In the last weekend series at home of the regular season, No. 13 Duke lost Friday 4-3 to No. 27 Florida State as it mounted a comeback from down 0-3. Sunday, as the Blue Devils celebrated Senior Day, Duke followed up the earlier loss with a narrow 4-3 win against No. 25 Miami to close the weekend.
“I think we learned from the Friday match. That was a very tough loss, that one hurt,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “But overall pleased with how we bounced back and handled a tough loss on Friday.”
It was an idyllic weekend in Durham. The cherry trees dotting campus still clung to their pastel pink petals and sheets of pollen drifted in the gentle breeze across the tennis courts like a fine yellow dusting of snow. As the crowd settled in Ambler Tennis Stadium Friday evening, the seating room was hard to come by.
“Having that support and having that energy just makes college tennis extra special,” Smith said. “This year — the men and women — we've had a fantastic record at home, and just want to thank all of our fans and supporters who’ve been coming out.”
The weekend series began Friday against Florida State (14-7, 6-4 ACC) with doubles play. Duke’s (15-5, 8-2 ACC) court one doubles duo Cooper Williams and Theo Winegar were the first to close out their doubles set with a decisive 6-2 win, followed swiftly by Pedro Rodenas and Andreja Petrovic 6-4 to secure the doubles point for the Blue Devils.
“I'm very pleased with how doubles is looking right now. I think we're playing some of our best doubles across the board, and I like our combination,” Smith said.
Following the strong doubles start, Duke again looked in command as singles play got underway, with the Blue Devils winning three first sets in rapid succession to the Seminoles’ one. Courts three and six battled their way to a tiebreaker, with Petrovic emerging victorious while Gerard Planelles Ripoll fell.
As second sets were beginning to unfold, senior Connor Krug blazed to victory in a 6-4, 6-1 win to become the first singles match to finish. Although impressive for any player, this has been a regular occurrence for Connor Krug, who has played a superb regular season with a 14-3 record — 12 of those victories being in straight sets.
“It's really a direct reflection of the work you put in every single week,” Krug said. “Just because you play well on Sunday doesn't mean you have the right to play well next Friday. Keeping that mindset day in, day out, and putting in quality work in the sessions has allowed me to find my game.”
Following Krug’s win, Williams was closing in on his own straight-set victory. Serving for the match at 5-4 at a 30-30 tether, an overhead and an ace sealed the match to send the team score to a commanding 3-0 tally. Meanwhile, Ripoll fell to his opponent in straight sets while his teammates Rodenas, Petrovic and Remy Dugardin all sent their matches to a third set.
With the Blue Devils in a 3-1 lead, they would only need one more match win to take the team victory. Rodenas dropped an early break on court one while Petrovic and Dugardin sank to deficits of 0-3 and 0-4, respectively, both of whom shortly lost their matches for a 3-3 team total. Rodenas, who had managed to fight back to 4-4, was the Blue Devils’ last hope. A disappointing service game from Rodenas and a hold at deuce from the opposing Seminole won the match for Florida State, 4-3.
“That one stung,” Smith said. “I think we were kind of looking around a little bit in singles for someone else to win instead of just staying on our court.”
Sunday brought stronger sun, higher temperatures and a new opponent in Miami (11-8, 4-6 ACC) as the Blue Devils celebrated Senior Day. The day was chosen as the final home match of the regular season in Ambler Tennis Stadium.
“I think this is one of the most special facilities in the entire country. It's right in the heart of campus. In my last two years, I've lived over in Edens, 100 feet from the courts,” Krug said. “Nothing really beats this place. You got Cameron [Indoor Stadium] over there. You got the chapel in the background. So, of course, super special to always play on a beautiful day like today.”
Before doubles play began, the players were celebrated with a ceremony and presented a jersey on the court to commemorate their contributions to Duke men’s tennis. Among those honored were four-year twin seniors Jake Krug and Connor Krug.
“It’s special for Connor and Jake, as four-year seniors. So appreciative of everything they've done for the program. They've brought a passion for tennis, a work ethic that's second to none and a resilience where they just come out every single day, no matter what happened the day before,” Smith said.
The ceremony also celebrated graduate transfers Dugardin, Petrovic, Oscar Brown and a thoroughly sunblocked Winegar, each new additions to the team for this season.
“The fifth-year seniors have all come in for one year, and it's tough to jump into a new culture, new coaches, new environment,” Smith said. “But they've put so much effort into it, and they've all contributed in their own way.”
Following the fanfare, the teams took to the court for doubles play. Duke immediately jumped out to a lead over the Hurricanes as courts two and three both sprang to a 5-1 lead, ultimately sealing the doubles point with 6-2 and 6-1 set victories, respectively.
As singles play began, there was no clear leader as first sets were decided. Miami snagged two, while Duke claimed two of its own. Meanwhile, Rodenas and Williams on the center courts each sent their first sets into tiebreakers, playing them out simultaneously.
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“We have two No. 1 players,” Smith said of the leading duo. “It’s been a win-win. We have great options at the top of the lineup.”
On court one, Rodenas fell to an early 0-3 deficit and was unable to recover, dropping the tiebreaker 7-4. Meanwhile, Williams traded the lead with his opponent to a staggering 9-9 bind, each facing multiple set points. Finally, with Miami serving 9-10, a double fault sealed the set for the Blue Devils to massive applause.
Almost as quickly as Williams had won his first set, Connor Krug converted a match point with a long baseline rally to win 6-3, 6-2 and clinch the first singles point for Duke for the second time in the weekend.
Jake Krug, playing on court six, extended his second set to a tiebreaker, but after defending several match points to a score of 6-6, Miami claimed the win, 8-6. At the same time, Williams, fresh off his long tiebreaker victory, raced to a 6-1 second-set victory to claim his match, while Rodenas gave up a late-set break to give the match to the Hurricanes.
The team score was now 3-3, and it was anyone’s match to win. Only Dugardin remained, who was just beginning the third set to decide the victor. “Let’s get a good seat,” said one spectator to another as the fans shuffled through the stands to lay eyes upon court four.
“When you get those opportunities where it comes down to the last match, and especially to where [Dugardin] played the entire third set knowing that he was going to be the difference in the match — that's a lot of pressure,” Smith said. “ And Remy handled it extremely well.”
Dugardin and his opponent, freshman Mehdi Sadaoui — both lefties and both Frenchmen — traded service games to 2-2 as shouts of "Allez!" came from both sides of the net.
“It's not easy, because it's my first time here in the US playing college tennis, but I kept my head up, seeing all my teammates on the next court looking at me every point, trying to support me, I was just trying to stay positive,” Dugardin said.
The following game went to deuce, and a screaming forehand winner from Dugardin secured the break. Three huge serves and an ace from the Blue Devil gave him a strong 5-2 lead. Sadaoui held his serve, and then Dugardin held his own, closing the match with a big serve-forehand combination and claiming the team victory 4-3 for Duke.
“To look at everyone supporting the team, supporting me, it's obviously a good feeling,” Dugardin said. “They are cheering for us, for the university, because we are representing such a great program ... That's why I got the win and we got the win as a team, absolutely.”
The pair of matches capped off the regular season at home for the Blue Devils. Still ahead is the remainder of the regular season away, followed by the ACC Championship and the NCAA Team Championships.
Duke will next travel to the West Coast to face California on Friday and Stanford on Sunday.