Tigers Off to Best Start Since 2014

DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Clemson men’s tennis team is off to its best start since 2014 when the Tigers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers improve to (4-0) overall after claiming victories over Winthrop and Davidson earlier today.

In the morning match against Winthrop, the Tigers clinched the doubles point for the third straight match. On court three Christian Harris and Daffra Sanon came out firing on all cylinders to quickly capture a 6-1 victory. Robert Dudley and Carlos Kelaidis found themselves in a close match on court two but were able to prevail to a 7-5 win to clinch the doubles point and remain unbeaten as a duo. Alex Favrot and Sam Edwards were trailing 5-6 when the doubles point was clinched.

Senior Daffra Sanon’s momentum from doubles carried over to singles where he won convincingly at No. 2, (6-0, 6-2), giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead over the Eagles. Fellow Frenchman Alex Favrot was not far behind Sanon taking the Tigers advantage to 3-0 after winning (6-4, 6-1) at No. 1. The match came to an end when junior Sam Edwards clinched the match at No. 4, (6-3, 6-2). Dudley was leading (6-2, 4-3) before the match was called due to the clinch.

In the Davidson match, the Tigers continued their doubles when Favrot and Edwards remained unbeaten at No. 1 defeating the duo of Gough and Fries of Davidson, 6-2. The duo of Dudley and Kelaidis also remained unbeaten in doubles play at No. 2 when they clinched the point for the Tigers winning 6-4

Favrot gave the Tigers an early 2-0 advantage over Davidson winning in straight sets at No. 1, (6-2, 6-2). Freshman Kelaidis picked up where he left off last week picking up another win at No. 5, (6-2, 1-6, 6-4), giving the Tigers a 3-0 advantage over the Wildcats. Brent Lett would clinch the match for the Tigers at No. 6, (6-4, 7-6) and Clemson improves to 4-0, the best start since 2014. Davidson would take a point back at No. 2 before Dudley won at No. 3 and Harris won on No. 4 to bring the final score to 6-1.

Clemson returns to the courts on Friday, Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. when the Tigers hosts Wofford at Hoke Sloan Tennis Center.

MATCH NOTES:

• Favrot has yet to lose a match in singles or doubles in 2017.
• The Tigers are currently 16-5 in singles and 9-1 in doubles this season.

Clemson 4, Winthrop 0

Singlesâ¨:

1. Alex Favrot (CU) def. Diego Quiroz (WU) 6-4, 6-1
2. #123 Daffra Sanon (CU) def. Ruy Teixeria (WU) 6-0, 6-2
3. Robert Dudley (CU) def. Gabriel Dias (WU) 6-2, 4-3, unfinished
4. Sam Edwards (CU) def. Aditya Gokhale (WU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Carlos Kelaidis (CU) vs. Connor Williamson (WU) 0-1, unfinished
6. Brent Letts (CU) vs. Josh Ryan (WU) DNP

Order of finish: 2,1,4*

Doublesâ¨:

1. Alex Favrot/Sam Edwards (CU) vs. Diego Quiroz/Ruy Teixeria (WU) 5-6, unfinished
2. Robert Dudley/Carlos Kelaidis (CU) def. Connor Williamson/Josh Ryan (WU) 7-5
3. Daffra Sanon/Christian Harris (CU) def. Gabriel Dias/Aditya Gokhale (WU) 6-1

Order of finish: 3,2

Clemson 6, Davidson 1

Singlesâ¨:

1. Alex Favrot (CU) def. Shamel Chaudhry (DAV) 6-2, 6-2
2. David Hager (DAV) def. #123 Daffra Sanon (CU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
3. Robert Dudley (CU) def. Artem Khrapko (DAV) 6-1, 6-2
4. Christian Harris (CU) def. J.B. Gough (DAV) 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-5)
5. Carlos Kelaidis (CU) def. Axel Fries (DAV) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
6. Brent Lett (CU) def. Jordan Hart (DAV) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)

Order of finish: 1,5,6*,3,2,4

Doublesâ¨:

1. Alex Favrot/Sam Edwards (CU) def. J.B. Gough/Axel Fries (DAV) 6-2â¨
2. Robert Dudley/Carlos Kelaidis (CU) def. Shamael Chaudhry/Jack Riazzi (DAV) 6-4â¨
3. Kotaro Horiuchi/Matthew Rose (DAV) vs. Daffra Sanon/Christian Harris (CU) 5-5, unfinished

Order of finish: 1,2