DURHAM, N.C. (JMU Athletics) – #17 Duke won a pair of doubles matches and claimed three singles bouts in straight sets to down James Madison, 4-0, on Sunday afternoon in its men’s tennis opener at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.
Blue Devils (2-0) moved to 2-0 all-time against the Dukes (0-1), as the teams squared off for the first time since 1987.
Duke grabbed the early 1-0 lead with a pair of 6-3 doubles wins on courts two and three.
Over on court one, JMU neared a victory at the top spot, as the team of Zach Fleishman and Aurelien Schmitt led Duke’s Pedro Rodenas and Cooper Williams, 5-4, but the match was abandoned with the game at 30-all when Duke clinched the doubles point.
In singles play, Duke won the opening set on all six courts, leading to wins on the top three courts to clinch the match.
The Blue Devils doubles their lead to 2-0 on court two, as Rodenas claimed a 6-2, 6-2 win over Aurelien Schmitt. Minutes later, Duke made it 3-0 on court one, where Williams earned a 6-2, 6-1 triumph against Ryan Morgan.
The clinching point occurred on court three, as Alexander Visser capped off the day with a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Esteve Agusti. Elsewhere, Fleishman held a 4-3 lead in the second set with Dylan Long on court four while Gur Libal was knotted at 2-2 with Teddy Truwit on court six.
JMU returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 24 when it faces a former conference foe at Elon in a 1 p.m. start from the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
— JMU Athletics —
