WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

MTEN: Cunha Advances to Semifinals at ITA National Indoors

Nov 9, 2012

Flushing, N.Y. — Senior Henrique Cunha and sophomore Raphael Hemmeler advanced to the semifinals of the doubles draw at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships on Friday during the second day of play at the Billy Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

Cunha and Hemmeler, the 16th-ranked duo in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s preseason rankings, upended the eighth-ranked tandem of Chris Camilone and David Holiner of Texas, 8-4. The win is the Duke duo’s first victory of the season against an opponent ranked in the top 10. In addition, Cunha and Hemmeler picked up their 10th victory of the fall season, improving their record to 10-1. The second-seeded pair will now move on to face Virginia’s third-seeded duo of Jamere Jenkins and Mac Styslinger in the semifinals Saturday.

In his quarterfinal singles match, Cunha edged 33rd-ranked Martin Giron of UCLA in three sets, 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-3, to reach the semifinals for the second consecutive year. After dropping the first set in his round of 16 singles match 4-6, Cunha, the top-ranked player in the country, responded by taking the next two sets to defeat Adrien Berkowicz of Tyler Junior College, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Cunha will face Jenkins, the second-ranked player, on Saturday.

The semifinals in singles and doubles are scheduled to be played Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. Fans can follow live scoring at http://www.itatennis.com.

Friday’s Results:
Singles
Quarterfinals:
No. 1 Henrique Cunha (Duke) def. Adrien Berkowicz (Tyler JC), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Semifinals:
No. 1 Henrique Cunha (Duke) def. Martin Giron (UCLA), 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-3

Doubles
No. 16 Cunha/Hemmeler (Duke) def. Camilone/Holiner (Texas), 8-4