23, played each other. In 2014, Scholtz beat Adams 6-3, 6-4 in Oxford, Miss., when Scholtz was with the Rebels and Adams with the Aggies.
"We know each other's games well," Scholtz said. "There were no secrets about strengths or weaknesses."
Entering Saturday, Scholtz was preparing for the possibility of playing two matches. He was scheduled to resume his quarterfinal match against Henry Craig, which was suspended Friday afternoon because of weather, with Scholtz leading 5-4 in the third and final set. But Craig withdrew Saturday because of a back injury.
Craig's injury also forced him to withdraw from the doubles final with Miles Seemann on Saturday, giving Collin Altamirano and Vasil Kirkov the title.
Scholtz said it was tough to prepare for Saturday's play with the possibility of two matches.
"I thought he might have pulled out [Friday]. He had a day to recover," Scholtz said. "Sometimes, you can do a pretty good recovery overnight. I thought we were going to play, for sure.
"It was hard for me to get my head into this match because I had to get over that hurdle first. He [Craig] pulled out right before we were about to go on. Now I had to get ready for the next one.
"But you have to adapt in sports. Whatever comes your way, you have to handle it. Same with life. It's a mental game."
Scholtz became the first four-time All-American at Ole Miss and was the 2014 SEC Player of the Year. He's won once on the US Futures Tour, in 2015 in Laguna Niguel, Calif.
The South African is attempting to stay calm when it comes to the opportunity of winning a second title in America.
"You can't think too much about the finals," Scholtz said. "I'm going to try my best."
Sports on 04/15/2018