Florida Gators
Duke
Men's Tennis Upset By No. 9 Duke, 4-3
Saturday, March 22, 2003 | Men's Tennis
For the first time in nearly a month, the University of Florida second-ranked men's tennis team stumbled as it was upset by No. 9 Duke on Saturday afternoon at Ambler Stadium, 4-3. With the loss, the Gators fell to 15-3 on the season, while the Blue Devils improved to 8-5.
The loss was the first for the Gators to a team other than current No. 1 Illinois and marked the second time that UF has come up on the short end of a 4-3 decision this season. The match came down to the third court where Duke's Jason Zimmermann rallied from a one-set deficit to lift the Blue Devils.
Duke captured the early momentum by taking the doubles point, which is something the Gators have given up only three times in 18 matches this season. After Ludovic Walter and Zimmermann won at the number two slot, Peter Shults and Jonathan Stokke rallied from a 7-4 deficit to clinch the point with a 9-7 victory over Matt Behrmann and Troy Hahn at number three.
In the singles, Eleazar Magallan evened things with his victory over Yorke Allen at No. 6. However, Walter helped Duke regain the lead with his 6-3, 6-2 win on the fourth court over Florida's Olivier Levant . The Gators gained control of the match and surged ahead for the first time on the afternoon when Behrmann defeated Stokke at five, 6-2, 6-4 and 35th-ranked Hamid Mirzadeh downed No. 23 Phillip King 6-4, 6-2 at the top of the line up. The win for Mirzadeh marked his first in his last three matches.
With Florida one point away from the win, Duke's Michael Yani (No. 58) upset fourth-ranked Janne Holmia to even things at three each. The loss for Holmia was his second in his last 13 matches and marked the first time in his career he has dropped back-to-back matches. It was also his the first straight set loss he has suffered in his dual match career.
Hahn took a one-set lead in his singles match with Zimmermann via tiebreaker, but fell in the second set, 6-3. After Hahn broke serve to go ahead 1-0 in the third set, Zimmermann cruised to a 6-3 decision to clinch the match for the Blue Devils.
Florida remains on the road, but steps back into conference play as the Gators travel to take on Alabama on Friday, March 28 at 2 p.m.
DOUBLES
1. [15] Phillip King & Michael Yani (Duke) def. Chris McDonald & Hamid Mirzadeh, 9-8 (4)
2. Ludovic Walter & Jason Zimmermann (Duke) def. Olivier Levant & Eleazar Magallan, 8-5
3. Peter Shults & Jonathan Stokke (Duke) def. Matt Behrmann & Troy Hahn, 9-7
SINGLES
1. [35] Hamid Mirzadeh (Florida) def. [23] Phillip King, 6-4, 6-2
2. [59] Michael Yani (Duke) def. [4] Janne Holmia, 6-4, 6-4
3. Jason Zimmermann (Duke) def. Troy Hahn, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3
4. Ludovic Walter (Duke) def. Olivier Levant, 6-3, 6-2
5. Matt Behrmann (Florida) def. Jonathan Stokke, 6-2, 6-4
6. Eleazar Magallan (Florida) def. Yorke Allen, 6-2. 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3
