What do Duke men's tennis and Saturday night’s bonfire on Abele Quad have in common? They’re both scorching hot.
In a three-match weekend series, the seventh-ranked Blue Devil men’s tennis team extended its undefeated season with a dominant 4-1 win against Illinois Friday and a pair of sweeps against Northwestern and Coastal Carolina Sunday.
It was a crisp, cool Sunday morning, and the faint smell of smoldering embers and charred grass still lingered in the air from Duke’s victory in its rivalry basketball game. The men’s tennis team took to the court under the roof of Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center for its double header against Northwestern and Coastal Carolina.
After consecutive losses to Louisville and No. 24 Harvard, the Wildcats (2-3) were seeking a cure for their malaise. Meanwhile, Duke (7-0) looked to continue its undefeated streak after a win against the Fighting Illini Friday. Still, the match posed a challenge for the Blue Devils, as Northwestern had emerged victorious at each of the last four meetings.
“This is a team that has given us a lot of problems over the years, and it's a team that fights really hard,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “We know how well they compete.”
The doubles point began with early breaks on courts 1 and 2, as court 3 traded breaks to a 4-4 bind. On court 1, junior Pedro Rodenas and graduate student Theo Winegar leapt to a 4-2 lead by securing a second break. With Winegar serving for the set, two massive serves sealed the set for the Blue Devils.
On court 2 — Serving 4-2 and facing three break points at 15-40 — the duo of Cooper Williams and graduate student Andreja Petrovic rallied as two Wildcat balls drifted out of bounds, and Petrovic sealed the deuce point with a blistering volley for a commanding 5-2 lead. With Northwestern serving to stay in the set, a blazing forehand from Williams teed up a set point, and a return from Petrovic to the feet of his opponent clinched the set and the doubles point.
“We came out really, really well with [Nos.] 1 and 2 doubles,” Smith said. “That was the best [No.] 1 doubles we’ve played this spring, for sure.”
With the doubles point in their back pocket, the Blue Devils again jumped out to an early lead with breaks of service on courts 1, 2, 3 and 4. The dominance on the center courts continued as Williams, Rodenas and Petrovic all soared to quick 6-1 first-set victories while senior Connor Krug closed his first set 6-3 at an equally rapid pace.
“I think the key with singles was getting off to great starts in the middle four courts,” Smith said. “I think we dampened their soul.”
As second set play got underway on the middle four courts, graduate student Remy Dugardin scraped out an intensely physical first set on court 5. “Oui, oui!” exclaimed a spectator as the Frenchman closed out the first set 6-3.
Points for Duke then began pouring in — Krug and Williams finished their matches with decisive second-set wins for a 3-0 team lead. As Rodenas closed in on the end of the second set and the team victory, all eyes turned to court 6, where freshman Saahith Jayaraman was still locked in a dead heat in the first set.
Finding themselves in a tiebreaker, Jayaraman faced two set points to his Northwestern opponent Chad Miller at 4-6. Saving both, the two switched ends of the court at 6-6. Dazzling the crowd, Jayaraman and Miller fought their way to an astonishing 13-13 tiebreaker score until a backhand from Miller drifted long to give the set to Duke and solidify the first-set sweep for the Blue Devils.
“Saahith had the whole Cameron Crazies section behind him,” Smith said. “That might be the longest tiebreaker I’ve seen in a while. So happy for him.”
Nearly simultaneously with the tiebreaker win on court 6, Rodenas closed out his match 6-1, 6-4 to secure the win for the Blue Devils and log a 4-0 sweep of the Wildcats — Duke’s third this season.
“Overall, doubles has really progressed since the Harvard match. I feel like we're playing much better doubles,” Smith said. “And I just think we're competing extremely well across the board.”
Later Sunday, Duke again took to the court to face the teal-clad Chanticleers (0-1) for their first match of the regular season. The doubles point was quickly snagged by the Blue Devils as Williams and Petrovic reprised their role on court 2 with a 6-1 victory, and Krug — this time paired with junior Teddy Truwit — won by an equal margin on court 3.
The singles portion of the evening saw a scramble of the typical starting lineup, as Smith tested his players in new roles. Krug, Dugardin and Jayaraman all saw promotions in the ladder while Winegar, graduate student Oscar Brown and senior Jake Krug joined the singles lineup.
“Our depth has been the biggest thing because we've had some flu and some injuries, and the next guys [are] able to step in,” Smith said. “Having 13 players, there are some challenges with that, but there are also some benefits, and we've been able to take advantage of that.”
As the first sets concluded, Duke again looked poised for victory as Connor Krug, Jake Krug, Dugardin and Brown swiftly took leads while Winegar battled back from a 4-5 deficit to grab the first set 7-5. Jayaraman, facing long points, was the last to win the first set at 6-3 — sweeping first sets for the second time of the day.
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The second set had only just begun for some courts as the first matches concluded. Jake Krug, leaving no room for air, closed his match 6-2, 6-0 in a hasty victory. Connor Krug and Brown soon followed with straight-set wins of their own to lock up the victory for the Blue Devils in just 90 minutes.
The pair of sweeps against Northwestern and Coastal Carolina came after another win earlier in the weekend when Duke faced Illinois Friday. In that match, the Blue Devils secured the doubles point with 6-4 set wins at both Nos. 1 and 2 doubles. Straight-set victories in singles by Rodenas, Petrovic and Connor Krug snagged the win for the Blue Devils. Meanwhile, a loss on court 4 was the only point logged for the Fighting Illini in the 4-1 Duke victory.
Smith’s team will look to stay undefeated as it travels to Texas for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Feb. 14.