Blue Devils Victorious Over No. 16 Wake Forest, 4-3

Friday, March 31

Durham, N.C.

5 p.m.

Duke University

[16] Wake Forest

Duke celebrates after clinching the win over Wake Forest

Blue Devils Victorious Over No. 16 Wake Forest, 4-3

3/31/2023 11:58:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

DURHAM – Freshman Pedro Rodenas secured his sixth match-clinching point to help lift No. 21 Duke past No. 16 Wake Forest, 4-3, on Friday night in Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

Friday's win marked the Blue Devils' first over the Demon Deacons since 2015. Duke improves to 14-5 overall and 7-1 in ACC play. Wake Forest drops to 21-7 and 5-2, respectively.

How It Happened

Duke posted the early 1-0 edge after claiming the doubles point thanks to wins on court three and two, respectively. The doubles matches started outside at Ambler Tennis Stadium before being moved indoors due to rain.
Sophomore Connor Krug and freshman Teddy Truwit earned a 6-3 victory over Matthew Thomson and Melios Efstathiou on court three before the senior duo of No. 54 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang upended No. 37 Juan Lopez de Azcona and Filippo Moroni on court two, 6-3.
The match on court one between No. 71 Garrett Johns and Rodenas against Jurabek Karimov and Luciano Tacchi went unfinished with the visitors leading, 4-3.
Junior Andrew Dale made it 2-0 in favor of the home side when he defeated Tacchi 6-4, 6-2 on court five.
The Demon Deacons would not go away, cutting the lead down to 2-1 following a victory on court three. Zhang recorded a 6-3 win in the opening set over Thomson but dropped the next two 6-4, 6-3.
Connor Krug's match against No. 103 Karimov on court four was the next to finish. Connor Krug registered a 7-5 win in the opening frame before dropping the second 6-0. Fortunately, he was able to bounce back for the 6-4 victory in the third set to earn his first win of the season over a ranked opponent.
No. 98 Rodenas then clinched the overall match with a victory over Moroni on court two to hand Duke its eighth win over a nationally ranked foe. Rodenas posted a 7-6 (3) tiebreak victory in the first set but fell in the second 6-3. The Madrid, Spain, native rebounded for a 6-4 win in the final frame to remain undefeated on court two.
Wake Forest won the final two contests on court six and one, respectively. Lopez de Azcona defeated Jake Krug on court six before No. 11 Efstathiou held on to win against No. 17 Johns on the main court.
Lopez de Azcona registered a 7-5 victory in the first frame, but Jake Krug battled back to record a 6-2 win in the second. Unfortunately, Lopez de Azcona outlasted Jake Krug in a 7-6 (1) tiebreak third set to earn the win.
Efstathiou bested Johns 6-2 in their opening set but dropped the second to the Atlanta, Ga., native, 7-5. Efstathious then recorded a 7-5 victory in the third frame to steal the win.

Notes

The Blue Devils have now claimed the doubles point in three consecutive matches.
Rodenas recorded his team-leading sixth match-clinching point and shifted to 17-2 overall in dual action this season, including an 8-0 mark on court two.
Connor Krug and Truwit improve to 5-3 over their last eight doubles matches.

Quotes
"I'm just happy for the guys. We've been building all semester after having some tough losses early on, but the guys have been bought in to what we're doing. Our whole goal is to be playing our best tennis come tournament time and I feel like we're definitely on that track. Today was just a good step forward because it's been a little while since we've beaten that team. Obviously they're really tough and I'm just proud about how we competed there at the end and found a way to win." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith

"A lot of things going on today. The women's match went long so we started an hour and 15 minutes late. We told the guys yesterday we just have to be flexible and have to roll with whatever comes our way. Then midday it looked like there was a chance it could rain some so we gave the guys different scenarios and they were mentally prepared for each one and I'm just really happy with how we handled that. I thought the first three minutes we were indoors we just brought max energy and aggressiveness and [Andrew] Zhang and Michael [Heller] played a fantastic game to clinch the doubles point so that got things going but we knew we had a lot of work to do in singles and the guys dug in." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith

"I know my team trusts me a lot so that helps me play more free. Today I felt like everyone was competing and I just couldn't let them down. So then I just decided to give my all, even though I wasn't feeling well. I kept running and kept making plays and when you do that, good things happen. – Duke freshman Pedro Rodenas

"I won a really tight first set then didn't have a great start to the second. Had two tough games I'd lost and went a little down mentally, so I just knew I had to bounce back, start strong, and put the pressure on him and that helped me play more free. – Duke freshman Pedro Rodenas

Next Match
Duke welcomes No. 23 NC State on Sunday for a 1 p.m. contest at Ambler Tennis Stadium. Sunday's match will be a Royal Blue contest. The Wolfpack defeated No. 13 North Carolina, 4-1, on Friday night.

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

Results
Doubles (3,2*)
1. #71 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) vs. Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi (WFU) 3-4, unfinished
2. #54 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) def. #37 Juan Lopez de Azcona/Filippo Moroni (WFU) 6-3
3. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU) def. Matthew Thomson/Melios Efstathiou (WFU) 6-3

Singles (5,3,4,2*,6,1)
1. #11 Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. #17 Garrett Johns (DU) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
2. #98 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Filippo Moroni (WFU) 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-4
3. Matthew Thomson (WFU) def. Andrew Zhang (DU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. Connor Krug (DU) def. #103 Jurabek Karimov (WFU) 7-5, 0-6, 6-4
5. Andrew Dale (DU) def. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) def. Jake Krug (DU) 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1)

#GoDuke