Duke Remains Undefeated at Home Following 4-3 Win over Clemson

Friday, March 1

Durham, N.C.

2 p.m.

Duke University

Clemson

Duke Remains Undefeated at Home Following 4-3 Win over Clemson

3/1/2024 9:09:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – Redshirt senior Garrett Johns clinched Friday's 4-3 win for No. 11 Duke men's tennis over No. 68 Clemson at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center to remain undefeated at home.

Johns' three-set victory over Ryuhei Azuma was his third match-clinching win of the year. The Atlanta, Ga., native now holds a 9-2 record during the dual season.

Duke improves to 10-5, including a 2-0 mark in ACC play and an 8-0 ledger at home. Clemson dips to 7-5 overall and 0-1 in conference action.

How It Happened

Wissam Abderrhman and Max Damm began doubles play with a 6-3 victory over Faris Khan and Connor Krug on court three. The Blue Devils knotted the score at 1-1 following Johns and Pedro Rodenas' 7-5 win over No. 54 Max Smith and Noa Vukadin on the main court. With the doubles point coming down to the outcome on court two, No. 21 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang bested Stewart Aronson and Marko Mesarovic, 7-5, to register the point.
The Tigers tied the overall match up early in singles play when Aronson defeated Alexander Visser on court five 6-1, 6-2.
Zhang answered for the home side, posting a straight set win at 6-2, 6-1 over Vukadin on court three.
Connor Krug followed suit on court four with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Mesarovic to create a 3-1 gap between the teams.
Clemson would not go away, recording victories on court six and two, respectively, to knot the score at 3-3.
With the overall match coming down to the outcome on court one, No. 64 Johns outlasted Azuma in three sets. He dropped a 6-4 decision in the first frame but rebounded for 7-6 (3) and 6-1 victories in the second and third to secure the come-from-behind win.

Notes

The Blue Devils recorded their 16th consecutive victory at home and are 50-7 when playing in Durham over the last five seasons.
Johns earned his third match-clinching win of the season and the 13th of his career.
Johns has now won four straight matches and holds a 7-1 ledger on court one.
Heller and Zhang improve to 5-2 when playing on court two, while Johns and Rodenas have won five straight and hold a 5-2 record on court one.

Quotes
"It was just an amazing college tennis match. It came down to the end. Just an amazing individual effort from Garrett [Johns]. Down a set, down a break, been struggling with an injury all week, wasn't feeling good, and just showed so much heart. His identity is that he always hangs in there. He chops his opponent's legs and that's what he was able to do. Just a special performance from him today." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on Garrett Johns' win

"A lot of credit to Clemson, they played so well. They really played aggressively, starting with doubles, and pushed us to the very end. Brandon Wagner is doing an amazing job in his first year and we were fortunate enough to pull that one out." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his thoughts from the match

"It was a big match for us. We've taken a couple hits here or there and we weren't as sharp as we needed to be across the board. Connor [Krug] getting a win today was very important for him and his confidence and [Andrew] Zhang did a great job. We struggled in other areas but again a lot of that was credit to Clemson playing extremely well. All these teams are really tough but the only thing that matters is getting the team win and we were able to do that today. " – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on remaining undefeated at home and in ACC play

"I really just had a good mentality toward the end. I tried to be tougher than the other guy and it worked out in the third set. He played a really good match but I'm thankful it went our way today. It was really good to stay undefeated in the ACC and pick up a win against a good opponent so just super happy." – Duke redshirt senior Garrett Johns on his thought process during the final set that clinched the match

"I was pretty locked in on the match to be honest. I never really try to look around too much, but it was cool to play the whole third set by myself, which never really happens." – Duke redshirt senior Garrett Johns on his court being the only match still playing at the end

Next Match
The Blue Devils host No. 37 Georgia Tech on Sunday for an 11 a.m. matchup at Ambler Tennis Stadium. The Yellow Jackets dropped a 4-3 decision to North Carolina on Friday night. Live stats and video will be available for Sunday's contest.

Results
Doubles (3,1,2*)
1. Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #54 Max Smith/Noa Vukadin (CU) 7-5
2. #21 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Stewart Aronson/Marko Mesarovic (CU) 7-5
3. Wissam Abderrhman/Max Damm (CU) def. Faris Khan/Connor Krug (DU) 6-3

Singles (5,3,4,6,2,1*)
1. #64 Garrett Johns (DU) def. Ryuhei Azuma (CU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
2. Wissam Abderrhman (CU) def. #31 Pedro Rodenas (DU) 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 6-3
3. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Noa Vukadin (CU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Connor Krug (DU) def. Marko Mesarovic (CU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Stewart Aronson (CU) def. Alexander Visser (DU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Matt Pitts (CU) def. Jake Krug (DU) 6-4, 6-3

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

Duke Centennial
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