Fu-Dominko bond, doubles partnership fueling Irish tennis

By AIDAN THOMAS sports e ditor

o n Feb. 21, the latest ITA rankings came out, and a pair of Irish players populated the lists. s enior c onnor Fu has been a mainstay in the n otre d ame lineup for a while, but Tuesday represented his first time appearing in the rankings. h e appeared alongside Irish freshman s ebastian d ominko.

“It started with their friendship,” n otre d ame head coach r yan s achire said. “ e ven before they started playing doubles together, they were buddies. In a conversation with me, s ebastian referred to c onnor as his big brother on the team.”

The duo formed a bond early in the season, and that friendship developed into a lethal doubles pairing that earned some recognition from the ITA, coming in at n o. 47 amidst all doubles teams. Fu and d ominko have become crucial lynchpins for the n o. 37 Irish. They play together on the top doubles court, compiling a 9-1 record so far.

The close relationship between the freshman and senior didn’t initially seem to have potential as a pairing.

For his whole collegiate career, Fu played the deuce court (the right side) in doubles, the same as d ominko. Late in the fall, s achire elected to switch Fu to the ad court (left side), and Fu responded with a strong tournament.

“When thinking about our ultimate doubles combinations, now with the door open that c onnor could play the ad court and s ebastian locks down the deuce court, they became a possibility to play together,” s achire commented. “ c ombine that with their skills, their strengths together, and more importantly, the relationship, the bond they have, it seemed like a really good opportunity for us to try it out, and we did in practice and it clicked. They like playing together, and they’ve been good.”

Good might be underselling the duo’s talent and overall potential. This past weekend, Fu and d ominko outclassed their top-25 opponent from Wisconsin in a dominant showing at the top court.

They’ve won seven straight, and will put that streak to the test this weekend. Facing a pair of topfive teams in o hio s tate and m ichigan, Fu and d ominko will need to step up their game. o hio s tate boasts the second-ranked doubles pairing in the country, and m ichigan’s top pairing ranks seventh.

“We’ve been putting in a lot of work in practice,” Fu said after a early-season win over Western m ichigan. “ s till a pretty new team, but it’s a pretty high potential team. We’re both pretty good athletes and know how to play doubles pretty well.” h owever, when not playing together, Fu and d ominko remain key pieces for the Irish in singles play. Fu continues to be a staple for the Irish in the middle of their lineup as he is 5-3 this season.

After that win over Western m ichigan, Fu reflected on his role as a senior leader. “I think us as older guys who have seen all these matches before… it’s our job to show the younger kids how it’s done during pressure moments.” m eanwhile d ominko, who has competed internationally for s lovenia, has jumped into a high-profile role as a freshman. h e slotted in as the 38th-ranked singles player in the latest rankings. d ominko boasts a 6-2 record as the Irish’s n o. 1 singles player this season. While the Irish have had players climb into the top 20, or even 10 before, s achire can’t remember anyone doing it in their first season.

“I don’t think the stage is too big for him in any way shape or form, as we’re seeing in his results. We’ve passed all the freshman nerves, and it’s just about helping him become the best player he can be and him growing his game and developing. I think he’s got a shot to be one of the best players in college tennis,” s achire said.

Among his ‘high-end experience,’ d ominko has competed in Junior Wimbledon, the Junior U. s o pen and the d avis c up. The latter is the premier international team competition in men’s tennis, in which d ominko competed for s lovenia.

The lanky lefty brings thundering power to his game, but it’s not just his booming serves that have allowed the freshman to dominate early in his career.

What sets Dominko apart?

“It’s the movement that he has on the court to go along with that size and power that is different. It’s unique. h e can move quite well, especially for his size,” s achire said. “When you combine the weapons that he has with the ability to run well and to play defense and play complete tennis, he has loads of potential to be an unreal, world-class player.” d ominko and Fu have sparked the Irish to a 7-3 start this season, but the road is about to get a lot tougher. n o. 3 m ichigan visits the Irish on Thursday, and n otre d ame travels to n o. 4 o hio s tate over the weekend. To start A cc play, the Irish face up against n o. 10 n orth c arolina and n o. 22 d uke. n otre d ame is currently 0-3 against Top-25 teams, but they are 7-0 against everyone else. Their best wins are over n o. 48 Washington and n o. 49 Wisconsin. s o what’s the ceiling of this team? c an they seriously challenge top level teams?

The answer might be in a veteran playing the best tennis of his career in c onnor Fu and the mammoth lefty swing of freshman s ebastian d ominko.

Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu