Duke Takes Five in Singles in 5-2 Win at Clemson

Friday, March 27

Clemson, S.C.

2:30 PM

Duke University

Clemson

No. 6 Men?s Tennis Hosts Three During Weekend

Duke Takes Five in Singles in 5-2 Win at Clemson

3/27/2015 6:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Duke men's tennis team lost the doubles point but stormed back with five consecutive singles victories as the No. 4 Blue Devils topped No. 63 Clemson 5-2 on Friday inside the Clemson Indoor Tennis Center. Duke clinched the match with a three-set win from senior Jason Tahir on court two to improve to 17-2 overall and 4-1 in the ACC.

With the victory, the Blue Devils improve to 4-1 in road matches, all against ranked squads. Duke has claimed 13 wins against ranked opponents, just two shy of entering the program's top-10 chart. The team has gone 13-2 against ranked foes, and the 17-2 overall mark is tied with the 1977 squad for the best 19-match record in program history.

Clemson took its 1-0 lead by winning a very tight doubles point. The Blue Devils started with a win on court two as junior Josh Levine and Tahir defeated Robert Dudley and Luke Johnson, 8-4. After falling behind 2-1, Levine and Tahir won the next two games and held the lead for the remainder of the match. The Duke pair led 5-4 and then took the final three games to claim the set. Levine and Tahir have won six straight matches and improved to 4-0 in ACC action.

Clemson answered with a win on court one as Alejandro Augusto and Hunter Harrington defeated freshman Nicolas Alvarez and senior Raphael Hemmeler, 8-7 (5). The two teams exchanged games throughout the entire set as neither squad led by more than one contest. In the tiebreaker, Alvarez and Hemmeler, ranked No. 12 this week, fell behind 5-4 and Clemson held on for the win. Alvarez and Hemmeler dipped to 15-7 this year.

Court three also went into the tiebreaker and determined the point with Clemson's Hampton Drake and Christian Harris defeating redshirt senior Chris Mengel and junior Bruno Semenzato, 8-7 (4). Mengel and Semenzato eased ahead 3-2 and pushed the advantage to 5-2 before Drake and Harris won five of the final seven games to extend the set into the tiebreaker. At 3-3 in the tiebreaker, the Clemson duo held Duke to just one more point and claimed four of their own to secure the doubles point for the Tigers. Mengel and Semenzato are now 12-4 in doubles and 2-2 in ACC matches.

The Blue Devils responded in singles, taking the first five matches to claim the victory.

Duke earned its first point with a 6-0, 6-2 victory from Hemmeler against Austin Ansari on court three. Hemmeler, ranked No. 101 this week, breezed through the first set and won the final four games in the second set after it was even at 2-2 to win the match. Hemmeler improved to 28-7 overall, 13-3 in dual matches and 4-1 in ACC play. The win was the 109th of Hemmeler's career, moving him into sole possession of sixth on the Duke career chart.

Duke took the lead with a win from Semenzato, who topped Daffra Sanon, 6-1, 6-1, on court four. Semenzato coasted in set one and, with the second set tied 1-1, ripped off five consecutive wins to end the match. Semenzato upped his overall record to 23-9 and is 3-2 in league matches. He also owns a 6-2 mark when playing at No. 4 singles this year.

The Blue Devils extended the lead to 3-1 with Alvarez's court one triumph. The rookie claimed a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory against Augusto. The first set was even at 4-4 before Alvarez won the last two games. Augusto returned the favor in the second set, winning the final two games after a 4-4 tie. Alvarez dropped the first game in the decisive third set before rattling off five consecutive wins to go up 5-1 and hold on for the win. Alvarez, ranked 11th this week, is 27-5 overall and 11-2 in dual matches. His 27 wins are just three shy of entering the Duke top-10 chart for victories by a freshman.

It was court two where Duke clinched the match as Tahir came back to down Harrington 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3. Tahir was behind 5-4 in the first set and evened it at 6-6 before falling in the tiebreaker. In the second set, the two were tied at 4-4 before Tahir won the final two games. The Blue Devil senior took over in the third set, edging out to 3-2 and 4-3 leads and then claiming the final two contests to secure the victory. The victory was the 99th of Tahir's career as he looks to become the 15th Duke player, and third this season, to reach the 100-win plateau in singles. The triumph was also the 27th in ACC singles for Tahir, tied for the seventh most in program history.

The Blue Devils captured their fifth straight singles victory to take a 5-1 lead on court six, where sophomore TJ Pura defeated Drake 1-6, 6-1, 1-0 (8). After the two swapped set victories, the match went to the first-to-10 tiebreaker of a third set with the overall match already determined. Pura was pushed to the limit in the tiebreaker, claiming the narrow two-point win. Pura improved to 14-7 overall this year and 4-1 in ACC action.

Levine closed the match for the Blue Devils, falling to Johnson 6-7 (4), 6-3, 1-0 (14-12) on court five. Levine fell behind 3-0, 4-1 and 5-2 in the first set before storming back to even the set at 6-6 and capture the tiebreaker. In the second set, the two were tied at 1-1 before Johnson held an advantage of 4-1. Levine made it a 5-3 deficit before Johnson won the set. With the overall match already determined, the two went to the first-to-10 tiebreaker third set. There, the two extended even past 10 points as neither could lead by more than two. In the end, Johnson won 14-12. Levine dipped to 15-11 overall with the setback.

Duke concludes the weekend at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday at No. 8 Virginia.

#4 Duke 5, #63 Clemson 2
March 27, 2015 at Clemson, S.C. (Clemson Indoor Tennis Center)

Singles competition
1. #11 Nicolas Alvarez (DU) def. Alejandro Augustu (CLEM) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
2. #41 Jason Tahir (DU) def. Hunter Harrington (CLEM) 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-3
3. #101 Raphael Hemmeler (DU) def. Austin Ansari (CLEM) 6-0, 6-2
4. Bruno Semenzato (DU) def. Daffra Sanon (CLEM) 6-1, 6-1
5. Luke Johnson (CLEM) def. Josh Levine (DU) 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 1-0 (14-12)
6. TJ Pura (DU) def. Hampton Drake (CLEM) 1-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-8)

Doubles competition
1. Alejandro Augusto/Hunter Harrington (CLEM) def. #12 Nicolas Alvarez/Raphael Hemmeler (DU) 8-7 (5)
2. Jason Tahir/Josh Levine (DU) def. Robert Dudley/Luke Johnson (CLEM) 8-4
3. Hampton Drake/Christian Harris (CLEM) def. Chris Mengel/Bruno Semenzato (DU) 8-7 (4)

Match Notes
Clemson 10-10, 1-5 ACC; National ranking #63
Duke 17-2, 4-1 ACC; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,4,1,2,6,5)

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