Duke Advances to ACC Semifinals Following 4-0 Victory over Louisville

Friday, April 21

Cary, N.C.

6 p.m.

Duke University

[36] Louisville

Andrew Dale celebrates after his singles win

Duke Advances to ACC Semifinals Following 4-0 Victory over Louisville

4/22/2023 1:58:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – No. 12 Duke men's tennis defeated No. 36 Louisville, 4-0, at Cary Tennis Park on Friday night to advance to the ACC Championship Semifinals.

The second-seeded Blue Devils, who will be making their first appearance in the semifinals since 2014, will next face sixth-seeded Wake Forest on Saturday at 2 p.m. Due to projected inclement weather on Saturday, the semifinal match has been moved indoors to the Cone-Kenfield Indoor Courts on the campus of the University of North Carolina. The match will be free admission and will be broadcast live through UNC's streaming channel.

Junior Andrew Dale earned his fourth match-clinching victory of the year to help Duke improve to 19-5. Louisville falls to 16-11.

How It Happened

For the fourth consecutive match, Duke secured the doubles point.
No. 21 Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas got things started by besting Etienne Donnet and Alex Wesbrooks on the top court, 6-2. The Cardinals would answer back on court two to knot the score at 1-1 after Sergio Hernandez and Natan Rodrigues defeated Connor Krug and Teddy Truwit, 6-3.
With the doubles point coming down to the outcome on court three, juniors Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni outlasted Fabien Salle and Will Mayew 7-6 (5) for the tiebreak win.
No. 72 Rodenas earned his eighth-straight win to begin singles play when he posted a 6-3, 6-2 upset victory over No. 34 Donnet on court two.
Krug extended Duke's lead to 3-0 when he beat Hernandez on court four 6-3, 6-4.
Dale then followed suit with his match-clinching victory on court five over Andre Steinbach 6-1, 6-4.
Three matches went unfinished on courts one, three and six. No. 13 Johns claimed his opening set against No. 79 Rodrigues in tiebreak fashion 7-6 (4) on the main court but was trailing 2-1 in the second when the match was halted.
Zhang also earned a win in his opening set against No. 61 Salle, garnering a 6-2 victory on court three. The pair were knotted at 5-5 in the second when their match was stopped.
Khan dropped his first frame to David Mizrahi 7-6 (5) but was leading 2-1 early in the second set when the match was called.

Notes

Duke extends its winning streak to a season-long eight matches.
The Blue Devils posted their 13th victory over a ranked opponent.
Rodenas extended his winning streak to eight-straight matches and is now 6-3 against nationally ranked foes.
The rookie continues to remain undefeated on court two with a mark of 13-0.
Johns and Rodenas improved to 15-2 in dual doubles matches and have now won 11 consecutive outings.

Quotes
"It was a great team win for us today. Doubles was extremely close, and I was proud of the way Niroop [Vallabhaneni] and Faris [Khan] went after it in the pressure moments. We did an excellent job starting off strong in singles and regaining the momentum of the match. This was a great first step and we are already preparing for a battle tomorrow. Our guys are hungry and excited for the challenge." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith

Next Match
The Blue Devils have a quick turnaround as they face No. 20 and sixth-seeded Wake Forest on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the ACC Semifinals at Cone-Kenfield Indoor Courts on the campus of the University of North Carolina.

If Duke advances past the semifinals on Saturday, the Blue Devils will have a 2 p.m., championship match on Sunday at 2 p.m. against either top-seeded Virginia or fifth-seeded Florida State. at Cary Tennis Park. The finals will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

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

Results
Doubles (1,2,3*)
1. #21 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Etienne Donnet/Alex Wesbrooks (LOU) 6-2
2. Sergio Hernandez/Natan Rodrigues (LOU) def. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU) 6-3
3. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) def. Fabien Salle/Will Mayew (LOU) 7-6 (7-5)

Singles (2,4,5*)
1. #13 Garrett Johns (DU) vs. #79 Natan Rodrigues (LOU) 7-6 (7-4), 1-2, unfinished
2. #72 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #34 Etienne Donnet (LOU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Andrew Zhang (DU) vs. #61 Fabien Salle (LOU) 6-2, 5-5, unfinished
4. Connor Krug (DU) def. Sergio Hernandez (LOU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Andrew Dale (DU) def. Andre Steinbach (LOU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Faris Khan (DU) vs. David Mizrahi (LOU) 6-7 (5-7), 2-1, unfinished

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