Former Pensacola Catholic tennis player Justin Lyons makes return to hometown in Futures Championship

Local tennis star Justin Lyons has never backed down from a challenge.

Unseeded playing in his second consecutive Pensacola Futures Championship held at Roger Scott Tennis Center on Wednesday, he faced that challenge head on in No. 3 seed Aidan McHugh of Great Britain.

In front of his large and supportive home following, Lyons fought valiantly, especially in a strong second set; but it was McHugh who had the upper hand in the end, 6-2, 6-4.

Despite falling to the higher-ranked player, Lyons felt he improved as the match went on. The two rallied consistently throughout, battling to many deuce games.

Lyons also faced a No. 3 seed in last year’s tournament.

“It is what it is – you’ve got to play with the best, learn from the best and beat the best – at the end of the day, you’d like to win the tourney,” Lyons said. “I was excited to play here again.”

McHugh started off with the hotter racquet by breaking Lyons’ serve to begin the match and served a love game for an early two-game lead. The next two games both hit deuce, as McHugh earned another break and fought back from 15-40 on serve to go ahead 4–0.

Strong play by Lyons on the serve, including a big-game clincher at 40-15, got the fan favorite and former Pensacola Catholic phenom on the board. After McHugh answered with a service-game win, Lyons turned up the power with an ace to close out a 40-0 game. But McHugh was able to serve out the set.

The second was a different, more entertaining story.

Faced with adversity down a set and the first game of the second, Lyons took over. He won a hard-fought game with a break, then got out to a 40-0 lead serving before stopping a late rally. The crowd was ecstatic after Lyons broke McHugh again, for a 3-1 lead.

But soon McHugh proved why he’s a top-seeded player. After returning the break on Lyons’ serve, he won the next three games to regain momentum at 5-3.

Lyons would not go down quietly, however. He got out to a 40-15 following big serves and a cross-court winner, including an ace to pull within a game.

The final game of the match was the best. The pair hit rally after rally to make it 30-30; Lyons had game point, but McHugh forced deuce. After his opponent grabbed the advantage, Lyons evened the game again on a long shot. A pair of net winners by McHugh – the last on a passing shot following an incredible volley by Lyons after falling –gave him the victory in the early evening heat.

“After the first set, I kind of got my feet under me, in a sense,” Lyons said. “I felt a lot more comfortable, and I was serving pretty well in the second set. There was a just a couple of unforced errors that I needed to control. I think from both sides, I was playing at a high level. I just needed to move a little quicker around the court, and my net game could’ve been a bit better.”

Looking back, Lyons may have taken a different approach with the second set lead; but he was not discouraged by his overall play.

“I definitely surprised him a little with some backhands down the line and some different shot selection,” he said. “When I went up 3-1, I should’ve kept it more simple. I should’ve served to the backhand, hit a backhand-cross, and just hit the smart shots. I felt like I let him off the hook at the end. At the end of the day, it’s just tennis and there’s always room to improve. It was a great time, and I’m glad to be back home.”

He may not have won his lone match in the Futures main draw, but Lyons has much to be proud of, on and off the courts.

After taking the Crusaders to great heights in high school, Lyons now has a new title to claim as just a freshman at Florida State – ACC Champion.

Playing mostly at the No. 6 singles spot, he helped lead the Seminoles to their first-ever conference crown, in quite dramatic fashion. Down 1-3 in the finals to the back-to-back defending national champion and No. 2-ranked Virginia Cavaliers, FSU fought back mightily with a vengeance to win 4-3 and make history.

Florida State snapped Virginia’s 62-match winning streak over ACC opponents, dating back to Feb. 13, 2021. The Seminoles would go on to reach their second Super Regional appearance (top 16 teams) in three years, and fifth time in program history.

The crowning achievement is something Lyons and his fellow teammates will always remember fondly.

“It was pretty unreal – it feels unbelievable to make history,” said Lyons, a finance major at FSU. “We had probably our best tournament of the year. We beat Virginia Tech – we played alright, but not that great. Then we stomped (North Carolina) State, 4-0, after losing to them in the regular season. We also beat Wake Forest after losing in the regular season – we clinched that at 4-3. Then we played Virginia – we managed to come back against all odds. We did amazing.”

The Florida State squad is such a cohesive blend of older players mixed in with some fresher faces; Lyons welcomed learning the collegiate ropes from all of them.

“Being a part of this team has really been fun – our team is sick. Our top guys are unbelievable, and even our bottom guys are great as well, all around. Everybody on the team played great. Learning from them is awesome," Lyons said.

Needless to say, the transition from high school to college tennis and schoolwork has been relatively smooth for the even-keeled Lyons.

The main differences?

“You have a lot more practice, and you’re going to have to learn to balance school and tennis a lot better,” he said. “The level is so high just at practice that it helps you so much – it helps you not be nervous and be ready for these types of matches. Our No. 1 and 2 guys are this (pro) level, so it’s great playing against them in practice. It’s unbelievable.”

Lyons’ success is no surprise to Roger Scott Center tennis director Brock Sakey, one of many who have helped hone Lyons' game over the years.

“It’s really fun to have Justin back here playing in front of all of his family and friends,” Sakey said. “We had an amazing crowd. I thought he played incredible. A couple of breaks here and there, and maybe he gets the second set. But I’m really proud of the way he competed. It’s always fun to have him back in Pensacola. Hopefully each year here, he can get one step closer to getting the main draw victory.”

Mac Knefely is a sports contributor for the Pensacola News Journal .

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Former Pensacola Catholic tennis player Justin Lyons makes return to hometown in Futures Championship