Asmussen | Okonkwo, Illini teammates savor pro experience

Jul. 19—URBANA — Usually, Illinois men's tennis player Oliver Okonkwo spends part of July at Wimbledon.

The historic venue is 45 minutes from his home in Maidenhead, England.

"I love Wimbledon," Okonkwo said.

He has been a regular at the event.

Until this year.

Instead of going home, Okonkwo decided to stay in the U.S. for part of the summer to play in a string of International Tennis Federation tournaments.

"I think it's super important to utilize the summer," Okonkwo said. "You get to play high-level players, increase your own rating, get the match experience. It's week in, week out. It's brutal, but it's needed."

Okonkwo's schedule kept him from watching the Wimbledon final from start to finish on Sunday. It was a doozy, as Spain's Carlos Alcaraz knocked off legend Novak Djokovic in a classic, five-set match to give Alcaraz his first Wimbledon title.

"It was tough," Okonkwo said. "I started watching it in the morning. Went on court, practiced, then finished watching it before going home."

Alcaraz is 20 years old, three years younger than Okonkwo.

"Alcaraz is an unbelievable player," Okonkwo said. "I tried to fight the feelings of, 'He's 20 years old and I'm 23. He's winning Wimbledon and I haven't got my first point yet.' An incredible player.

"I'm very happy for Alcaraz, young buck and he's able to win Wimbledon. But I wanted Novak to win. I really like watching him play and how he dominates people. Growing up when I was starting to play a lot better, Novak was in his prime and absolutely annihilating everyone. I used that to inspire me to become a better player."

Quick workThis week, Okonkwo is spending it on familiar territory at Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana. He was part of a large contingent of Illini taking part in the ITF's Fighting Illini Open, a tournament that ends Sunday and has $25,000 worth of prize money.

Okonkwo won his opening match during Monday qualifying, defeating American Mateo Delossantos 6-1, 6-2.

"It was all right," Okonkwo said. "I played a younger lad. He was a little bit erratic. I could tell he was nervous from the start."

Having the home-court advantage helped. Okonkwo knows the Atkins Tennis Center well.

"We spend so much time training on these courts," he said. "They're quite different than other courts around. A lot of people come to our courts, and if they haven't played on them before, they struggle because it is such a different game style."

Okonkwo lost his second qualifying match on Tuesday, dropping a 3-6, 6-2, 10-7 decision to American Perry Gregg. Gregg and Okonkwo have been doubles partners in the past.

"The goal is just to take every match as it comes," he said.

Okonkwo played doubles later Tuesday with Illini teammate Gabrielius Guzauskas. Okonkwo and Guzauskas were eliminated from the doubles' bracket after Cash Hanzlik and Pierce Brazil Rollins prevailed in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 12-10.

Up next is another 25K Tournament, this time in Edwardsville, and he plans to play in another event in Decatur that starts in late July and continues on in the first week in August.

Okonkwo wasn't the only Illinois player competing this week. And next. He was joined in the field by teammates Karlis Ozolins, Hunter Heck, Kenta Miyoshi Tyler Bowers, Lucas Horve, Alex Petrov, Guzauskas and Illinois alum Alex Brown.

"It's funny. I haven't seen a lot of them for a very long time," Okonkwo said. "It's nice to look back at your teammates while you're playing these matches. They support you."

Petrov, who is returning from recent knee surgery, got off to a strong start. He won his opening match Monday 6-2, 6-0 and advanced to the main draw with a 6-1, 7-5 victory Tuesday.

"This is a big tournament for me to get a little confidence going into the next ones," said Petrov, who plays Trey Hilderbrand in his first-round match on Wednesday. "This is going to be a great test for me to see how my body feels.

"The more matches, the better during the summer. It always sets you up to have a great season."

Petrov's goal is to win the tournament. Like it is in every event he enters.

"When I'm in it, I feel like I have a chance to get out there and win the whole thing," Petrov said.

Like Okonkwo, Petrov enjoys Wimbledon. But he has a another favorite tennis tournament.

"The U.S. Open because I grew up in Queens actually," he said. "It was right there in my back yard. When I was 11 or 12 years old, I went with my dad and watched Novak in the semis."

They'll be backIowa transfer Okonkwo has another year of eligibility at Illinois. He finished 19-12 in singles last season, including a 5-1 mark in Big Ten matches.

The season ended for the Illini with a first-round NCAA tournament loss to Arizona State.

"We could have done a lot more damage," Okonkwo said. "We were close. The scoreline didn't really reflect it, but if you look at the actual individual scores against Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament, they were tight, and we narrowly lost out. We were expecting a lot more with the talent we have on the team. We know we can do better than that."

"Obviously, not the ending we wanted," Petrov added.

Most of the team returns for the 2023-24 season.

Including Okonkwo and Petrov.

And they're getting a head start with the work they're putting in at Atkins Tennis Center this week.