As the two of them met at mid-court 10 minutes after the match they stood and talked as friends. Forget that for the preceding two hours the two had fought a battle on the courts worthy of ESPN Classic. Sacramento State’s Junaid Hossain sported an ice bag on his left knee and Fresno Pacific’s Matt Carroll posed in flip flop sandals as they remembered old times, talked tennis strategy and discussed some things only an Australian would understand.

Both players play at the No. 1 spot on their respective teams and both are remarkably talented. Also, both are 6-foot-4 Aussies who have known each other since puberty, or perhaps even before in Carroll’s case. Hossain was 13 and Carroll 12 when they first met.As was earlier reported in the State Hornet, Hossain beat Carroll in Hossain’s first competitive match ever. Carroll was at the time the No.1 junior tennis player in Australia.

The two have remained close friends ever since those days and Thursday marked the first time the two played a competitive match in nearly eight years. The two had not seen each other at all for almost three years, so the match was quite literally a matchup between old friends/foes.

Going into the match both admitted that this date was on their minds long before its arrival. “I thought a lot about it,” Carroll said after the match. “I tried not to think about who I was playing and just concentrate.” Carroll added, “It’s good to play against a friend because they won’t hook you,” referring to the sometimes questionable self-refereeing that goes on in some matches. “I started thinking about it about a month ago,” Hossain said. “I was so nervous out there. It took me until after the first set to start playing well.”

This time around it was Hossain who came out on top in three sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-4). The two estimate that they have played together in a competitive setting four times, with Hossain winning three of those times.

It is easy to see in how they interact with one another that they are close friends. It was impossible to drag an ill word out of either while talking about the other. Well, other than the almost constant friendly jabbing that is common in college-aged men. During the interview neither man was able to break free from the flowing grin that enveloped their faces.

When asked how many people back in Australia were awaiting the results of the match both smiled and laughed. “I told a lot of people about it,” Hossain said. “Whenever two Aussies play each other it’s a big deal back there. I told at least 100 people.”

The match was such an attraction that Carroll’s father flew to California from Australia to watch the match and celebrate his son’s birthday. The three of them stood at center court posing for pictures, talking tennis and recalling past battles.

Certainly Sac State would have liked to have come out on top in the match, especially so close to the conference tournament. But the day belonged to two old friends who had a lot to talk about.

Benn Hodapp can be reached at [email protected]