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Matt Brewer, a transfer from Memphis who will play for the Tennessee men’s tennis team this fall, won a first-round match in a Futures pro tournament near St. Louis and earned his first ATP point.

Making the main draw for the first time by winning four qualifying round matches, Brewer upset the No. 8 seed in a 3-hour first-round match, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.

“I was a bit nervous at first,’’ Brewer told the Telegraph in Godfrey, Ill. “But I knew if I lost the first set, I’d be able to regain my nerves and come back.’’

Brewer fought through several double faults, then turned to his power game.

“I think my forehand did it,’’ Brewer said. “I figured out in the end that if I took my forehand to his backhand, I was able to come in on that one, and that’s the weaker side.’’

Brewer lost in the Round of 16 to the eventual runner-up, Sheeva Parbhu of Notre Dame.

Brewer had played in five previous Future qualifiers, but this was the first time he reached the main draw.

Brewer is in Milwaukee trying to qualify for another Future’s tournament.

Brewer lived in Knoxville in 1996 before moving. He signed with Memphis, but after one year, transferred to UT in the spring. He redshirted and will play this fall. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

Lady Vols Signee: Maria Sorbello of Mackay, Australia, will play this fall for the Lady Vols.

Sorbello signed with UT a year ago but didn’t qualify academically in part because she missed a lot of school due to an illness.

Sorbello trained at Fancutt’s Tennis Centre in Brisbane and was coached by Charlie Fancutt, older brother of former UT men’s coach Michael Fancutt.

She is training in Hilton Head, S.C., and will enroll at UT later this month. She is a right-hander with a good kick serve and a two-handed backhand.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.