Eric Oncins celebrating his win at the Veolia Lakeland Open presented by Six Zero.
Eric Oncins celebrating his win at the Veolia Lakeland Open presented by Six Zero. PPA Tour

Oncins saves six match points, stuns Haworth to reach Round of 16

“If you don’t know me, you can never count me out. I’m going to fight to the last point.”

That’s what Eric Oncins told Pickleballtv’s Michelle McMahon early Wednesday afternoon after his thrilling 4-11, 11-9, 13-11 victory over No. 6 seed Chris Haworth in the men’s singles Round of 32.

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That never-give-up attitude was on full display in the comeback effort, as Oncins saved six match points to overcome a 5-10 deficit in the deciding game to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the day so far at Beerman Family Tennis Center.

 

The No. 25 seed credited fellow pro Pablo Tellez for helping him make a key tactical adjustment down the stretch: slicing his approach shots.

“I think Pablo saw me hit two slices there and saw that Chris got a little uncomfortable with the passing shots, and then he told me, ‘Hey, if you get a chance to look for the slice and come in instead of staying back, that’s going to give you an advantage at the net.’

Incorporating slice approaches helped Oncins get established at the kitchen line at a higher frequency in the match’s closing stages, which allowed him to narrowly escape with the win.

No. 12 seed Zane Ford, who himself is coming off a three-game win over Mohaned Alhouni, awaits Oncins in the Round of 16.