Duke, Louisville Clash in ACC Championship Second Round Match Thursday

Match 21
No. 37 Duke vs. No. 49 Louisville
Thursday, April 22 | 6 p.m.
Rome, Ga. | Rome Tennis Center
Live Results | Bracket

DURHAM – No. 37 Duke is scheduled to battle No. 49 Louisville on Thursday in the second round of the ACC Men's Tennis Championship.

Thursday's contest will kick off at 6 p.m. at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga. The Blue Devils (11-9, 6-5 ACC) are slated as the No. 7 seed heading into the tournament, while Louisville (9-11, 3-8 ACC) comes in as the No. 10 seed.

The winner of Thursday's match will advance to face No. 2 seed and ninth-ranked Wake Forest (27-5, 11-1 ACC) in the quarterfinal round on Friday at 5 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
Duke claimed four of five singles matches to register the 4-2 come-from-behind victory over No. 43 Miami last Saturday afternoon at Ambler Tennis Stadium.

The Hurricanes secured the doubles point to take a 1-0 edge into singles action. Duke responded with three consecutive wins to jump in front 3-1. Miami battled back to earn its second win of the day to cut the deficit down to one. With just two singles matches remaining, sophomore Andrew Zhang posted a gutsy three set win to help the Blue Devils sweep their two ACC matches on the weekend.

DUKE THIS SEASON
The Blue Devils finished the regular season 11-9 overall and 6-5 in ACC play. Sophomore Andrew Zhang leads the team in dual singles wins with 10 (10-4), while four others – senior Edu Güell, sophomore Garrett Johns, and rookies Andrew Dale and Faris Khan – have earned seven.

Johns and teammate Sean Sculley have been Duke's top doubles team as they lead the Blue Devils in dual doubles victories with seven (7-6). Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang follow closely behind with five wins, mostly on court No. 2.

ITA TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
The Blue Devils are currently ranked No. 37 nationally in the latest ITA poll after sweeping their two matches last weekend. Sophomore Garrett Johns (No. 69) and senior Edu Güell (No. 120) are both ranked in singles play, while Johns and senior Sean Sculley are the No. 20 ranked doubles team in the country.

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Duke is seeking its 13th ACC Championship in program history and first since 2006 when they won in dramatic fashion. After losing the doubles point and two singles matches versus No. 9 Virginia, the Blue Devils trailed, 3-0. However, they stormed back to win three straight singles matches and Stephen Amritraj clinched the title with a three-set win at the No. 6 position. The Blue Devils defeated Virginia Tech, 4-1, and Florida State, 4-2, to advance to the finals. Jonathan Stokke was named ACC Tournament MVP that season.

The Blue Devils first title came in 1982. Duke has also won the crown in four consecutive years from 1993-96 and again from 1998-2001.

HISTORY WITH LOUISVILLE
Duke and Louisville have only met seven times prior to Thursday's matchup. The Blue Devils hold the 6-1 advantage on the all-time series, including a 4-1 victory during their last meeting on March 7, 2021. Louisville's lone win over Duke came on April 6, 2018 following a 5-2 victory.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Louisville holds a 9-11 overall record and a 3-8 mark in ACC play. The Cardinals have dropped three consecutive contests heading into Thursday's match – Georgia Tech (L, 5-2), Virginia Tech (L, 4-3) and Virginia (4-1). Juniors Fabien Salle (No. 57) and Sergio Hernandez (No. 81) lead the team with 12 dual singles wins on the year after playing in the No. 2 and 3 spots, respectively. Salle and teammate Mathew Fung, who are the No. 45 ranked doubles team, are the Cardinals top duo as they sit with an 11-8 mark on the season.

DUKE AND LOUISVILLE PART TWO
Duke and Louisville faced off during the regular season with the Blue Devils recording a 4-1 victory at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center on March 7, 2021.

Louisville started doubles action with a 6-1 win on court two after Tin Chen and Sergio Hernandez defeated Edu Güell and Luca Keist. The Blue Devils didn't waver though as No. 55 Sean Sculley and Garrett Johns earned a 6-3 victory on the top court to knot everything up at 1-1. A few minutes later, Samuel Rubell and Andrew Zhang clinched the doubles point for Duke on court three when they recorded a thrilling 7-6 (11) tiebreak win.

The Blue Devils used that 1-0 advantage and turned it into a 3-0 edge after Faris Khan and Keist both registered wins to kick off singles action. Khan was the first to finish following his 6-2, 6-0 victory over Alex Wesbrooks on court six. Keist then defeated David Mizrahi on court five thanks to a 6-2 win in the opening set and a 7-5 victory in the second.

The home side earned their lone point of the match on court three when Hernandez beat Güell 6-1, 7-5. Fortunately for Duke, Zhang secured the overall win after he bested Josh Howard-Tripp 7-5, 6-1 on court four.

Johns' match against No. 71 Chen on the top court and Sculley's match versus Fabien Salle on court two went unfinished. Johns won his first set 6-4 but was trailing 5-4 when his match was halted. Sculley dropped his opening set 6-4 and was down 5-4 when his match ceased.

FAN INFORMATION
Due to COVID protocols, no public tickets will be available for the 2021 ACC Tennis Championships. Admission to each match of the event will be limited to family and guests of team personnel. Each team will be allowed two complimentary pass admissions per travel party member (no more than 26 per team). Those individuals can be in the venue for their team's match only. The ACC will be using the indoor courts at the Rome Tennis Center (six courts) and also Georgia Tech's indoor courts (if needed). The ACC will not allow spectators at the Georgia Tech indoor courts, spectators will be allowed in the Rome indoor courts. Spectators will be required to mask.

UP NEXT
If the Blue Devils win Thursday, they will face the No. 2 seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Rome Tennis Center at 5 p.m.

#GoDuke

Duke, Louisville Clash in ACC Championship Second Round Match Thursday

Players Mentioned

Andrew Dale

Edu Güell

Michael Heller

Garrett Johns

Luca Keist

Faris Khan

Samuel Rubell

Sean Sculley

Andrew Zhang

Duke information

Duke, Louisville Clash in ACC Championship Second Round Match Thursday

Related News

Players Mentioned

Andrew Dale

Edu Güell

Michael Heller

Garrett Johns

Luca Keist

Faris Khan

Samuel Rubell

Sean Sculley

Andrew Zhang

Related Videos

Duke information