Blue Devils Capture Thrilling 4-3 Victory Over No. 11 Kentucky

Sunday, February 11

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

Kentucky

Blue Devils Capture Thrilling 4-3 Victory Over No. 11 Kentucky

2/11/2024 6:04:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – Redshirt senior Garrett Johns clinched Sunday's 4-3 win for No. 15 Duke men's tennis over No. 11 Kentucky at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

Johns' victory over Joshua Lapadat was his second match-clinching win in as many contests after also clinching the match against Yale on Friday night. The Atlanta, Ga., native now holds a 5-1 record during the dual season.

Duke improved to 7-2 overall and 7-0 at home this season, while Kentucky dropped to 7-2 overall and 1-1 on the road. In addition, the Blue Devils earned their first victory over the Wildcats since 2020.

How It Happened

Johns and Pedro Rodenas started doubles play with a 6-4 win over Eli Stephenson and Jaden Weekes on court two. Faris Khan and Connor Krug then tallied a thrilling 7-6 (5) tiebreak win over Taha Baadi and Matt Rankin on court three to clinch the doubles point for the Blue Devils. The match between No. 11 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang against No. 44 Joshua Lapadat and JJ Mercer on the main court went unfinished with the Wildcats leading 6-5.
Duke's nationally ranked foe would not go away though, securing victories on court five and four, respectively, during singles action to pull in front 2-1.
Zhang quickly knotted the score at 2-2 after he bested Weekes in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 on court three.
The Wildcats then jumped back on top after Stephenson handed Alexander Visser his first career loss on court six. The Westport, Conn., native fell in a nailbiter 7-5 during the first set before dropping the second, 6-4.
On the main court, No. 47 Rodenas defeated No. 27 Baadi in another exciting match. Rodenas claimed 7-5, 6-4 victories to improve to 2-0 on the top court and 6-3 over ranked opponents this season.
With the overall match tied at 3-3, Sunday's win would come down to the outcome on court two. Johns and Lapadat were in a battle, but it was the Atlanta, Ga., native who would grind out the win following 6-2, 6-4 victories.

Notes

The Blue Devils recorded their 15th consecutive victory at home and are 49-7 when playing in Durham over the last five seasons.
Johns earned his second match-clinching win of the season and the 12th of his career.
Johns is riding a three-match winning streak, while Rodenas and Zhang have both registered back-to-back victories.
Rodenas improved to 2-0 on the top court and 5-3 overall in dual action.
Johns and Rodenas captured their second consecutive victory on court two in doubles play and improved to 5-2 overall on the year.
Khan and Connor Krug earned their second-straight win in doubles play and currently hold a 5-1 record.

Quotes
"Big time team win. I'm just really happy for the guys. Obviously, we had a tough weekend last weekend and then to come out Friday and play the way we did and then just building for this match against Kentucky, who's a tough SEC team with a lot of experience deep in tournaments. They don't ever give anything to you. Our doubles was really good I thought on all three courts and then ultimately the top half of our lineup really stepped up for us." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his thoughts from the match

"The experience of playing teams at this level is helping us. We've had a lot of tough opponents starting from the very first match. Everything has kind of been building toward preparing for National Team Indoors as well as postseason ACC and NCAA tournaments. It gives the guys a lot of confidence. Obviously, there are some things that we need to clean up. We need to play a little better in some spots in the lower part of the lineup. It's just great to see Pedro [Rodenas] step up, Garrett [Johns] step up, and then I think [Andrew] Zhang's win was just a massive win for us to get us our second point. That really gave us a lot of momentum we needed." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on playing ranked opponents

"It was great to get the team win. We felt great heading into the match. Individually, I think I'm starting to play better and that helps a lot with my confidence level." – Duke sophomore Pedro Rodenas on the team's performance

"It was a lot of fun to play in front of a crowd like that. They were cheering loud, and it helped a lot with the energy we were all bringing. It helped us pushed through at the end." – Duke sophomore Pedro Rodenas on Duke's crowd on Sunday afternoon

"It meant a lot. It was a very important point and it ended up being key in the overall match. I'm really happy for the team and really happy to get the team win on my birthday as well." – Duke senior Faris Khan on helping the Blue Devils clinch the doubles point

"It was very helpful to get the win so we can carry this momentum into next weekend's national tournament. Last weekend we didn't play our best and we needed to work on some things, which I think we did. I'm really proud of everyone today. We really showed a lot of improvement. We got the win but there are still a lot of things we need to improve on if we want to do well at indoors in New York. We're looking forward to it." Duke senior Faris Khan on keeping the momentum heading into next weekend's ITA National Fall Championship

Next Match
The Blue Devils head to New York City for the National Team Indoor Championships, which run February 16-19. The event is hosted by Columbia University and USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Additional details such as Duke's opponents and timing of matches have yet to be determined.

Results
Doubles (2,3*)
1. #11 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) vs. #44 JJ Mercer/Joshua Lapadat (UK) 5-6, unfinished
2. Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Eli Stephenson/Jaden Weekes (UK) 6-4
3. Faris Khan/Connor Krug (DU) def. Matt Rankin/Taha Baadi (UK) 7-6 (7-5)

Singles (5,4,3,6,1,2*)
1. #47 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #27 Taha Baadi (UK) 7-5, 6-4
2. Garrett Johns (DU) def. Joshua Lapadat (UK) 6-2, 6-4
3. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Jaden Weekes (UK) 6-1, 6-4
4. Charlelie Cosnet (UK) def. Connor Krug (DU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Jack Loutit (UK) def. Jake Krug (DU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Eli Stephenson (UK) def. Alexander Visser (DU) 7-5, 6-4

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