Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus ITA All-American Championship on September 20, 2025
Men's Tennis
vs ITA All-American Championship
Friday, November 7
Bradenton, Fla.
All Day
Duke University
vs
Day One at Dick Vitale Clay Court Classic
Blue Devils Open Final Fall Weekend
11/7/2014 9:08:00 AM | Men's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C. – The final weekend of the Duke men's tennis team's fall season began in full Friday with the squad playing in two tournaments. Senior Jason Tahir continued action at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship while four Blue Devils took part in the Dick Vitale Clay Court Classic. Duke combined to tally six singles victories and three doubles triumphs.
In Flushing, N.Y., Tahir took on the event's No. 6 seed in Oklahoma's Axel Alvarez Llamas and fell in two sets. The two split the first four games of the opening set before Alvarez Llamas broke Tahir and opened a 5-2 advantage on the way to taking the opening set 6-2. Tahir trailed 3-2 and 5-4 in the second set before storming back to take a 6-5 lead, only to fall in the tie breaker 7-6 (1). Alvarez Llamas checked in at No. 3 in the preseason men's singles ITA rankings.
Tahir's run at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship comes to a close with the setback. Tahir was the fourth Blue Devil since 2003 to reach the Round of 16 at the premier event, joining Ludovic Walter (2003 and 2005), Reid Carleton (2010) and Henrique Cunha (2010, 2011 and 2012).
In Lakewood Ranch, Fla., sophomore TJ Pura and junior Bruno Semenzato combined in doubles and defeated Florida Gulf Coast's Tianyu Bao and Michael Beiler 8-4. The doubles pair of senior Raphael Hemmeler and junior Josh Levine, the No. 2 seed in the event, advanced to the Round of 16 when North Florida's Alberto De Meo and Lasse Muscheites withdrew.
The pairs both played Friday in the Round of 16 as a result of their victories. Pura and Semenzato took on the top seed Caio Gomes and Yannick Zuern of North Florida and fell 8-6. Hemmeler and Levine faced FGCU's Andres Alfonzo and Eduardo Alfonzo and won 8-4. Hemmeler and Levine advance to face Virginia's Jonathan Cornish and Henrik Wiersholm in the semifinals.
In the singles Round of 32, three of the four Blue Devils advanced to the Round of 16 with victories. Pura opened against De Meo and advanced after De Meo withdrew. Semenzato took on FGCU's Samuel Chaffin and cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory. Hemmeler, the draw's No. 4 seed, turned a tough 7-6 opening set victory into a straight set win by taking the second set 6-0 against Michigan's Alexander Knight. Levine suffered the only setback of the group with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 loss to Princeton's Thomas Colautti.
The Round of 16 in the main draw and consolation bracket also took place on Friday. Within the main draw, the Blue Devils had two players advance to the quarterfinals. Semenzato coasted to his second straight set victory of the day with a 6-3, 6-0 triumph against North Florida's Gomes. Hemmeler also advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over North Florida's Zuern. Pura dropped a 6-3, 6-4 decision to top seed Zack McCourt of Princeton in the main draw while Levine advanced to the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against North Florida's Muscheites.
On Saturday in the quarterfinals of the main draw, Semenzato takes on No. 3 seed Wiersholm of Virginia and Hemmeler will face Florida Gulf Coast's Andres Alfonzo. Meanwhile, Levine will take on Michigan's Davis Crocker in the consolation bracket quarterfinals.
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