Chambana Sun

TOKYO – Karlis Ozolins, a rising senior from the Fighting Illini men's tennis team, secured his second professional singles title of the summer on Sunday by winning the ITF M15 Tokyo tournament.

Following his victory at ITF M15 Anseong on June 16, Ozolins advanced through two rounds of qualifiers before triumphing in the main draw in Tokyo. This marks his second title in three tournaments.

Ozolins, the highest seed among qualifiers, began with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Hiroki Sakagawa in the opening round of singles qualification. He then defeated Hong-Lin Fu 6-4, 6-2 to earn a spot in the main draw.

In the first round of the singles main draw, Ozolins overcame No. 6-seeded Shintaro Imai in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. The following day, he recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Woobin Shin to advance to the singles quarterfinals.

Ozolins moved into the semifinals with a 7-5, 6-1 win against No. 3-seeded Yusuke Takahashi, who was ranked over 300 spots higher than Ozolins in the ATP rankings. A walkover allowed him to proceed to the final.

In the singles final against Masamichi Imamura, Ozolins quickly gained a 3-0 lead and won the first set. He maintained his momentum in the second set and clinched both the set and match with his twelfth ace of the game. The final score was 6-3, 6-4.

Ozolins had an impressive junior season in 2023-24 as a singles and doubles All-American and earned a place on the All-Big Ten First Team. He qualified for both NCAA Singles and Doubles Tournaments and finished his junior year ranked No. 25 in singles and No.9 in doubles.

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