(electronic groove music)
(electric guitar riffs)
- We've done this drill where we're going cross-court.
You have to run in front of the other person.
So, one side will have two.
One side will have one.
You guys know this drill, right?
Okay, it's a little different.
You don't have to run in front of the person,
you have to run in front of one of these bottles.
Step in with that right foot, as much as you can.
Get that right foot out there.
Stay down and lean forward.
There you go.
I think, on this side, we gotta be looking to hit
as many forehands as we can.
Inside out, backhands hard.
(tennis balls whacking)
Was it this hot last March?
I don't remember it being this hot.
Do you get purple-faced when it's hot?
Okay.
Might want to see a doctor about that.
Remember, she can't volley.
Like, she's not allowed to, not that she can't.
(tennis balls whacking)
Was that out?
Was that one out that she hit?
2-1. You guys still lost.
1-2.
- Sorry, I don't know how I ever doubted you.
Your shoes are blinding you?
(upbeat rock music)
Grab some water and then let's get them up.
- [Narrator] Following a history dating back
to the 1960s and Wimbledon,
for junior Natalie Suk,
the sport of tennis simply runs in the family.
- My mother, she started playing tennis
at that age
and she was around there,
up at Wimbledon in 1962.
Too, my father, won a Czech national championship,
18 and under.
When I was a little kid, we didn't know anything else
but to go to tennis courts after school.
With my sister, I won three mixed-double titles,
one French Open and two Wimbledons.
- I have a lot of memories.
But there are a few that stick out.
One of them is
in Houston, when he was playing Masters.
It was just like the top nine players.
It was a really special tournament.
I remember, I would always be in the players' lounges
and I kind of knew some of the players,
always persuading them to play ping pong or something
because I was bored.
I think whenever I was 11, 12,
I realized that it was, especially in Czech,
everyone knows my last name.
- [Cyril] To come from the family like this,
it might get too much pressure on you.
That everyone wants to see you win
and if you forget the name,
everyone's gonna watch you.
Okay, I'm gonna win over this person
because she has a name.
- I moved to Florida and, of course,
here in the States, people kind of know,
especially older people, but it's not.
People don't know my name.
I probably liked it more.
- [Narrator] Despite getting less recognition
for her name, Suk's play on the court is
what would eventually lead her to Ole Miss.
- She was out in Brandenton and IMG Academy.
Went to look at a couple of players there.
I was introduced to her and watched her practice.
Really liked, you know Natishka.
She's got a big game.
So, when I saw that, I was like wow.
This kid still has a lot of upside
and can continue to get a lot better.
And then you know that the family history in tennis.
The tennis genes, so to speak.
- [Natalie] I really started looking at colleges
in my senior year in high school.
Basically in January, which is really late.
I remember Mark coming and watching me play
at IMG in Florida.
The second I came and visited here,
it was my first school that I visited.
I had this feeling like I knew I belonged.
I came home from here and I was like,
"Mom, this is where I'm gonna be."
It's a feeling I can't describe.
It's something that, I guess you just have
when you know.
People call me Nat Attack.
On the team for a reason.
- Man, she's got such a big game.
She hits that forehand so hard.
I mean, seriously.
If I hit with her,
it comes at you in a hurry.
She's got to have those kind of weapons.
When you play that high in the lineup,
you have to have some big-time weapons.
With her serve and her forehand,
she absolutely has that.
- I think I'm very aggressive.
I think I'm a little bit of a streaky player
Whenever I'm on, I can beat a lot of good players.
Then, whenever I'm not on, I tend to struggle.
But, I've grown to decrease the gap.
- Great forehand.
Oh, yeah. Huge.
Awesome.
Let's go.
This point.
- It's been great.
Whenever he sees some technical problem
that he knows is affecting me and it needs to be changed,
he tells me.
And he taught me everything I know.
- I respect his tennis.
The way he played tennis and also his tennis mind.
We talk quite a bit actually, when he's here.
Really enjoy talking to him.
He's a very cool, down-to-earth kind of guy.
He doesn't put a lot of pressure on Natalie.
- Great point, Natalie.
It's all right, honey.
Keep more on your feet.
Good point. Keep going.
Well, I was always there for her
when I got a feeling that she needed me
next to her.
- I think it's a little bit of an advantage.
Since he's played, he's very calm.
He understands the situation.
Like nerves kick in, you do a couple of stupid decisions.
So, he's never negative.
He's also probably one of the most positive people
in my life.
- I speak to Natalia almost every day when I'm overseas.
So, I can feel.
I can sense how she feels here
and when she talks about coaches,
about Mark, and about the stuff here,
and about how the whole community bonds together
and goes to see football games.
I think it's great.
To me, this is the most important feeling.
That I know that she is happy here.
(electronic rock music)
- In this league, there's no easy wins.
So, we knew coming in.
LSU and A&M was two more top 25 teams.
Being at home definitely helped.
The fact that we'd beaten LSU earlier
in the season, I think helped a little bit.
- We just were really focused.
We knew what was at stake that day.
We knew how important this match was gonna be.
So, we really tried our hardest to give ourselves
the best opportunity that we could.
- I think we were very pumped and very energetic
because we had a couple of tough losses in the past.
I think we really wanted to bounce back.
All of the courts were so energetic.
The doubles was great.
- [Narrator] Although Rebel fans were treated
to new pairings during doubles,
on court two, the partnership was actually
a blast from the past.
- I've played with Anna since I was 12 years old.
So it's been special for us to be playing again,
next to each other.
It just feels like we're back in Europe
and grinding on clay.
- We were having some trouble winning
at one and two doubs, consistently.
And it's just trying to figure out what works.
I didn't want to get to the end of the season
and then, look back and say,
"Gosh, I should have made a switch there."
Or something like that.
- [Narrator] Even with a 6-2 win on court two,
Ole Miss faced an uphill battle.
Down 2-5, on court one.
- [Arianne] When we sat down at 2-5 on changeover,
Jason talked to us.
He was like, "Okay. It's 2-5."
"We're gonna fight for every point, right here."
"We're not gonna look at the outcome."
Basically, get out of our heads, actually.
Obviously, it's not gonna work always.
But, that day, it just worked out.
(audience cheers)
- [Mark] Even though it's just one point,
getting a doubles point,
it gives you a lot of confidence
for everybody.
I think everybody goes into that singles then
with a little bit more confidence,
a little bit more swagger.
- [Anna] Doubles, it's so fast.
Because it's really just a set to six.
- It gets the energy going.
Especially, it just makes such a big difference
if you have to win three singles matches
or four singles matches.
Winning that doubles point is just so important
for the rest of the day, basically.
- Great job pulling that out.
Listen, the stuff we talked about at the beginning.
Just the energy.
You guys were flying around out there.
Got off to some good starts.
Another great comeback there.
That's what we're gonna have to do.
The same in singles, somewhere.
Even if you're down 0-3, 1-4,
keep fighting, don't let that energy go away.
From beginning to end, every single one of you guys.
Come on. Here we go, ladies.
Battle.
- [Female player] Go Rebs on three. One, two, three.
- [All] Go Rebs.
- [Narrator] Carrying the comeback momentum from doubles,
junior Ariana Hartono would spark a dominant afternoon
for the Rebs, making her mark against an opponent
she had lost to, earlier in the year.
- The match that I played against her before,
it was nothing what I hoped for.
Nothing what I wanted.
So, I went to that match on that Friday.
I was like, "Okay, I've played this girl before,
but it's gonna be a totally different match."
I'm gonna have a totally different mindset.
I'm not gonna think about it.
I'm just gonna go out there and play.
- She's a great player.
Great kid, great player.
The tough thing is, at one singles in the SEC,
you're playing the top kids in the country.
Every single time out, she's expected to win against
some of the best.
It's nice to know that every time,
regardless of who we play,
we have a chance to win at one singles.
(audience cheers)
- I blew it out of the water.
For me to say that about myself,
that doesn't happen that often.
Honestly, I'm not sure if I did anything different
but I was so in the zone, to call it that.
Yeah, that was just a great day.
- [Narrator] With a win on court one,
and sophomore Teah Jandritch securing the win
on court five.
(audience claps)
Ole Miss led 3-0 overall.
And all eyes turned to court three,
where freshman Anna Vrbenska was ahead
in the third set.
- Great job.
Keep trusting yourself, keep moving this, kid.
Keep moving this, kid.
Like I said, if she sets a ball up,
like with her short second serve,
don't be afraid to just step in.
Get her off balance.
Here we go.
- I just try to play my game.
I think my opponent becomes more tired
and she missed more than in the beginning.
- [Mark] It was one of those things where I feel like,
with Anna, a lot of times that cumulative effect.
She keeps so many balls going
and moves a girl side-to-side.
We've seen that a lot with Anna
where she's gotten off to a slow start
or where she's split sets and, in the third set,
she's just physically the stronger person.
Mentally, the stronger person.
- Yes.
(audience applauds)
Way to fight, kid.
Way to fight.
- [Anna] It was my first clench in SEC.
I was glad
I won for our team.
It was a good feeling
because I didn't win just for myself
but for all team.
- [Narrator] The Rebels not only shut out LSU
4-0 overall, but the win totaled #200 at Ole Miss
for head coach Mark Beyers.
- [Arianne] Coach always is so supportive of us.
Always trying to motivate us
to be the best that we can be.
- He always support us.
He's always positive.
He gives us energy.
- [Natalie] He's really probably one
of the most positive people I've ever met.
He brings you up when you're down.
He's always there.
His door is always open.
(Mark laughs)
- I thought that was coming back.
Here we go.
Hey, keep working, ladies.
Here we go, lots of fore work.
Here we go.
Just like in the first set, it's no different.
You were up 3-Love and then she went 3-3.
It's one of those things.
Don't panic, but just make sure.
Remember how hard we were working with some
of those balls.
Keep trusting yourself.
We're doing fine.
We're not gonna win 100% of the points that way.
But, I'm telling you,
you guys have more aggressive, more energetic
than these guys.
Great job.
That's the right shot.
Now, she knows that, hey,
I've got to watch for that.
To get it against LSU
was pretty special.
Again, they're a quality team.
Very well-coached, good players.
But that's more.
It has more to do with all the amazing student athletes
that we've had come through here.
Brings back a lot of memories
of some awesome kids that played for us.
That were able to get all those wins.
(high-energy bass beat music)