Gille moves into third round at Wimbledon

Published 8:33 am Tuesday, July 11, 2023

London, England – For the second straight day, ETSU alum Sander Gille and doubles partner Jordan Vliegen hit the grass at Wimbledon as the Belgian duo won their second round match with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Romain Arneodo (Monaco) and Sam Weissborn (Austria).

After winning their first-round match in 55 minutes on Sunday, Gille/Vliegen needed a little extra time to win the round two matchup on Monday. Monday’s match lasted just over an hour and a half as the opening set went into a tiebreaker with both teams holding serve until the tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Gille/Vliegen fell behind 3-0, but they won four of the next five points to pull even at 4-4. Despite going down 5-4, Gille/Vliegen won the final three points to take the tiebreaker, 7-5.

In the second set, Gille/Vliegen broke serve early on as they jumped out to a 3-1 lead and they never looked back. Arneodo/Weissborn inched within one game two separate times within the set, but Gille/Vliegen won all four points in the final game en route to sweeping the match, 6-4.

For the match, Gille/Vliegen won 75 total points as they totaled nine aces and only committed three unforced errors. The Belgian duo, ranked No. 12 in the tournament, won on their first serve 80 percent of the match and on their second serve 87 percent of the time.

Gille/Vliegen will be back on the grass for a third straight day as they take on American duo Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow in Tuesday’s third round match. The third round matches the longest run for Gille/Vliegen at Wimbledon as they also played in this round in 2021.

Gille helped guide ETSU to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2009-12 and was a three-time first team all-ASUN selection. Gille was named ASUN Player of the Year and Tournament MVP in 2010. Gille finished his collegiate career with 72 wins in the Blue & Gold.