Blue Devils Continue at ITA All-American Championships

TULSA, Okla. – Senior Garrett Johns advanced Wednesday at the 2022 ITA All-American Championships to highlight Day One of the main draw event.
 
The Atlanta, Ga., native bested Nishesh Basavareddy of Stanford in three sets to shift into the round of 32. Johns claimed a 6-4 victory in his opening set against Basavareddy but dropped the second in tie-break fashion 7-6 (4). With the outcome of the match coming down to the result of the third set, Johns bounced back to earn a 6-3 win to keep his hopes in the tournament alive. He next faces Emile Hudd of Tennessee on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. CT at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa.
 
Freshman Pedro Rodenas was also competing for Duke on Wednesday but dropped a 6-3, 6-4 decision to Kentucky’s Alafia Ayeni in his opening round of the main draw tournament. Rodenas had strung together three consecutive singles victories prior to that in the qualifying round to advance to Wednesday’s main draw. The Madrid, Spain, native is slated to compete against No. 9-16 Murphy Cassone of Arizona State on Thursday in the main draw consolation round.
 
SINGLES
Main Draw First Round
Garrett Johns (Duke) def. Nishesh Basavareddy (Stanford) 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3
Alafia Ayeni (Kentucky) def. Pedro Rodenas (Duke) 6-3, 6-4

#GoDuke