The road might have been a little bumpy, but the men's tennis team kept on rolling Tuesday, coming from behind to edge Miami 4-3 at Duke Tennis Stadium.
Sophomore Sebastien Gobbi clinched the victory with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Miami's Fernando Borja at number six singles. Gobbi's win broke a 3-3 deadlock, and gave the 18th-ranked Blue Devils their fourth straight win.
"I don't think Sebastien knew it was [tied] three-all," Duke coach Jay Lapidus said. "He thought we had already won and was going to ask if we could stop [the match]."
Gobbi led the second set of his match 5-2 when teammate Adam Gusky knocked off Wayne Boich at number three to knot the match score. Miami had jumped to a 3-1 lead with quick singles victories at numbers one, two and four.
But freshman Porter Jones started the Duke comeback with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at number five, and Gusky followed with a win to set up the dramatic finish. Gobbi broke Borja's serve, and sent the Hurricanes home with their fourth loss in eight matches. Duke improved to 6-3 with the win.
"Their record sort of belies how good they are," Lapidus said of the No. 35 Hurricanes. "You look at their lineup, and they are pretty strong."
Miami freshman Mike Russell, ranked No. 3 in the nation, took care of Duke's Doug Root at the number one position, 6-4, 6-2. A top-ranked player on the junior level, Russell has stepped right in as the leader of a young Hurricane squad. He captured last month's Rolex National Indoor title at Dallas and continues to roll through a stellar rookie campaign.
For Root, the loss was just his second in dual match competition.
"I think Doug is playing as well as Mike Russell right now," Lapidus said. "But sometimes it takes a year of playing at that level to really believe that you are playing at that level. I don't think Doug knows how good he is."
Meanwhile, Duke continues to fight the injury bug. With veterans Dmitry Muzyka and Sven Koehler sidelined indefinitely, Lapidus' squad has been spread rather thin-and the fatigue may be taking its toll. Alberto Brause (number two singles) played Tuesday despite a virus that had caused him to spend Monday night throwing up. Weakened by his illness, Brause was no match for Miami's Michael Rodrigo, falling 6-1, 6-0.
In addition, Gusky played through a sprained ankle that had him considering sitting out.
"I'm definitely not 100 percent," Gusky said. "My movement was limited, but obviously I'm glad I played since [the final score] was 4-3."
Gusky and Jones cruised to an 8-3 doubles victory over Russell and Boich, which, paired with a win by the fourth-ranked pair of Root and Jordan Wile, gave Duke the first point of the afternoon. Gusky, a native of North Miami Beach, Fla., then defeated longtime friend Boich in singles.
"The situation being what it was a week and a half ago [with the injuries], if you had told me we would be on a four-match winning streak, I would have been ecstatic," Lapidus said. "I am ecstatic."
Duke has a full week to rest before it begins a four-match road trip over spring break. The Blue Devils will travel to No. 10 South Alabama on Mar. 18 to kick things off. After that, they will face No. 6 Mississippi State, Texas Christian and No. 12 Texas in a span of four days.
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