Blue Devils Fall to MTSU in ITA Kickoff Opening Match

Friday, January 27

Winston-Salem, N.C.

1 p.m.

Duke University

Middle Tennessee

Blue Devils Fall to MTSU in ITA Kickoff Opening Match

1/27/2023 5:30:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – No. 19 Duke dropped a 4-2 decision to Middle Tennessee State on Friday afternoon in the first match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center.

The Blue Devils dip to 3-2 on the year, while the Blue Raiders improve to 3-1.

How It Happened

Middle Tennessee started strong out of the gate, earning wins on court one and three to claim the doubles point.
No. 26 Francisco Rocha and Oskar Brostrom Poulsen bested No. 49 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang on the top court, 6-3, before Ondrej Horak and Marcel Kamrowski defeated Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni, 6-4, on court three to secure the overall point.
The third doubles match between Stijn Slump and Pavel Motl against Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas went finished with the Blue Raiders leading 5-3.
Johns evened the match for Duke when he beat Slump 6-3, 6-3 on court one to begin singles play.
The Blue Raiders responded with consecutive victories on court four and six to pull back in front 3-1. Horak earned 6-4, 6-4 wins over Connor Krug, while Motl bested Jake Krug 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Rookie No. 84 Rodenas kept the Blue Devils in the match after he recorded a 7-6 (8) tiebreak win in the first set and a 7-5 victory in the second over No. 60 Brostrom Poulsen to give Duke its second point of the match.
Unfortunately, Kamrowski secured the win for the Blue Raiders when he defeated Khan 7-5, 7-6 (7) on court five.
The match between No. 101 Zhang and No. 109 Rocha went unfinished on court two. Zhang won the opening set 7-6 (8) but was trailing in the second, 5-2.

Notes

Middle Tennessee recorded its first victory over Duke in the series history (Duke leads 3-1).
Rodenas remains unbeaten in singles dual action and shifts to 5-0 on the year.
Johns improves his singles ledger to 4-1 on Duke's top court.

Quotes
"Obviously a tough lose for us today. Credit Middle Tennessee who played a great match from start to finish. We did some things well, but we have to do some things better tomorrow, and I am confident we will. We have a resilient group, and we are preparing to finish the weekend strong tomorrow." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on Friday's match

Next Match
Duke is set to face the loser of Friday's second match between No. 10 Wake Forest and No. 23 Auburn on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMTEN".

Results
Doubles (1,3*)
1. #26 Francisco Rocha/O. Brostrom Poulsen (MTSU) def. #49 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) 6-3
2. Stijn Slump/Pavel Motl (MTSU) vs. Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) 5-3, unfinished
3. Ondrej Horak/Marcel Kamrowski (MTSU) def. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) 6-4

Singles (1,4,6,3,5*)
1. #4 Garrett Johns (DU) def. Stijn Slump (MTSU) 6-3, 6-3
2. #109 Francisco Rocha (MTSU) vs. #101 Andrew Zhang (DU) 6-7 (8-10), 5-2, unfinished
3. #84 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #60 O. Brostrom Poulsen (MTSU) 7-6 (10-8), 7-5
4. Ondrej Horak (MTSU) def. Connor Krug (DU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Marcel Kamrowski (MTSU) def. Faris Khan (DU) 7-5, 7-6 (9-7)
6. Pavel Motl (MTSU) def. Jake Krug (DU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3

#GoDuke