Tim Gayle, Montgomery Advertiser

After winning just about every conceivable tennis championship in his native Brazil, the logical next step for Raony Carvalho would have been the professional circuit.

Texas Tech tennis coach Tim Siegel is thankful Carvalho had an injured left knee.

"When I finished high school, I was going to try pro," Carvalho said, "but I hurt my knee. I was thinking if I went pro and I got hurt again, maybe I would not play tennis any more, so I'll go to college and keep playing and when I finish school, I'll go pro. I think it was the right step."

Siegel would agree. Carvalho and the 16th-ranked Red Raiders defeated Notre Dame on Saturday to advance to the championship of the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic against 17th-ranked Oklahoma. Inclement weather forced tournament officials to move the championship match to the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn at 10 a.m.

"This tournament is hard," Carvalho said. "We have great teams here. There are 16 teams playing and we cannot tell one team is easier to beat. Now that we're in the finals, we're happy but we still have one more."

Carvalho, a native of Brazilia, Brazil, was ranked as the No. 1 tennis player in South America after winning the 12-and-under, 14-and-under, 16-and-under and 18-and-under championships in Brazil.

He continued his winning ways in college, where he was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2009, but the transi tion proved difficult at times.

"The hardest part is the court," Carvalho said. "I played on clay courts my whole life. I practiced on clay courts and I played tournaments on clay courts. That was the big step, the part I had to improve on the most. After that, it was the wind. It's so windy in Lubbock. It makes my life so hard. But after a year and a half, I'm starting to get used to it."

The Red Raiders (15-1) have won 13 consecutive matches, with 11 of those coming against ranked teams, and Siegel gives a lot of the credit to Carvalho.

"I don't think there's another team in the country that doesn't have a junior or a senior in the singles lineup," Siegel said. "The most important thing is at No. 1 and No. 2, we've lost three matches (21-3) the entire year. That sets the tone. Our No. 1 player has grown up so much compared to last year, it's in credible. I always say a good team is not going to be a great team unless the No. 1 player is a guy you can count on and he's been that."

Carvalho, Siegel said, "is an incredible shot maker. He can make any shot anywhere and that's a hard guy to coach be cause you want to rein him in a little bit where he plays intelli gently. Last year, Ray had to win the point with winners. Today, he can win the point on his oppo nents' errors, so it's a combina tion of playing better defensive ly and picking his spots offensively."

Siegel said the biggest part of Carvalho's maturity between his freshman and sophomore years came off the court.

"It's a combination of that (transition), plus the structure," Siegel said. "I'm a coach that be lieves in paying attention to the details -- being on time, taking care of your school work, these kids have to get their degrees. I think he has learned that those things are important to his ten nis, where before he thought that was irrelevant."

On the court, Carvalho is im pressive to watch. His biggest enemy is also his best asset. His aggressiveness gives him a win ning edge against almost every opponent who isn't named Oleksandr Nedovyesov. Carvalho and his teammates beat three teams on the way to the champi onship, including Oklahoma State on Friday, but that win didn't include the singles matchup between Carvalho and Nedovyesov.

"Ray has tried a number of different things, but he is 0-6 against him," Siegel said. "Olek gets up for him because it's a conference type of match, but he has a complete game. Ray needs a little more discipline against him."

"He's a rock in my shoe," Carvalho laughed. "He's a great player. He was No. 1 for two years, an All-American both years. He's hard to beat. You can see from his results he's a good player and (on Friday) he show ed that one more time."

Carvalho, at least for the mo ment, has the last laugh. His team reached the championship round of the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic and if there's one thing college tennis has taught one of Brazil's best players, it's the importance of team play as Carvalho sets his goals for this season.

"First, with the whole team, win the NCAA tournament," he said. "After that, my goal is to be an All-American and finish in the top 10. I want to play in the NCAA tournament (finals), as a team, in singles and doubles."