Duke Championship Bound After Victory Over Wake Forest

Saturday, April 22

Chapel Hill, N.C.

2 p.m.

Duke University

[20] Wake Forest

Duke advances to Sunday's ACC title match after its 4-3 victory over Wake Forest

Duke Championship Bound After Victory Over Wake Forest

4/22/2023 9:03:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – No. 12 Duke men's tennis is heading to the ACC Championship title match for the first time since 2012 after it beat No. 20 Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon at Cone-Kenfield Indoor Courts on the campus of North Carolina.

Despite dropping the doubles point, the second-seeded Blue Devils (20-5) rallied in singles play to claim three-straight matches to pull in front 3-1. The sixth-seeded Demon Deacons (25-11) registered wins over the next two contests to knot the score at 3-3. With the match and a trip to the title contest on the line, Andrew Dale delivered in the clutch for the Blue Devils once again. The junior battled past Luciano Tacchi in three sets to secure the match for Duke.

Duke now shifts its attention to the championship match where it will face top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Virginia on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Cary Tennis Park. The match will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.

How It Happened

The Demon Deacons outlasted the Blue Devils in the deciding third match of doubles play to claim the point and jump out to an early 1-0 edge.
Filippo Moroni and Matthew Thomson halted the 11-match winning streak of No. 21 Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas when they bested the duo, 6-3, on the top court. The Blue Devils battled back on court three to knot the score at one match apiece following a 6-2 victory by juniors Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni over Melios Efstathiou and Juan Lopez de Azcona.
With the doubles point coming down to the outcome on court two, the Demon Deacons registered the 7-6 (2) tiebreak win by No. 70 Jurabek Karimov and Tacchi over Connor Krug and Teddy Truwit.
No. 72 Rodenas made quick work of Moroni on court two in singles play to tie the overall match up at 1-1. The Madrid, Spain, native recorded a 6-2 victory in the opening set before tallying a 6-1 win in the second to claim his 23rd dual win of the year.
The Blue Devils jumped in front 2-1 after Jake Krug posted a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Lopez de Azcona on court six.
The match on court three was next to go final and it handed Duke a 3-1 edge. Zhang pulled off the upset following his 6-4, 6-4 wins over No. 98 Karimov.
The Demon Deacons would not go away though, tying the overall match up at 3-3 after wins on court four and one finished. Matthew Thomson outlasted Connor Krug in three sets on court four to help Wake Forest's cause. Connor Krug posted a 6-3 win in the opening frame but dropped the next two 6-4, 6-2. Then on the top court, No. 5 Efstathiou outlasted No. 13 Johns 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 for the comeback win.
With the match coming down to court five's outcome, Dale finished off a thriller when he took down Tacchi in three sets. The Leesburg, Va., native posted a 6-4 victory in the opening frame before dropping the second, 6-4. Fortunately for Duke, he rebounded nicely with a 6-4 victory in the third set to claim the win and send the Blue Devils to the title match.

Notes

With the win, Duke extends its winning streak to a season-long nine matches.
Dale garnered his fifth match-clinching point on Saturday, which is the second-most on the team.
Rodenas continues to roll in singles play and extends his winning streak to nine-straight matches.
In addition, the rookie is undefeated on court two with a mark of 14-0.
Khan and Vallabhaneni claimed their third consecutive doubles win on Saturday.
The last time Duke was in the title match it dropped a 4-1 decision to then No. 2-ranked Virginia on April 22, 2012.
The Blue Devils last ACC Championship came during the 2006 season when it defeated No. 9 Virginia, 4-3.

Quotes
"It was a great college tennis match from start to finish. The doubles point was so close. I was actually really proud of how we battled in doubles, especially at two, to get back into it in the tiebreaker and give ourselves a chance. I think the biggest moment was how we responded. We were naturally disappointed with losing that point but the guys completely reset, and we went back to work and won six first sets in singles. Going to [Andrew] Dale, he's the guy you want in that situation. He's so tough mentally. We call him 'The Machine'. He battled a lot of adversity and a lot of ups and downs throughout that match but I'm just so proud of him for pushing us through to the finals." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his thoughts from the match

"Human nature you get disappointed, but we've been working on our mental toughness, handling tough situations, and bouncing back and ultimately it is just one point. I told the guys I couldn't feel more confident about their singles play and I knew the guys were going to step up as long as we went in with the right mindset, which we did. We put ourselves in a really good position. Credit to Wake Forest for competing unbelievably well. They played their third match in a row in three-straight days, and they could have rolled over when we grabbed momentum, but those guys fought so hard. Like I said, just a great college tennis match." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his team bouncing back after dropping doubles

"A little bit of everyone. Jake [Krug] has been out for a little bit but we called his name today and that was a guy who beat him in three sets a couple weeks ago and I just couldn't be more proud of him really for just being ready and prepared for the moment. He works hard every single day whether or not he's in the lineup and he was ready when his name was called. Pedro [Rodenas] is doing Pedro things. These are really good players that he's beating straight forward and that's not normal for anyone but definitely not normal for a freshman. But the consistency at the level he's playing at is beyond impressive." Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on who impressed him in the match

"Quite frankly, I can't even put into words the emotions I was feeling. I also couldn't believe when he missed that last ball. I think I blacked out for a few seconds, but it feels so great to come through the tough moments and be out here battling for my team. We're such a cohesive unit I can't describe how it feels right now. It's so great." – Duke junior Andrew Dale on clinching the match

"The intensity is definitely ramped up. I think we've had a lot of experiences in the beginning of the season where things might have not gone our way. But especially as we've gone toward postseason I think as a group we've come together so collectively and that's been the difference maker." – Duke junior Andrew Dale on playing in the postseason

"I think one of the core identities for our team is fighting spirit, so I think that's what we're going to have to bring to the table tomorrow and if we go out and do what we did today and leave it all out on the court I think we'll give ourselves to best opportunity. Virginia is a great team, but anything can happen in an ACC Championship match and we're just looking to give them hell tomorrow." – Duke junior Andrew Dale on the Blue Devils' next opponent

Next Match
Duke advances to the ACC Championship match and will play No. 8 and top-seeded Virginia on Sunday at 2 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.

Sunday tickets are priced at $10 for adults (ages 18 and older; children under 9 and ACC students get in free with school ID) and $7 for youth ages 17 and under. Tickets may be purchased online at https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/11254. All seating for the tournament is General Admission.

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

Results
Doubles (1,3,2*)
1. Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson (WFU) def. #21 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) 6-3
2. #70 Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) def. Melios Efstathiou/Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) 6-2

Singles (2,6,3,4,1,5*)
1. #5 Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. #13 Garrett Johns (DU) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
2. #72 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Filippo Moroni (WFU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. #98 Jurabek Karimov (WFU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Matthew Thomson (WFU) def. Connor Krug (DU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Andrew Dale (DU) def. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
6. Jake Krug (DU) def. Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) 7-5, 6-3

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