Blue Devils Earn 4-2 Victory over No. 24 Miami
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – No. 40 Duke men’s tennis completed a weekend sweep after it beat No. 24 Miami, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon at Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
The win marked the Blue Devils’ second consecutive over a nationally ranked foe, as they also defeated No. 17 Florida State, 4-3, on Friday. Duke shifts to 10-4 on the year, including a 3-1 mark in ACC play. Miami dips to 12-4 and 1-3, respectively.
“Well, we did it the hard way today,” Duke head coach Ramsey Smith said. “We lost the doubles point and got down in singles early on the road against a tough team in tough conditions. But we battled, we dug in, and hung in there long enough to grab the momentum at the end. We had great support from a bunch of Duke tennis alumni, and it was extra special to win in front of them. It was a gusty team effort, and I couldn’t be prouder of the guys.”
Miami jumped on things early, sweeping all three doubles matches. Juan Martin Jalif and Franco Aubone started the day by defeating Connor Krug and Sean Sculley, 6-2, on court one. Bojan Jankulovski and Dan Martin then bested Garrett Johns and Andrew Dale on court three, 6-2, to clinch the doubles point. Despite the point already being claimed by the Hurricanes, the final match on court two between Benjamin Hannestad and Martin Katz and Faris Khan and Andrew Zhang went in favor of the home side, 6-3
Miami extended its advantage to 2-0 after Hannestad beat Krug 6-2, 6-2 on court three.
Fortunately, the Blue Devils would not waver, claiming the next four singles matches to register the come-from-behind victory. Khan recorded a 6-4 win in his opening set on court four against Oren Vasser before notching a 6-3 victory in the second for Duke’s first point of the day.
Zhang followed that up with a win on court two 6-4, 6-4 over Jankulovski. Zhang pulled Duke even at 2-2 in the overall match and improved his overall dual singles record to 7-2 with the win.
Johns continued the momentum on court one, besting No. 99 Dan Martin in three sets. The junior dropped a 6-2 decision in the opening frame but rallied back for 6-3, 6-3 victories in the second and third, respectively, to hand the Blue Devils a 3-2 edge.
Senior Edu Güell then clinched the match for the visitors after he defeated Martin Jalif 7-6 (5), 6-4 on court five. Güell also improved to 7-2 on the year in dual singles matches with the win.
The final singles match of the day between Katz and Dale on court six went unfinished with Dale earning a 7-5 win in the first set. The pair were tied at 6-6 (3-3) in the second frame when the match was halted.
Duke is back at home on Wednesday at 3 p.m. when it welcomes No. 31 North Carolina to Ambler Tennis Stadium. Live stats and video will be available for the match.
RESULTS
Doubles (1,3*,2)
1. Juan Martin Jalif/Franco Aubone (UM) def. Connor Krug/Sean Sculley (DU) 6-2
2. Benjamin Hannestad/Martin Katz (UM) def. Faris Khan/Andrew Zhang (DU) 6-3
3. Bojan Jankulovski/Dan Martin (UM) def. Garrett Johns/Andrew Dale (DU) 6-2
Singles (3,4,2,1,5*)
1. Garrett Johns (DU) def. #99 Dan Martin (UM) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Bojan Jankulovski (UM) 6-4, 6-4
3. Benjamin Hannestad (UM) def. Connor Krug (DU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Faris Khan (DU) def. Oren Vasser (UM) 6-4, 6-3
5. Edu Güell (DU) def. Juan Martin Jalif (UM) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
6. Martin Katz (UM) vs. Andrew Dale (DU) 7-5, 6-6 (3-3), unfinished
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