After a tight match on the road Monday at then-No. 18 Kentucky, the Blue Devils made sure things weren't quite as close Friday afternoon.
Playing host to Wake Forest in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, No. 12 Duke dispatched the No. 18 Demon Deacons 4-1 at the Sheffield Tennis Center. Freshman Nicolas Alvarez, redshirt senior Chris Mengel and senior Raphael Hemmeler all earned singles points for Duke, which will take on No. 23 Memphis in the weekend's Championship match Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. The Tigers knocked off No. 22 Clemson Friday.
Despite the match Friday starting at 1:30 p.m. on a school day, the Blue Devils fed off a home court advantage, as residents camping out in nearby Krzyzewskiville turned out in support.
“It felt huge to have everyone their going crazy for us,” Alvarez said. “But it’s also crazy for the opponent, because seeing that opposing crowd after you miss a point is difficult.”
Duke (3-0) captured the doubles point to get off to a quick start against its neighbors from Winston-Salem. On court one, Alvarez and Hemmeler combined to take down Wake Forest's Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim, 6-4. After falling behind 2-3, the international duo dominated the sixth, seventh and eight games for the Blue Devils. With the victory, Hemmeler captured his 102nd career doubles win and now sits one victory behind head coach Ramsey Smith for sixth all-time in Duke history.
On court two, senior Jason Tahir and junior Josh Levine won the crucial seventh, eighth and 10th games against Noah Rubin and Jon Ho after being tied at 3-3 to clinch the doubles point for the Blue Devils. As a result, Mengel and his partner, junior Bruno Semenzato, did not need to finish their set, though they trailed their Wake Forest counterparts 3-5.
Singles play got off to quick start as No. 112 Semenzato and No. 103 Hemmeler both raced to 6-2 first-set victories on courts three and four, respectively. Many of their teammates fell behind by similar margins, as Tahir, Mengel and sophomore T.J. Pura all suffered early setbacks, losing either 6-1 or 6-2.
Only Alvarez saw his first set go down to the wire.
After dropping the first game to No. 12 Romain Bogaerts, the touted freshman claimed every point of the second game, beginning a back-and-forth battle with the Demon Deacons' top singles player. Alvarez clawed his way back repeatedly, winning games when he was down 3-4, and then 4-5 and 5-6 to force a tiebreaker. In the bonus game, Alvarez cruised to a 7-1 victory to claim the set.
“Nico showed unbelievable composure out there,” Smith said. “Against Kentucky, he had been a little bit passive before turning it on the last two. Today, he really committed to being aggressive. I just told him to keep going and stick with it, and in pressure situations the other guy is going to miss the ball.”
In the second sets, Pura and Mengel avenged their first-set losses on courts five and six. Pura managed a solid 6-3 victory and the fifth-year senior Mengel flipped the script on Seraphim, claiming a 6-1 win after dropping the opening frame by the same margin. Evening the score would prove vital for Duke later.
Hemmeler continued his successful day by being the first Blue Devil to end his match. His 6-4 second-set victory against the 52nd-ranked Ho gave Duke its second point of the day and extended the early lead. Not long after, Rubin responded by taking down No. 36 Tahir 6-4 in the second set to close the gap to 2-1 and get the Demon Deacons (2-1) on the board.
“I thought Raphael played his best match so far of the spring,” Smith said. “It was really important for him to get that first singles point for us.
With the score 2-1 and both Pura and Semenzato facing pressure down in their third sets, eyes were drawn to court five, where Mengel was still recovering from his first-set loss and second set reversal.
“First it was really rough,” Mengel said. “Seraphim is a really tall guy and he’s got an unbelievable serve. Things kind of just got away from me at the beginning of the first set, but I knew that if I dug in, I could tough the match out. [Seraphim] is a freshman and hasn’t really been in these situations whereas I’ve been here for five years so I wasn’t going to be easily rattled. When the momentum started to turn, I capitalized.”
Mengel’s 6-3 third-set victory guaranteed Duke its third point and put the pressure on Alvarez to finish the match. Facing a highly-ranked opponent in Bogaerts, Alvarez knew the importance of closing out in the second set and refusing to take his foot off the gas. He fought hard through each rally, pounding balls deep into Bogaerts’ court and keeping his opponent running. After both players broke each other’s serve, Alvarez elevated his game, and ultimately won the set 6-3 to clinch the match for Duke.
Led by the freshman's composure, the Blue Devils notched their second top-20 win of the week and will look to continue the momentum Saturday night. With a win, Duke will earn a spot at the ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championships Feb. 13-16 in Chicago at the Midtown Athletic Club. The event features the 16 qualifiers from the Kick-Off Weekend.
“He just doesn’t seem like a freshman out there,” Smith said of Alvarez. “He’s clutch like a veteran player who has been a top 10, top 15 player in the country his whole career.... It feels great to win and they need to enjoy it, but they’re already taking care of their bodies now to make sure they are ready for a very good Memphis team tomorrow.”
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