Northwestern Downs Duke 5-2 in Sunday Matinee

Sunday, January 31

Durham, N.C.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Northwestern

Northwestern Downs Duke 5-2 in Sunday Matinee

1/31/2016 3:25:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 24 Duke men's tennis team ended its season opening home stand with a 5-2 setback to No. 21 Northwestern Sunday afternoon inside the Sheffield Tennis Center.

The Blue Devils (1-4) forced the doubles action into a winner-takes-the-point tiebreaker with the Wildcats squeaking past with a 7-6 (5) victory to earn the point. Northwestern (5-1) then capitalized on the momentum with four straight singles wins to secure the match. Duke got late singles wins from sophomore Nicolas Alvarez and freshman Adrian Chamdani.

"That was a tough loss," head coach Ramsey Smith said. "I was impressed with Northwestern. I thought they played extremely well. I'm really happy with the way we finished with Adrian getting a win and Nico defeating a top-20 player."

Northwestern took the first doubles decision with a 6-3 victory by Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz against junior TJ Pura and freshman Catalin Mateas on court three. The teams were even at 2-2 before Northwestern's pair held, broke and held to go up 5-2. Duke got a game back, but the Wildcats served out for the win. Pura and Mateas fall to 3-2 this season, all in dual matches.

The Blue Devils evened up the doubles action on court one, where Alvarez and freshman Vincent Lin earned their first ranked win of the year with a 7-5 victory against Northwestern's No. 52 Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer. The two were on serve through 3-3 before Duke was broken, allowing the Wildcats to hold a 5-3 advantage. Duke answered immediately with a break and hold to knot the match at 5-5. The Blue Devils broke again to go up 6-5 and served out for the win. Alvarez and Lin are now 4-1 this year and 1-1 versus nationally ranked opponents.

The third consecutive doubles point for Duke was determined on court two. Konrad Zieba and Sam Shropshire and senior Josh Levine and freshman Ryan Dickerson alternated breaks and went down to the wire with the Wildcats pulling out a 7-6 (5) victory. Levine and Dickerson were broken twice within the first six games and trailed 2-0 and 4-2, but answered with two breaks and were tied 4-4. The duo then broke again to go ahead 5-4, only to have Northwestern answer the break and even the set at 5-5. Both pairs held serve to send it into a tiebreaker. Neither side held more than a point advantage in the tiebreaker until Northwestern broke a 5-5 knotting to secure the match. Levine and Dickerson fall to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in dual matches.

"Doubles set the tone," Smith said. "In singles, I thought we had some chances early across the board and didn't capitalize on some of them. I just thought we lost a little bit of energy and belief."

Northwestern seized the late doubles momentum and made it a 2-0 lead with No. 55 Kirchheimer defeating Mateas, 6-0, 6-0, on court three. The loss was Mateas' first in singles as he falls to 4-1 and 2-1 versus ranked opponents.

The Wildcats pushed the advantage to 3-0 from court six, where Horoz topped Levine, 6-3, 6-3. In the opening set, Levine was broken in the third game and was never able to get closer than one the rest of the way. He trailed 4-3 before Horoz held and broke to end the set. The second set had a late Horoz break clear the path to victory as the two were tied at 3-3 when Horoz held, broke and held to end the match with three straight games. Levine is now 9-7 this season and 2-3 in dual matches.

Northwestern clinched the match on court two with No. 50 Shropshire claiming a 6-3, 7-5 win against No. 102 Pura. After a 1-1 tie in the first set, Shropshire took three straight games to go up 4-1. Pura held to make it a 4-2 deficit, but Shropshire held his last two games to win the set. The second set had Pura battle back from 3-1 and 4-3 holes to even the set at 4-4 with a break and go up 5-4 after a hold. Shropshire then held, broke and held to end the match. Pura falls to 6-7 this season and 0-4 in dual matches.

The Wildcats added their final point as Baev came all the way back to defeat Lin 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 on court four. After the opening set blanking, the two were tied 2-2 in the second set when Baev broke and took a 4-2 lead. Lin got a game back to make it a 4-3 deficit, but Baev held in his final two service games for the set. In the deciding third set, Lin was broken after a 1-1 tie and Beav pushed the lead to 3-1 and 4-2 before taking the last two games. Lin is 10-9 this year with a 2-3 mark in dual matches.

Duke tallied its points on courts one and five, where Alvarez and Chamdani captured three-set wins. On court one, No. 12 Alvarez bounced back from an opening-set loss to No. 16 Zieba to get a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory. The first set was on serve with Alvarez trailing 3-2 when he was broken and Zieba gained a 4-2 and then 5-2 advantage before closing out the set. In the second set, the two were again even at 2-2 and on serve with Alvarez up 3-2 when he broke to go ahead 4-2. The two again held on serve and the set ended in Alvarez's favor. The final set had Alvarez turn a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 advantage. Zieba got one game back for a 3-2 deficit, but Alvarez captured the last three games. The victory snapped a three-match skid for Alvarez, who is 6-7 and 2-3 in dual matches. He is now 5-6 against nationally ranked opponents.

"It was a great effort from Nico," Smith said. "He had a plan going in and executed it. He stuck with it when things weren't going well and got a big win for him personally. I think that's really going to springboard him through the rest of the spring."

The Blue Devils ended the match with a win on court five from Chamdani, who defeated Ben Vandixhorn 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Chamdani got a break when he was ahead 3-2 and pushed the lead to 4-2 and 5-2 and closed out on his service game. The second set had Vandixhorn jump out to a 2-0 lead and extend the advantage to 4-1. Chamdani captured two games, but got no closer than 4-2 and 5-3 before Vandixhorn took the set. It was Chamdani with a big lead in the third set at 3-0 and 4-1 before Vandixhorn tightened the action. Trailing 5-2, Vandixhorn won two straight games to cut the Chamdani lead to 5-4. Serving to even the set at 5-5, Vandixhorn was broken by Chamdani to end the match. Chamdani is 10-8 overall and 3-1 in dual matches.

Next weekend, Duke will make its first road trip of the season by heading to Tennessee and Michigan. The Blue Devils travel to the No. 41 Volunteers for a 6 p.m. match on Friday, February 5, and head to Ann Arbor for a 12 noon contest on Sunday, February 7, against the Wolverines.

#21 Northwestern 5, #24 Duke 2
Jan. 31, 2016 at Durham, N.C. (Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center)

Doubles competition
1. Nicolas Alvarez/Vincent Lin (DU) def. #52 Fedor Baev/Strong Kirchheimer (NU) 7-5
2. Konrad Zieba/Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Josh Levine/Ryan Dickerson (DU) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Mihir Kumar/Alp Horoz (NU) def. Catalin Mateas/TJ Pura (DU) 6-3

Singles competition
1. #12 Nicolas Alvarez (DU) def. #16 Konrad Zieba (NU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
2. #50 Sam Shropshire (NU) def. #102 TJ Pura (DU) 6-3, 7-5
3. #55 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Catalin Mateas (DU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Fedor Baev (NU) def. Vincent Lin (DU) 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Adrian Chamdani (DU) def. Ben Vandixhorn (NU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
6. Alp Horoz (NU) def. Josh Levine (DU) 6-3, 6-3

Match Notes:
Northwestern 5-1; National ranking #21
Duke 1-4; National ranking #24
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,6,2,4,1,5)
Official: Alvin Klassen
T-2:38 A-163

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