For most teams, being down 2-0 with little momentum against a ranked opponent usually means a loss. But if there is one thing the Blue Devils have continually proved all season—they are not most teams.
No. 6 Duke rallied to take down No. 12 Wake Forest 4-3 Sunday at Ambler Tennis Stadium. Although the Blue Devils dropped the doubles point and two singles matches, Duke reeled off four straight singles win to complete the comeback and complete its best 18-match stretch in 38 years.
The Blue Devils (16-2, 3-1 in the ACC) entered the match one win away from matching their best 18-match start since 1977, and though they would hit the mark, the Demon Deacons (13-5, 3-2) did not make it easy on them.
Senior Jason Tahir and junior Josh Levine cruised in their doubles match 8-2 against Wake Forest's Jonathan Ho and Noah Rubinto get things started for Duke. But the Demon Deacons piled it on in their next two matches, as the 13th-ranked pair of Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim out-dueled No.11 Raphael Hemmeler and Nicolas Alvarez 8-3. Wake Forest's Keivon Tabrizi and Romain Bogaerts would clinch the doubles point by taking down Chris Mengel and Bruno Semenzato.
Heading into doubles play down 1-0, Duke did not do itself any favors early on. The Blue Devils dropped into a 2-0 hole when Seraphim defeated Levine 6-1, 6-2 and seemed to be on the fast track to a sweep before sophomore TJ Pura finally put Duke on the the board. The Pacific Palisades, Calif., native took down Maksim Kan 6-3, 6-1 to cut the Blue Devil deficit in half and start the comeback for Duke.
Fourth seed Semenzato was the next Duke player to land a blow, as he evened the score at 2-all with 6-1, 6-4 victory against Mansouri. Hemmeler would then give the Blue Devils the lead for good, as he cruised to a 6-2, 7-5 victory on court three against No. 69 Jonathan Ho.
In the clinching match, Alvarez continued to add highlights to his standout rookie campaign, as the freshman won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Rubin on court one. After Rubin took the first set with four of the final five games, Alvarez dominated the next two, holding off Rubin's last-ditch effort in the final game to give Duke the victory.
The Demon Deacons would get on the board one last time, as Bogaerts took down Jonathan Ho 6-3, 7-5, but by then the Duke comeback was completed.
Alvarez extended his regular season record to 26-5 this season—including a team-best 11-5 ledger against ranked opponents. The Blue Devils improve to 12-2 against ranked opponents with the victory.
Duke will take the courts again next weekend as it hits the road to take on a pair of tough ACC opponents in Clemson and No. 9 Virginia. The Blue Devils will face the Tigers Friday at 2:30 p.m. and the Cavaliers at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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