Johns Clinches Match for Duke Against Illinois

Friday, February 3

Durham, N.C.

6 p.m.

Duke University

Illinois

Johns Clinches Match for Duke Against Illinois

2/3/2023 10:56:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – Senior Garrett Johns recorded the match-clinching point on Friday night as No. 25 Duke defeated Illinois, 4-3, at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

The Atlanta, Ga., native held on down the stretch to beat No. 95 Hunter Heck to secure the Blue Devils' fifth victory of the year. Duke improves to 5-2, while Illinois drops to 6-3.

How It Happened

The Blue Devils secured the doubles point to take an early 1-0 edge in the match. The senior-freshman duo of Johns and Pedro Rodenas made quick work of Heck and Gabrielius Guzauskas on court two, 6-4.
The doubles pair of Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni then clinched the point after recording a 7-5 victory on court three over William Mroz and Kenta Miyoshi.
The match between No. 49 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang against No. 48 Mathus Debru Oliver Okonkwo went unfinished with the teams tied at 5-5.
No. 84 Rodenas continued his unbeaten streak to begin singles action by besting Guzauskas 6-3, 6-2 on court three.
The Fighting Illini would register wins on court six, five and four over the next three finishes to pull in front 3-2. Heller dropped a 6-3, 6-3 decision to Okonkwo on court six, before Nic Meister defeated Jake Krug on court five 6-3, 6-2. Miyoshi then hung on to beat Connor Krug on court four 6-3, 6-4 to give the Illini their third point.
Duke knotted the score at 3-3 when No. 101 Zhang bested Mroz, 6-4, in the first set and 6-3 in the second on court two.
With the overall match coming down to the outcome of court one, Johns registered a gutsy 6-4, 7-6 (0) tiebreak win to secure the victory. The senior tallied three aces during the tiebreak to help his cause.

Notes

With his win on court three, Rodenas improves to 5-0 at the position and 7-0 overall on the year.
Johns tallied his first match-clinching point of the season.
All singles matches were decided in two sets.
Johns and Rodenas improve to 4-1 in doubles action.

Quotes
"It was a little more exciting than we wanted it to be. We played a great doubles point but we struggled at the bottom half of the lineup in singles. Those matches went a little too quick and we played a little too tight. But credit to them, they played well. I think they played loose and went after it. Fortunately, we got ourselves in a position to win the last two matches and we had our seniors out there. Really proud of Garrett (Johns). I feel so comfortable when he's in that situation. He's calm, cool and collected under pressure. He did a great job because he was up triple match point at 5-4, didn't get it, but no stress. Just went back to work. And then in the tiebreak, that's as good as you can play. The team support was awesome. We have great battles against Illinois and tonight was no different. Just a great team win for us." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his thoughts from the match.

"He's just super impressive in all areas. In doubles, they're starting to find their rhythm. Garrett and Pedro play more free-flowing and aggressive. Attacking the middle. And today they got down an early break and really rolled from there. Pedro just embraces this format, this atmosphere. You never know with freshmen how they're going to handle dual matches, but it seems like he's kind of born for this. He's really just enjoying himself out here and he's playing his best tennis in these dual matches so super exciting for him, for us and for the program." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on freshman Pedro Rodenas being undefeated in singles action on the year.

"We know collectively we need to be better. We need to be better in the bottom half of the lineup. We need to dig in a little bit more in some spots. But again, it's all about the team win and we're going to take the confidence from this and get back to work tomorrow knowing we need to make some adjustments because Northwestern is very gritty and very tough. They compete especially hard so we're going to have to play our best tennis." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on having another tough opponent in No. 23 Northwestern on Sunday.

"At 5-5 I got a little nervous and double faulted a couple of times. Then at 5-6 I freed up a bit and wasn't as nervous because I just told myself I already won the first set. Then I broke a serve and in the tiebreak, I slowed it down and the aces helped me out a lot so I didn't have to play super long points. The team really helped me out a lot toward the end of the match by their cheering and support. They made me less nervous." – Duke senior Garrett Johns on his first match-clinching point of the season.

Next Match
Duke welcomes No. 23 Northwestern to Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center on Sunday at 11 a.m. The Wildcats face No. 18 Harvard at home on Friday night prior to traveling to face the Blue Devils.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMTEN".

Results
Doubles (2,3*)
1. #49 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) vs. #48 Mathis Debru/Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) 5-5, unfinished
2. Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Hunter Heck/Gabrielius Guzauskas (ILL) 6-4
3. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) def. Kenta Miyoshi/William Mroz (ILL) 7-5

Singles (3,6,5,4,2,1*)
1. #4 Garrett Johns (DU) def. #95 Hunter Heck (ILL) 6-4, 7-6 (7-0)
2. #101 Andrew Zhang (DU) def. William Mroz (ILL) 6-4, 6-3
3. #84 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Gabrielius Guzauskas (ILL) 6-3, 6-2
4. Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) def. Connor Krug (DU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Nic Meister (ILL) def. Jake Krug (DU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) def. Michael Heller (DU) 6-3, 6-3

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