For the first time in the program's history, the men's tennis team defeated a No. 1 ranked team this weekend, beating Illinois 5-2. The No. 19 Blue Devils (3-6, 1-0 in the ACC) also earned their first conference win of the season against Georgia Tech 4-3 Saturday.
"We played very well in the singles [against Illinois]," Duke coach Jay Lapidus said. "We just fought so hard and fought so well. It was great to see the energy we had on the court. We haven't always had the best energy, but the guys just did a great job with it."
Duke struggled in doubles competition on what would prove to be an arduous day against Illinois. The Fighting Ilini took the doubles point with wins at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions. Philip King and Michael Yani at No. 1 defeated the eighth-ranked doubles team, Amer Delic and Michael Calkins, in a match that went to a long tiebreaker, 9-8.
Four of the singles matches went into three sets, with the majority of each game going into advantage play. Duke freshman Jason Zimmerman was the only Blue Devil who took a win with ease. His win tied the match 1-1 as he used his strong serve and energy to overpower 33rd ranked Phil Stoltz, 6-3, 6-3.
"That was a huge win for us because Zimmerman didn't play well [against Georgia Tech]," Lapidus said. "He was a little lethargic and we talked about it, and he just has to come out with a lot of energy. If he doesn't have energy, he doesn't play well. Today he had great energy. He was a real spark plug out there today."
King, who is ranked 39th in singles and Yani, who is 46th, both had long matches as well. Both of King's sets at No. 1 were decided by tiebreakers, as he faced 11th ranked Delic. Yani got a 3-2 edge over Delic in the first set, but the two traded wins until the match was tied 6-6. At the end of the long tiebreaker game, King blasted a shot to the outside corner to take the first set 7-6.
The crucial moment in King's second set came when the match was tied 4-4. King was up in advantage over Delic when a controversial call by the umpire sparked an argument. The point went to Delic to make the score 5-4 Illinois, as the two played until it was tied 6-6 and went to another tiebreaker. The referee caused another argument by calling an out against Delic. King got the point and won the match 7-6, 7-6.
"It was good tennis," Lapidus said. "Delic played really well and Philip is just tough to beat. He fights so hard and when he puts his mind to it, he's difficult to take down and he's good under pressure."
At No. 2, Yani's match against Brian Wilson went into three sets as he won 6-4, 6-7, 6-2. Duke junior Yorke Allen at No. 4 also took a third-set victory, defeating Calkins 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
"The energy level was really high and [Illinois] is a tough team to beat. They just fight and fight and fight," Lapidus said. "We outfought them, and it's nice to do that."
Against Georgia Tech Saturday, Nos. 1 and 3 doubles picked up the doubles point for Duke to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead going into singles. King and Yani defeated Roger Anderson and David Wright, 8-4 at No. 1, while Shults and Zimmerman took a win against Joao Menano and Stephen Moros, 8-2 at No. 3.
The freshmen did not fair as well in singles as they did in doubles against Georgia Tech. Although Zimmerman made several aces, he injured his ankle after letting Menano get up 3-2 in the second set and losing the first 6-4. Menano eventually defeated Zimmerman 6-4, 6-2.
King completely routed Anderson in singles as he won 6-2, 6-0, in the quickest singles match of the day at No. 1. Allen and Spicher also took wins for Duke at No. 5 and 4, respectively, to secure the win.
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