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Duke men's tennis sweeps Tigers in ITA Kick-Off

Freshman Nicolas Alvarez and the Blue Devils qualified for the ITA Men’s Team Indoor Championship with Saturday sweep.
Freshman Nicolas Alvarez and the Blue Devils qualified for the ITA Men’s Team Indoor Championship with Saturday sweep.

After cruising to a 4-1 victory against Wake Forest on Friday, the Blue Devils made sure they didn’t drop a match Saturday.

Hosting No. 23 Memphis in the final round of ITA Kick-Off Weekend, No. 12 Duke dominated the Tigers Saturday with a 4-0 victory at the Sheffield Tennis Center to qualify for the ITA Men’s Team Indoor Championship for the fifth year in a row. Seniors Chris Mengel and Jason Tahir, junior Josh Levine, sophomore TJ Pura and freshman Nicholas Alvarez all contributed points to the Blue Devil’s eventual triumph.

“I thought our depth was the key today,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “I told the guys in the locker room that I was really proud of them for not missing a beat.”

Duke (4-0) did not begin the night the way it wanted. At center attention on court 1, the usually reliable duo of Alvarez and Raphael Hemmeler faltered in doubles competition against Connor Glennon and Kai Lemke 6-3. The loss was only the second of the year for the pair, who now drop to 11-2 on the season. This also increased the pressure for Duke players on courts 2 and 3.

“It was less pressure, and more of a sense of urgency that Chris [Mengel] and I felt,” Pura said. “We really felt like at 4- all we needed to get the first few points of the game to get the break.”

And get the break they did. In a crucial change of events, Mengel and Pura turned the tables on court 3, taking a 5-4 lead with the serve. After they finished the set 6-4, all eyes turned to court 2, where Jason Tahir and Josh Levine were riding the success of an earlier break. Leading 5-3, they gave up one game before finishing off Andrew Watson and Louis Asser 6-4.

“The guys did such a good job in doubles,” Alvarez said. “It definitely changed the momentum going into singles, because the confidence you have going in up 1-0 is completely different from the confidence going in down 0-1.”

Duke undoubtedly was riding the momentum, because when singles began, four Blue Devils immediately broke their opponents’ serves, and then capitalized to go up 2-0. For some, the momentum wouldn’t end there. On court 5, Levine broke Kai Lemke twice in route to a quick 4-0 start. He then allowed his opponent to win a handful of games before finishing the set 6-3. Meanwhile on court 6, Pura actually won 10 games in a row before dropping two games in his second set. His 6-2 second set victory made court 6 the first singles match to finish and gave Duke its second point of the evening.

“It was exciting,” Pura said. “I was pretty lucky to win 10 games in a row, but I was really just trying to play every point.”

When Levine won his second set, also 6-3, all of a sudden the Blue Devils had a 3 – 0 lead, and only needed to win one of the remaining four matches to clinch the victory.

“I had full 100% belief in [the players still in their matches],” Pura said. “Raphael, Jason and Chris are veterans. They’ve been here and I bestowed full trust in them. And Nico, he’s proved himself as Mr. Clutch so far this year, so when it came down to the nail-biters, there’s nobody else I’d rather have on the court than them.”

Courts 1 and 3 hosted the most exciting first sets, with both duels going to a crucial tiebreaker. No. 36 Jason Tahir was unable to trump No. 79, succumbing 7-5 in the tie breaker. However, No. 103 Raphael Hemmeler was able to overcome unranked Patrick Mayer 7-2.

Ultimately though, neither court would be where the triumphant final match occurred. Facing 23rd-ranked Andrew Watson, 18th-ranked Alvarez knew that it was up to him to finish the night. In the first set after his initial break, the Lima, Peru, native did not let up, winning every game on his serve to take the set 6-4. In the second set, Alvarez played from behind until all eyes were on him in tied at four games apiece. He proceeded to break Watson and win every point of the last game, clinching the set 6-4.

“Nico’s killer instinct is awfully good right now,” Smith said. “If this is any indication for the future, it’s pretty exciting. In pressure situations, he’s playing like a senior out there against nationally ranked players.”

Alvarez and the Blue Devils will hit the road next weekend, traveling to compete in standard dual matches against both Illinois and Northwestern.

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