No. 14 Wake Forest Claims 4-1 Victory Over No. 39 Louisville

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The 14th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team claimed its fourth-consecutive win Friday as the Demon Deacons earned a 4-1 decision over No. 39 Louisville at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.

With the victory, the Demon Deacons (19-6, 4-1 ACC) improved to 16-2 all-time against the Cardinals. Additionally, the Deacs have now won 15 of their last 17 ACC matches, dating back to last season.

Wake Forest had another solid showing in doubles as the Deacs notched the doubles point with wins in the second and third slots. Of note, the Demon Deacons have now won the doubles point in three-consecutive matches.

Up 1-0 at the conclusion of doubles, Wake Forest went a stellar 3-1 in singles play behind victories from Luciano Tacchi, Jurabek Karimov and Juan Lopez de Azcona to secure the 4-1 victory over Louisville (10-8, 1-6 ACC).

With Friday's result, Wake Forest is now 8-5 against ranked opponents this season. Additionally, Friday's win improved the Deacs to 15-2 in ACC play over the past two years.

How It Happened

Wake Forest got off to an excellent start in doubles play as the Deacs held the lead on two courts in the early going.
- Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi led 4-1 in second doubles.
- Matthew Thomson/Melios Efstathiou led 3-2 in third doubles.
The Demon Deacons took a 1-0 lead in doubles play as Karimov/Tacchi held on to win second doubles, 6-1.
Louisville quickly responded as No. 15 Fabien Salle/Natan Rodrigues defeated No. 37 Filippo Moroni/Juan Lopez de Azcona to even the doubles ledger.
Thomson/Efstathiou secured the doubles point for Wake Forest with a 6-2 victory in third doubles.
- Thomson/Efstathiou's victory marked the Deacs' third-consecutive match winning the doubles point.
  - The win improved the pair to a solid 12-5 in duals doubles action this season.
Wake Forest took a 1-0 lead into singles play.
Singles action started tightly-contested as Wake Forest took the opening set in fourth, fifth and sixth singles, while Louisville took the opening set in first, second and third singles.
Louisville evened the score at one apiece as No. 55 Salle defeated Thomson 6-4, 6-4 in third singles.
The Demon Deacons responded minutes later as Tacchi took down Sergio Hernandez 6-4, 6-1 in fifth singles to give the Deacs a 2-1 advantage.
Wake Forest extended its lead to 3-1 as No. 103 Karimov climbed himself out of a second set deficit to defeat David Mizrahi 6-2, 6-3 in fourth singles.
After winning the opening set in sixth singles, 6-1, Juan Lopez de Azcona trailed 5-4 in set two before storming back to force a tiebreaker.
- After forcing the tiebreak, the Madrid, Spain native won 7-6 (7-4) to clinch the match victory for Wake Forest.
Of note, at the time of the clinch, Moroni held a 2-1 lead in set three against No. 31 Etienne Donnet.
The Deacs defeated the Cardinals, 4-1, improving to 4-1 in ACC play this season.

Singles Results
1. #11 Melios Efstathiou (WFU) vs. #76 Natan Rodrigues (LOU-MT) 3-6, 4-4, unfinished
2. Filippo Moroni (WFU) vs. #31 Etienne Donnet (LOU-MT) 2-6, 6-2, 2-1, unfinished
3. #55 Fabien Salle (LOU-MT) def. Matthew Thomson (WFU) 6-4, 6-4
4. #103 Jurabek Karimov (WFU) def. David Mizrahi (LOU-MT) 6-2, 6-3
5. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Sergio Hernandez (LOU-MT) 6-4, 6-1
6. Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) def. Andre Steinbach (LOU-MT) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)

Doubles Results
1. #15 Fabien Salle/Natan Rodrigues (LOU-MT) def. #37 Juan Lopez de Azcona/Filippo Moroni (WFU) 6-3
2. Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Etienne Donnet/Sergio Hernandez (LOU-MT) 6-1
3. Matthew Thomson/Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. Will Mayew/Alex Wesbrooks (LOU-MT) 6-2

From Coach Bresky
"Today was a good day, overall. Obviously, the weather was great, and I felt the boys played well. It was nice to get the doubles point considering how good Louisville is. They're always a really tough out, so I was happy with how we responded to pressure. We're excited for another test on Sunday with Notre Dame and UNCG." - Head coach Tony Bresky

Up Next
The Demon Deacons will turn around Sunday to face No. 50 Notre Dame and in-state opponent UNC Greensboro at noon and 4 p.m., respectively, at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.

Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

No. 14 Wake Forest Claims 4-1 Victory Over No. 39 Louisville

Next Event

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Melios Efstathiou

Jurabek Karimov

Juan Lopez de Azcona

Filippo Moroni

Luciano Tacchi

Matthew Thomson