Boys tennis: Hersey’s Sikorski keeps it light, keeps winning at state
Heavy is the head that wears the crown?
Not really.
Not when Hersey junior Matthew Sikorski is grinning between points, feathering drop shots, rifling groundstrokes and treating pressure like it’s another tennis ball begging to be attacked.
Fun.
That’s the reigning Class 2A state singles champion’s preferred state of mind at the boys tennis state tournament.
“I woke up this morning excited and ready to go,” Sikorski said Thursday after breezing through 3 straight-set victories at the Class 2A state meet. “That was a great feeling, winning state last year.
“I want to feel that again.”
The fourth-seeded Huskies star looked every bit like a player capable of repeating, dispatching St. Charles East’s Teige Donehoo, Naperville Neuqua Valley’s Keshav Menon and Rockton Hononegah’s Braden Monson by a combined score of 36-1 to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals at Palatine High School.
And he did it his way.
Loosely. Creatively. Fearlessly.
“I love the pressure,” Sikorski said. “And the more people watching, the better.”
Thursday’s opening day across Class 1A and Class 2A featured plenty of local firepower, particularly in 2A, where 4-time reigning state champion Hinsdale Central led the team standings with 20 points heading into Friday’s action. New Trier sat second with 19, while Conant and Stevenson shared third at 12 points apiece. Glenbrook North and Loyola Academy followed with 11, while Fremd stood seventh with 10 points. Hersey and Barrington each had 8.
Friday’s main-draw singles and doubles quarterfinals begin at 9 a.m.
Buffalo Grove senior and top-seeded singles player Maksim Hristov, a Louisville recruit, carved through 3 opponents with startling efficiency, surrendering only 2 games all day. Hristov defeated Mundelein’s Spencer Sauer, Yorkville’s Grady Phillips and Conant junior Maximus Rysz to reach the quarterfinals.
Stevenson senior Jaden Dai, the second seed and a Case Western Reserve commit, was nearly as sharp. Dai rolled past Maine South freshman Krysyian Kostov, Waubonsie Valley’s Gautam Mani and Glenbard West freshman Jack Creswell.
The Patriots’ ace also survived a 3-hour wait between his second- and third-round matches.
“I told him, ‘Rest up. Get ready. You’re going to have to play a lot of matches,’” Stevenson coach Izzy Balase said. “He’s patient, which is huge at a tournament like this.”
Then came Balase’s favorite description of his star.
“When he’s popping shots, there’s no stopping Jaden,” the coach said. “He’s entertaining to watch.”
Dai praised Kostov, who rebounded from his opening-round loss by winning 3 straight consolation matches.
“He has a lot of potential,” Dai said of the Maine South freshman. “Watch out for him in the next three seasons.”
Fremd freshman Koki Wakita, seeded 9-16, also turned heads Thursday. The Viking survived a grueling 2 1/2-hour opening-round victory before falling in a dramatic 3-hour second-round match to Creswell, who saved 6 set points late in the second set before prevailing in a third-set super-tiebreaker.
“Koki is consistent,” Fremd coach Johnny Kent said. “In his first-round match he outlasted his opponent with his consistency.”
Kent later noted Wakita became Fremd’s first freshman boys tennis state seed since Andrew Spurk in 2021. Spurk won the Class 2A singles state championship in 2023.
Barrington’s 3-4-seeded doubles tandem of Hadi Dossani and Sohan Yousfi advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals with 3 victories, including a 3-set comeback against Libertyville’s Chethan Nickerson and Chase Peirce.
Conant’s second-seeded doubles team of Nathan Desai and Austin Wu lost 6-4, 6-2 to Waubonsie Valley’s Revanth Kothapalli and Ishan Suresh Kumar in the Round of 16.
In Class 1A, Latin and Deerfield shared the team lead with 22 points, followed by Lake Forest with 18 and Vernon Hills with 11.
VH senior Roman Stukov, seeded 3-4 in singles, won his first 2 matches before falling in 3 sets to Johnsburg’s Tyler Batt. Grayslake Central senior Samay Patel advanced to the Round of 16 before losing to Latin standout Kiyan Alsikafi.
Grayslake North’s doubles team of Chris George and Aidan Munday also reached the Round of 16 before dropping a match to Dunlap’s Ethan Klemens and Harmin Patel.