EDWARDSVILLE — Ozan Baris, a recent Michigan State University graduate from Okenos, Michigan, continued his start as a professional tennis player at the Edwardsville Futures tennis tournament, presented by The EGHM Foundation, reaching the singles final before falling to Vignesh Gogineni 6-4, 6-2 at the Edwardsville Tennis Center.
Baris showed resilience throughout the match, battling until Gogineni converted his ninth match point with a drop shot in a deuce game to clinch the title.
In a post-match interview, Baris said Gogineni was the better player, but he was proud of his performance throughout the week.
“I thought I played some really good tennis; I fought hard throughout the week,” Baris said. “Today, I came up short; I didn’t play my best. Vignesh played better than me, so that’s how it kind of goes sometimes.”
Baris said playing for the Spartans in the Big Ten Conference helped prepare him for professional tennis.
“I think, more than anything, it gave me time to mature,” Baris said, “keep growing my game, keep growing as a person, and now that I am a professional tennis player, I feel more ready — there’s no other way to put it, but than kind of doing this for my job, for my career.”
Asked about his experience in Edwardsville, Baris praised the community and tournament workers.
“It was great,” Baris said. “Everything was exceptional. They took good care of us, great fans today and throughout the week. Just overall, a great experience.”
Baris said a return to Edwardsville could depend on how his career progresses.
“We’ll see,” Baris said. “Hopefully, my ranking will be high enough that I’ll be playing in an ATP somewhere, but if not, I’d love to come back here.”
Baris said he is focused on continuing to improve and advance his career.
“At the end of the day, life goes on,” Baris said. “You keep moving forward, keep trying to get better every day, and hopefully, I can string some more good tournaments together, and keep moving my ranking up.”
