University of Georgia Athletics
A Confident Duncan Keeps Delivering
April 08, 2017 | Men's Tennis
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Walker Duncan often plays like he's got dinner reservations someplace special and needs to get off the court as soon as possible. On Friday, it may have been the steak tacos that were waiting for him after the Georgia men's tennis team's match against No. 14 Florida.
When you're playing well, and the sophomore from Atlanta is most certainly doing that, picking up the pace and asserting your authority is not unusual.
"If I'm playing good I think I can keep it going with every point and I feel like I have this energy behind me, and it's a lot of fun to play like that," Duncan said in between taco bites following the No. 13-ranked Bulldogs' 6-1 win over No. 14 Florida at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Playing at No. 5 singles against Florida's Maxx Lipman, Duncan, a crafty right-hander, used a variety of shots from all over the court to win 6-3, 7-5, and deliver the clinching point (at 4-0) in the rout of the Gators.
It was the eighth straight win for Duncan, who has won 10 of his last 11 matches — many of them decisively. Those eight consecutive wins have been in straight sets, with Duncan giving up three or fewer games in 13 of the 16 sets.
He's getting his rhythm early and taking command of the match as soon as possible.
"When I'm playing my best I'm not thinking," he said. "After the point I'm just thinking about the next point and trying to get on with it. I've been doing well with that recently and I think I've been finishing a lot of my matches; I'm definitely playing faster."
And better. Since he dropped three straight matches during the Bulldogs' five-match losing streak in February, all to teams presently ranked in the top 11, Duncan has been one of the Bulldogs' rocks.
"Going through the process and having him go through the matches — winning breeds more winning," Georgia coach Manuel Diaz said. "He's been able to put together some wins and he's playing with a lot of confidence right now, where if he is not really playing his best he can still find ways to win. That's the difference between being a pretty good player and a very good player."
Unlike other recent matches, Duncan wasn't the first Bulldog off the court with a singles win Friday. That was freshman Robert Loeb at No. 6, who dropped just three games. Then it was Wayne Montgomery at No. 2 singles, who put the Dogs up 3-0, a win away from clinching.
At that point, Duncan, Jan Zielinski at No. 4 and Emil Reinberg at No. 3 were all pretty close to earning the clinching win — and Duncan knew it.
"Tonight, I wanted to clinch," he said. "It was really close because Jan was serving out his match and won moments after I did. I was trying to get off the court as fast as I could."
Duncan attributed part of his recent hot streak to a racquet change midway through the season, something not a lot of players would do. He'd been playing with a Head Prestige racquet and felt like another frame might give him some more pop on his serve and with his groundstrokes. He switched to Wilson Blade and the results speak for themselves.
"I'm serving a lot better," he said. "I'm definitely hitting my serves a lot stronger and I'm slicing off my backhand way better, and I think my forehand has a little more jump to it."
He hit a slice backhand winner against Lipman in the first game of the second set that was as pretty a shot as a Bulldog has hit all season. On the move to his left, he sliced it right up the line past Lipman at the net for a winner, giving him a break point.
It was the best of a lot of great shots Friday and throughout the spring for Duncan, who has also won nine of his last 10 completed doubles matches with partner Wayne Montgomery.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
