In order to snap their two-match losing streak, the Blue Devils will have to find a way to deal the Fighting Illini their first loss of the year.
No. 24 Duke welcomes No. 7 Illinois to Durham Friday at 6 p.m. at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center to kick off a three-match weekend at home. The Fighting Illini have won their first three matches in 4-0 shutouts at home, but the Blue Devils have not been so lucky at home to start the season.
“We’re 1-2, and you can give us a handful of points and we’d be 3-0,” Duke head coach Ramsey Smith said. “It’s really important for the team to stay positive and realize that we’re a good team. We haven’t quite had a match yet where all six guys have clicked, and we need that to happen, so I’m looking for that this weekend.”
Duke (1-2) lost 4-2 to No. 19 San Diego Sunday afternoon in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend championship match despite grabbing a 2-1 lead behind singles wins on courts four and five from Catalin Mateas and Adrian Chamdani. The two freshmen are undefeated in singles matches on the season, and Mateas earned an upset win Sunday with his 6-3, 6-2 defeat of No. 82 Romain Kalaydijan—his first career victory against a ranked opponent.
“[Mateas] had a tough fall, being injured the entire fall pretty much, but he’s worked really hard to get back fit and healthy,” Smith said. “He’s really embraced the dual match environment. He’s thrived early—he just feeds off the energy and he’s really been a positive, aggressive player, and he’s obviously off to a really good start.”
Illinois (3-0) has dropped just three sets on its top three singles courts. The trio responsible—Aleks Vukic, No. 21 Jared Hiltzik and No. 41 Aron Hiltzik—have each lost just one set apiece and all boast at least one win against a ranked opponent.
“Their top three guys were there last year, and they’re very good,” Smith said. “Illinois is really tough at the top, so it’s going to be a good challenge for all of our guys up there.”
No. 12 Nicolas Alvarez, T.J. Pura and Vincent Lin will be tasked with taking on the formidable top half of the Fighting Illini lineup. Alvarez and Pura both had close matches against ranked opponents in Sunday’s loss to the Toreros, but Alvarez lost in two tight sets, and Pura was unable to finish despite coming back from a 3-6 first-set deficit to claim the second 6-3 and force a third.
“T.J. had a very good match on Sunday. [He] lost the first set, made a couple adjustments…[and] really got on a roll—that’s the best he’s played at [court] two so far this year,” Smith said. “I think that’s going to give him a lot of confidence.”
Chamdani and senior Josh Levine will likely take singles courts five and six, though freshman Ryan Dickerson has also rotated into the lineup in two of the first three matches, demonstrating the depth of Duke’s top seven.
“We’ve been good down low in the lineup for the most part,” Smith said. “[Dickerson’s] been playing extremely well, there’s Catalin there, Adrian’s been stepping up and hitting his stride…. Josh has just had a couple of tough matches, but he’s one of the best competitors in college tennis. Honestly, those guys could play in just about any order.”
Win or lose, the Blue Devils will have a quick turnaround after their bout with the Fighting Illini as they close the weekend at home with a double-header Sunday against No. 21 Northwestern and N.C. Central. Duke will welcome the Wildcats for a noon start before returning to take on the cross-town Eagles at 5 p.m.
“We’ve been playing at home a lot—I think we have 17 home matches,” Smith said. “It’s obviously great to play at home—we’re comfortable here, we have great support…. It’s a fun environment and it’s a great opportunity to bounce back from our last two matches.”
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