DURHAM – No. 8 Duke defeated No. 23 NC State, 4-0, in its opening round matchup of the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday afternoon inside Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.
Graduate student Andrew Zhang tallied his second match-clinching point of the season against the Wolfpack (2-2) to help Duke (4-0) extend its home winning streak to 12 consecutive matches.
With the win, the Blue Devils advance to the championship match and face Middle Tennessee State (4-1). The Blue Raiders beat California, 4-1, in their first match of the weekend.
How It Happened
- Connor Krug and Faris Khan earned Duke’s first win of the day when they bested Braden Shick and Fons Van Sambeek, 6-3, on court three to kick off doubles action.
- No. 14 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang then registered the doubles point for Duke when they downed No. 13 Martin Borisiouk and Joseph Wayand on court two, 6-4.
- The match between Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas against Robin Catry and Luca Staeheli on the top court went unfinished with the Wolfpack leading, 6-5.
- No. 21 Rodenas extended the Blue Devils’ edge to 2-0 early in singles play after defeating Van Sambeek 6-2, 6-4 on court two.
- Junior Jake Krug then made it 3-0 Duke after he pulled the upset against No. 52 Wayand on court six. The Lakewood Ranch, Fla., native tallied 6-3, 6-4 victories over Wayand to remain undefeated in dual singles action.
- A few minutes later, Zhang put the match away on court three when he registered 6-4, 6-2 wins over Damien Salvestre to secure the overall victory for Duke.
- The matches on courts…
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