Granted, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Mary Pierce won't be there. However, the comparable names in collegiate tennis will be in Dallas this weekend. These players will be battling for what Pierce and Agassi achieved last weekend in Australia-- a grand slam title.
For the women's team, seniors Monica Mraz and Wendy Lyons have both been dominating forces in their careers at Duke. Although the two Blue Devils are unranked as a doubles team since they only played in one ITA tournament last fall, Mraz and Lyons accomplished in one tournament what few tennis players are ever able to do--win a grand slam title. They captured the doubles title at the prestigious Riviera All-American in the fall.
This weekend, the duo will again battle with some of the top competitors in the nation at the Rolex Indoors, another leg of the collegiate grand slam.
"Monica and Wendy are a very good indoor team," Duke women's tennis head coach Jody Hyden said. "Since they won the All-American, it gives them a lot of confidence. Their chances are very good."
Besides being a lethal doubles team, both Duke players will also compete in singles. Mraz and Lyons have extensive experience in grand slam tournaments, and both are nationally ranked.
"Monica is very good indoors," Hyden said. "Her game fits indoor courts well. She's been working on parts of her game that make her a more aggressive player."
"The rankings really fluctuate a lot," Mraz said of her No. 6 national ranking. "It's great, but I don't expect it to stay that high. It's hard to focus on rankings."
Lyons was ranked No. 27 after the individual tournaments, finishing with a 9-5 record in the fall.
"Wendy had a strong finish last fall," Hyden said. "She has a lot of experience in big tournaments. We have been trying to improve the minor details in [the two players'] games."
Joining Mraz and Lyons in Dallas will be two talented players from the men's team, who will compete in the National Individual Indoors, the third leg of the men's collegiate grand slam. Senior Chris Pressley, who sat out the fall season because he had arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder, is now at 100 percent and will compete in the Indoors. Pressley, who was ranked No. 3 in the nation prior to the fall season, is not currently ranked because he was unable to play this fall.
"I think [Pressley's] chances are real good," head coach Jay Lapidus said. "He worked really hard on his rehabilitation, and the doctor said it's one of the best recoveries he'd ever seen from a shoulder injury like that. I feel really confident whenever Chris plays."
"I just want to turn in a good performance," Pressley said. "Since I'm coming in not ranked, there are no expectations, no pressure."
Joining Pressley in the tournament will be junior Rob Chess, currently ranked No. 22 nationally. Chess played in several tournaments throughout the fall, compiling a 9-4 record.
"I think he could have a really good tournament with the way he plays indoors," Lapidus said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he went really far in this tournament."
"I've done well in grand slams before," Chess said. "Indoors is a good surface for me."
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