North Carolina
Duke men’s tennis picks up ranked wins against N.C. State, Wake Forest in return to Durham
Tennis has traditionally been considered a gentleman’s sport, dominated by softened clapping, managed celebrating and minimal feuding. However within the extremely anticipated matchup between Duke and N.C. State, there wasn’t a lot love within the air — as a substitute, it was fierce competitors, pure ardour and a perfervid need to win.
Within the scorching scorching Durham solar Sunday, two of essentially the most aggressive tennis squads within the nation rallied it out at Ambler Tennis Stadium. Luckily for the Twentieth-ranked Blue Devils, it was Duke and its clutch-time brilliance that shone the brightest.
After returning house from a six-game voyage, head coach Ramsey Smith and his crew settled again down within the comforts of their very own courts, following up a 4-3 Friday win in opposition to No. 16 Wake Forest with a 5-2 defeat of No. 23 N.C. State to shut the weekend.
“It was nice to be again at house. I feel we acquired lots more durable and discovered lots about ourselves with the six-match highway stretch,” Smith stated.
As the group grew loud and the claps thunderous, Duke’s premier tandem of Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas secured the primary win of the day for the Blue Devils (15-5, 8-1 within the ACC), beating Robin Catry and Luca Staeheli 7-5.
The Wolfpack (12-7, 6-2), nevertheless, stole the doubles level away with a dominant tiebreaker displaying in opposition to Duke’s Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang. Within the closing moments of the match, Zhang struggled to discover a option to win over factors: His unforced errors plagued the duo as his aggression on returns seemingly diminished.
Zhang’s struggles, nevertheless, had been short-lived. On the singles court docket, having swapped out his signature Nike headband for a vibrant white Duke cap, the staff co-captain placed on an offensive masterclass.
Fast on his toes, he returned Braden Shick’s highly effective serves and well-placed hits; on Schick’s serves, the Blue Satan’s groundstrokes gave him a aggressive edge over his much less skilled counterpart. He cruised previous Shick 6-2 within the first set; a few break factors later, he received the second set 6-1, handing Duke its first singles level of the day.
After taking a fast sip from his inexperienced Gatorade bottle, Zhang dialed into his teammates’ matches on neighboring courts. His drenched white shirt off, black athletic tape fastidiously taped onto his serving shoulder, the Bloomfield Hills, Mich., product delivered encouraging phrases, emanating his successful vitality.
That vitality was well-received on the highest court docket: No. 17 Johns, the staff’s different co-captain, adopted in Zhang’s footsteps shortly thereafter, pulling down No. 52 Rafa Izquierdo Luque 6-2, 6-3 with out a lot bother.
“The captains led the way in which. They had been superior,” Smith stated. “To win shortly at [courts] one and three at two of their finest spots, that simply gave everybody else confidence and we had been capable of construct some staff momentum after shedding the doubles level.”
With three singles matches advancing into the third set, Sunday’s intrastate matchup stood balanced at 2-2. Each groups had an equal likelihood of successful the matchup, and each groups anxiously awaited a spark of vitality.
And that’s exactly what the Blue Devils acquired. Connor Krug lifted his fists up, wanting towards his teammates, after successful a break level on court docket 4; Rodenas screamed in pleasure as his teammates retorted to him in Spanish after a break level on court docket two; Andrew Dale silenced the energetic Fons Van Sambeek after a break level on court docket 5.
The remainder of staff, having already completed their matches, yelled “Who’s home?” to the group, which echoed again: “Our home.”
A sequence of hard-hit, completely positioned forehands by Krug later, your entire staff dashed to court docket 4 in palpable ecstasy. The sophomore had simply clinched the match for Duke with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win in opposition to Catry.
“It is an ideal feeling to clinch the match. That feeling is strictly why all of us play the game and why we spend hours on the observe court docket,” Krug stated. “I feel there may be nothing prefer it, so I simply respect these moments each time they occur.”
As N.C. State’s gamers cooled down, shouting and laughing sounded from beneath the bleachers. It was Duke’s celebration of its thrilling efficiency.
Earlier than Sunday, Duke upset Wake Forest (21-8, 5-3) in Friday’s match in Durham. That win was clinched in extraordinary style by Rodenas (7-6, 3-6, 6-4) on court docket two.
Persevering with to journey the adrenaline from an undefeated weekend, the Blue Devils will go well with up for his or her closing highway journey of the season, a Saturday matchup simply throughout city at No. 13 North Carolina.
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