No. 20 Alabama Falls 4-1 to No. 13 Duke in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament

DURHAM, N.C. –– Roan Jones led the No. 20 Alabama men's tennis team (18-13) in a hard-fought battle against No. 13 Duke (20-9) Saturday as the Crimson Tide fell, 4-1, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Jones picked up a two-set victory on court five to highlight the afternoon. Filip Planinsek had forced a third set while Zach Foster staved off his opponent in the second set to force another game when the deciding point was clinched.

From Head Coach George Husack

"Tough match and congratulations to Duke. Plenty to be proud of this season as, together, our team learned how to compete at a higher level, welcome challenges, be more willing to find solutions and as a result, be rewarded for their effort and commitment.

"We've been building the last two seasons, so this year's accomplishments are noteworthy but not the end. Just the continuation of where we started. Nobody graduates (this year) so there's plenty to build on. I look forward to seeing more improvements and keeping the chains moving forward."

Match Notes

Duke picked up its first win of the day on court three, before securing the doubles point with a 6-3 victory from the No. 1 pairing in the country on court one
In singles action, the Blue Devils took a win on courts two and four, respectively, to move to match point
Foster fought to force another game on court six, allowing time for Jones to record the victory on court five
Jones took the first set at 6-4 before cruising to a 6-2 victory in the second to give UA its lone point of the day
Duke would claim the match moments later with a victory on court three
Additionally, Planinsek had battled back after a close 7-5 loss in the first set to force a third-set tiebreaker with his 6-3 victory in the second round
Foster was trailing 6-5 in the second set, after taking a 6-4 loss in the first set, when the match was decided
Saturday marked the 10^th time in program history that the Tide advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament

Filip Planinsek will represent the Tide at the NCAA Singles Championships in Stillwater, Okla.
The six-day tournament will begin May 20 with final brackets to be announced at a later date

Results

Doubles:

#1 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #51 Enzo Aguiard/Zach Foster (UA) 6-3
Matic Dimic/Filip Planinsek (UA) vs. Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) 4-4, unfinished
Faris Khan/Teddy Truwit (DU) def. Roan Jones/Andrii Zimnokh (UA) 6-1

Order of Finish (3,1)

Singles:

#29 Filip Planinsek (UA) vs. #21 Garrett Johns (DU) 5-7, 6-3, unfinished
#43 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Matias Ponce De Leon (UA) 6-2, 6-2
Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Andrii Zimnokh (UA) 6-4, 6-4
Connor Krug (DU) def. #106 Enzo Aguiard (UA) 6-4, 6-4
Roan Jones (UA) def. Faris Khan (DU) 6-4, 6-2
Zach Foster (UA) vs. Alexander Visser (DU) 4-6, 5-6, unfinished

Order of Finish (2,4,5,3)

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– UA –