Junior Ludovic Walter is headed back to the fall’s most important championship on his favorite surface.
After making a run to the semifinals of last year’s ITA National Indoor Championship, Walter will return to Ann Arbor, Mich., next month to not only go after the singles title but also defend his 2003 doubles crown with partner Jason Zimmermann.
“I felt pretty good at the beginning,” the 16th-ranked Walter said after reeling off five straight victories this weekend. “I was confident, attacking well, and moving well. If you play with confidence, you can do well.”
Walter’s triumph Sunday highlighted a successful weekend for the 10 members of the men’s tennis team who competed at the mideast regional hosted by Duke and North Carolina.
Six Blue Devils advanced to the weekend past strong ACC and national competition Friday. The Championship continues today with a spot at indoors on the line for Duke’s doubles tandem of Jonathan Stokke and Peter Rodrigues. The Blue Devil duo won four matches over the weekend and the nation’s 20th-ranked pair will play against Tar Heels Geoff Boyd and Brad Pomeroy for a chance to join Walter and Zimmermann at nationals.
“They’re just going to go in there and kind of play their game,” assistant coach Jon Neeter said.
Walter stole the show, however, as he was the only Duke player to advance past the quarterfinals in singles play. The junior served well and only faced trouble once when Tom Eklund of USC forced Walter to play a pair of close sets. Walter, however, won a first-set tiebreaker and broke Eklund in the final game of the second to earn a 7-6, 7-5 win to advance to the quarterfinals.
Head coach Jay Lapidus said Walter “could be a force” in November, playing in a pair of events at indoors.
“I reached the semifinals in singles last year,” Walter said. “I hope I can do well or better this year. There are a lot of good players there. It’s just taking your chances and making the right shot at the right time.”
Although Walter is the only Duke singles player who will advance to indoors, a number of other Blue Devils had strong performances, winning matches that will help them carry momentum into the off-season.
Stokke posted an impressive win, defeating top-seed Izak van der Merwe, who is also ranked 9th in the nation. Stokke then blanked Sergei Arumni of Virginia Commonwealth 6-0, 6-0.
“Stokke really broke through,” Neeter said. “He’s been putting in some extra time, and he’s come very close to winning some big matches in the past. This was really a validation of all his hard work”.
Stephen Amritraj, Stokke, Walter and Zimmermann all reached the round of 16, but only Walter and Stokke advanced.
On the doubles side, Amritraj and Peter Shults played well, defeating a nationally-ranked team from Wake Forest before falling in the quarterfinals.
“It’s going to be a really exciting spring for us,” Lapidus said. “The freshmen are starting to come up, and the experienced guys are coming through.”
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