CARY, N.C. – Duke senior Andrew Zhang advanced to the A draw singles final on Saturday to highlight day two of the Duke James Bonk Invitational.
The Bloomfield Hills, Mich., native bested VCU’s Joaquim Almedia 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals before battling No. 3 seed Theo Dean of Yale in a three-set thriller in the semifinals. Zhang claimed a 7-5 victory in the opening set, but Dean responded with a 6-4 win in the second. Zhang was able to earn a 6-2 win in the final frame to secure his spot in Sunday’s final. He’s scheduled to face off against the No. 1 seed Dan Martin of Miami at 11 a.m.
Junior Andrew Dale finished 1-1 during his two matches on Saturday in the A draw. Dale fell to UNCW’s Bek Rasmatov 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 in the consolation quarterfinals but answered with a victory over No. 4 Dimitri Badra of ETSU during his second contest. Dale was leading 5-0 when Badra had to bow out due to retirement. Dale will battle Charlotte’s Ivan Dreycopp for 13th place on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Sophomore Jake Krug dropped both of his matches on the day in the B draw to Davide Innocenti of UNCW and No. 2 Juan Jalif of Miami. Innocenti recorded a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Krug in the quarterfinals, while Jalif earned a 6-4, 4-6, 10-8 win in the fifth-place bracket. Krug meets up with Veljko Krstic of Elon on Sunday at 11 a.m. for seventh place.
The finals doubles matches of the tournament are set to begin at 9 a.m. on Sunday at the Cary Tennis Park followed by the remaining singles matches.
SINGLES RESULTS
Quarterfinals (A Draw)
No. 2 Andrew Zhang (Duke) def. Joaquim Almeida (VCU) 6-1, 6-2
Consolation Quarterfinals (A Draw)
Bek Rasmatov (UNCW) def. Andrew Dale (Duke) 3-6, 6-4, 10-7
Semifinals (A Draw)
No. 2 Andrew Zhang (Duke) def. No. 3 Theo Dean (Yale) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
13th Place Bracket (A Draw)
Andrew Dale (Duke) def. No. 4 Dimitri Badra (ETSU) 5-0 ret.
Quarterfinals (B Draw)
Davide Innocenti (UNCW) def. No. 3 Jake Krug (Duke) 7-5, 6-4
Fifth Place Bracket (B Draw)
No. 2 Juan Jalif (Miami) def. No. 3 Jake Krug (Duke) 6-4, 4-6, 10-8
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