Couch: MSU tennis' latest big-time recruit, Matthew Forbes, is U.S. Open-bound. Then he'll join the Spartans' surging program.

Couch: MSU tennis’ latest big-time recruit, Matthew Forbes, is U.S. Open-bound. Then he’ll join the Spartans’ surging program.

Posted by Admin August 13, 2024 Tennis

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Matthew Forbes hasn’t yet arrived on Michigan State’s campus and already he’s about to do something no Spartan is believed to have ever done — play in the main draw at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, which begins later this month in New York.

Forbes, an incoming MSU freshman from North Carolina, will unpack his things in East Lansing next week and, a few days later, take on one of the top players in the world in the first round at the U.S. Open. The draw is yet to be determined. But Forbes is in it — by virtue of winning the USTA’s Boys 18s national title Sunday in Kalamazoo.

“I’m still soaking it all in,” Forbes said Tuesday. “To be honest, I felt like that happened so fast. The whole tournament, I was never really thinking about it and then when I actually won it, it kind of hit me. I was like, ‘Dang, I’m actually going to New York.’ It’s a lot to take in right now.”

What’s going on with MSU’s men’s tennis program is a lot to take in right now, too. The addition of Forbes, who committed and signed with the Spartans in July, is the latest development for a surging program — one Forbes two years ago admittedly didn’t seriously consider when he originally committed to play for his home-state Tar Heels. When he changed his mind, MSU was there again. And more appealing.

Harry Jadun, who’d just taken over as MSU’s head coach during Forbes’ initial recruitment, has turned the Spartans into a top-25 program, coming off a season that included a number of firsts and heading into a year that’ll begin with the No. 1-ranked returning college player in junior Ozan Baris.

RELATED: Couch: Led by Ozan Baris, MSU’s men’s tennis program has risen rapidly

“They’re completely different,” Forbes said of MSU’s program now versus then. “Harry always had a vision. That coaching staff, they want to win national championships. They have the same goals I do. They always have, but they’re putting it into reality now. … MSU has so many great players. I’m going to have to fight to get my spot.”

That’s the right attitude. He’ll also be as acclaimed coming in as anyone the Spartans have ever landed, up there with Baris, who grew up in Okemos.

“I used to look up to the winners of Kalamazoo like, ‘Those guys are untouchable,’ ” Jadun said. “ ‘Those guys, they go to the Virginias of the world, the USCs, those blue blood programs that a lot of the top juniors have been going to.’ I mean it still really hasn’t sunk in that we have the player that won Kalamazoo Boys 18s. It’s the best 18-and-under junior player coming to Michigan State, and he’s going to be playing in the U.S. Open and (the MSU coaching staff) we’re going to be there in the players box with a main draw player, playing against one of the top 100 players in the world on the biggest stage in tennis. It definitely doesn’t seem real.”

Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Rod Laver — they’ve all won singles or doubles titles in Kalamazoo throughout the years. Baris finished third in the Boys 18s two years ago. Forbes was fifth last year.

This year, Forbes learned from his experience two years ago, playing in Kalamazoo in the 16s, where the winner earned entry into the U.S. Open juniors.

“I entered that tournament so tight. I was so nervous, so I lost earlier than I should have,” Forbes said. “I felt like I was a favorite to win that tournament or one of the favorites at least. Two years later, I felt like I was in a similar position (in the 18s), so (it took) not letting what’s at stake get to me. That was a big thing. In the end, I felt like whoever thought about what was at stake the least was who was going to win the match.”

Forbes defeated Jack Kennedy 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in Sunday’s final.

“He can hit the ball mach 100,” Jadun said of Forbes. “But sometimes he kind of reverts to slowing it down a little bit and playing a little bit more of a defensive style. I think for him to play his best tennis, he’s got to be aggressive. He’s got to take the fight to the other person. And that’s really what we’ve been encouraging him to do all tournament, and he did a great job of that in the finals.”

Winning in Kalamazoo was needed affirmation for Forbes that working harder would eventually produce better results.

“This year has been pretty tough, results-wise. I haven’t been playing as well as I’ve been hoping to play,” Forbes said. “Honestly, I thought the year slipped away from me a little bit until this. I’ve been working the hardest I’ve ever worked. I was wondering, ‘Why, like when I worked my hardest, why am I losing the most?’ ”

At the U.S. Open, it would be a sizable upset for Forbes to get past the first round in the main draw, given the proven pro he’ll face. There, unlike Kalamazoo, the whole point is the experience.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how my game compares to all the pros and what I need to do to get better,” Forbes said. “And I’m also excited to see what they do, how they prepare for matches, what they eat and stuff like that. Just the little things I’m excited about.”

If he loses early, he plans to stay and enter the U.S. Open juniors draw. Then, it’s back to MSU.

“It was everything I would want in a school,” said Forbes, who is already familiar with a couple of players on MSU’s team. “I feel like MSU gives you the best chance to go pro. And that’s what I’m looking for, as well. And I’m also looking to compete for national championships.”

Those are dreams that didn’t used to be associated with MSU tennis. Dreams that changed with Jadun and his staff and Baris and Big Ten freshman of the year Aristotelis Thanos, and with MSU’s NIL collective, This is Sparta! (through Charitable Gift America), which has provided Jadun and his program the resources to compete for top players.

“It’s been huge,” Jadun said. “Obviously, it’s part of the landscape. To be competitive, you’ve got to be competitive in the NIL-sphere. So that’s really helped us. Is it the biggest factor? I don’t know. It’s a piece of the puzzle.”

One that now includes the top junior player in the country.

“If you look at guys who have won Kalamazoo 18s in the past, they’ve come into college and they’ve been some of the best players in college tennis,” Jadun said.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.