The end of last season saw the break-up of the former No. 1 doubles team in the NCAA. The graduation of Reid Carleton left the nation’s No. 7 singles player, junior Henrique Cunha, without a partner at the start of the year.
Cunha had played every doubles match with Carleton from the first tournament of his freshman season.
“This is really a great opportunity for the other guys on the team to play with one of the greatest players who has ever played here at Duke,” head coach Ramsey Smith said Sept. 16.
At first, Smith tried to match Cunha with sophomore Chris Mengel, the second highest ranked singles player on the team. The pair went 7-2 over the course of the preseason, but in the spring Mengel has been paired with David Holland in the No. 2 doubles position.
“It was not that hard actually [to find a new partner]. We have a lot of good players on the team,” Cunha said, “During the fall I played with Mengel, and we played alright.”
Just a week before the start of the Duke Invitational in January, Cunha began practicing with sophomore Fred Saba, who is currently ranked 110th nationwide.
“The teams were fine originally, but we just thought of mixing things up to see if we could get better as teams,” said Saba, who initially played alongside freshman Raphael Hemmeler.
The change in partnership has been a successful one, as the two have gone 5-2 in dual match play, including a recent win over Florida’s then-No. 9 tandem of Nassim Slilam and Billy Federhofer. The Duke pair has risen to No. 15 in the national rankings, but it is still looking to improve.
“I would say good team chemistry and being able to have similar games that complement each other [are important to a strong doubles team],” Saba said, “and most importantly positive attitudes, which we both have.”
During practice, both Cunha and Saba have been practicing some plays together as well as perfecting their movement around the court. Neither one has needed to change much stylistically to accommodate his partner. Rather, each one’s strengths have propelled and defined their victories.
“If two very good players are playing together then naturally it’s going to be a very good team, so you really don’t have to do anything original,” Saba said. “I serve well, Cunha creates extremely well and all I have to do is hit an easy volley and the point is over.”
The pair will look to continue helping No. 5 Duke secure the doubles point over spring break, when they will face Virginia Commonwealth, No. 11 California and No. 13 Pepperdine.
“[Each match] is always an experience, but it’s pretty fun especially when you’re competing against other top teams,” Saba said. “It just brings out the best of both of us when we’re playing together.”
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