Blue Devils Drop 4-3 Decision to No. 16 Harvard

DURHAM – In the first of two dual matches on Sunday for No. 20 Duke men’s tennis, the Blue Devils dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 16-ranked Harvard in Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.
 
Duke suffered its first dual loss of the season and shifts to 2-1, while the Crimson improve to 2-0 after besting No. 21 N.C. State on Friday night, 4-3, in their season opener.
 
How It Happened

• Sunday afternoon’s double point was a battle from the start. The Crimson claimed a 6-1 victory on court two after Henry von der Schulenburg and Harris Walker bested Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas for the early advantage.
• The final two matches in doubles play were knotted at 6-6 and needed a tiebreak to determine a winner. Unfortunately, the visitors secured the doubles point when they outlasted the Blue Devils on court three, following Steven Sun and Ronan Jachuck’s 7-6 (6) victory over Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni.
• The match between No. 49 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang against Daniel Milavsky and Valdemar Pape went unfinished at 6-6 with Duke holding the 2-1 edge in the tiebreak when the match was halted.
• Sophomore Jake Krug quickly evened the score at 1-1 in the overall match when he began singles action with a 6-1, 6-4 win on court six over Pape.
• The Crimson responded with back-to-back victories to pull in front 3-1. Sun defeated Khan 6-3, 6-2 on court five before No. 22 von der Schulenburg recorded a 6-4, 7-5 victory over No. 101 Zhang on court two.
• The Blue Devils continued to battle after No. 84 Rodenas cut into the Crimson lead at 3-2 with his third dual win of the year. The rookie…