On Sunday, Gabriela Knutson was in a familiar place. Tied at six apiece in the third set against Wake Forest’s No. 36 Emma Davis, No. 11 Knutson was entering her seventh tiebreaker in as many matches.

Most tennis players feel anxious or stressed out during tiebreaks, Knutson said. But she feels “at ease.”

Knutson took the first point of the tiebreaker on a forehand slice against Davis and didn’t relent, winning the tiebreak 7-5 and the match 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5).

“I wish I had a recipe (to win tiebreaks),” Knutson said, “I just have a lot of confidence down the stretch.”

After facing five-straight ranked opponents and posting a 4-1 record during that time, Knutson has relied on tiebreakers to help lead her to an 11-1 season record in singles, the best mark on SU (11-3, 3-3 Atlantic Coast). She’s won six of the seven tiebreaks she’s played this season.

Knutson’s knack for controlling tiebreakers first showed itself on Feb. 24 against Brown’s Alyza Benotto. After dropping the first set against Benotto, 2-6, Knutson fought off a 5-6 deficit to force her first tiebreaker of the season. The junior, who had only dropped two sets at the time, was entering uncharted territory for the season.

Despite the early setbacks in the match, Knutson took the set on a 7-4 tiebreak and swept the third set to remain perfect on the season.

“If you know you are the better player,” Knutson said the week after defeating Benotto, “you’re going to get it done.”

A week after a first set tiebreak helped lead Knutson to a 7-6 (7-6), 6-1 victory at Harvard, Knutson split two tiebreakers against Virginia Tech’s then-No. 61 Natalie Novotna to help lead her to a win in three sets.

Against North Carolina’s then-No. 8 Alle Sanford, Knutson faced first and second set tiebreakers and eased through both of them. After it was announced that Knutson was ranked No. 11 in the nation on March 6, the highest ranking in SU women’s tennis history, she gave some credit to her play in tiebreakers as a factor for the rise.

Though Knutson prefers to not trail in a match, she said she “knows she can win any match” the moment it enters into a tiebreak.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” Knutson said, “You have to focus on every single shot and everything you do. You just have to lock in and assert your dominance from the start.”

Syracuse has eight matches remaining this season, all in conference. Six of its eight opponents are ranked in the top-50 in the country, and as Syracuse faces one of the toughest stretches of its season, Knutson knows her consistency at first singles will be key. Five of the upcoming opponents feature a singles player in the top 54 in the country — probable opponents for Knutson.

“The ACC is one of the best conferences for tennis,” head coach Younes Limam said on Feb. 15. “When we play in conference, we know we’re facing the best.”

As competitiveness rises in conference play during the final month of the season, tiebreakers will be key to Knutson’s success against ranked opponents, she said.

“I have won all the tiebreaks before,” Knutson said, “so I just have to be like, ‘You know what, I got this.’”

Published on March 20, 2018 at 9:44 am

Contact KJ: kjedelma@syr.edu | @KJEdelman