Carson: Day One

©Colette Lewis 2007--
Carson CA--

The first day of the International Spring Championships was an 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. affair, with the first round of the 16s completed and half of the 18s first round matches. The weather couldn't have been more perfect; all of you in other parts of the country who are suffering through the unseasonable cold would truly have appreciated the temperatures in the low 70s, the light breezes and partly cloudy skies that were the backdrop for most of the matches.

I spent the day catching up with players and coaches and parents I hadn't seen lately and wandering from court to court catching a particular player I had heard about but hadn't actually watched. I caught a few games of the Christophe Freeman/Sean Berman match in boys 16s because I wanted to see Berman, who was on the U.S. 14s team that played Teen Tennis and Les Petit As this winter. But Berman was physically overmatched, and he lost in three sets. I also took in some of the Nathan Pasha/Dennis Mkrtchian battle and that too went in favor of the larger player in three sets, as Pasha, the 14s Winter champion, overcame some erratic play for a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory. But Mkrtchian was grit personified, and I couldn't help but admire his determination, attitude and strategic play despite his giving up many inches and pounds to Pasha.



One of the highest quality matches I saw was the late afternoon slugfest between No. 6 seed Dennis Lajola and Nick Meister. Meister pulled off the upset, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, by using great depth on offense and incredible retrieving on defense. One point in the third set saw Meister make one impossible get after another and it paid off when Lajola hit an overhead into the net, perhaps pressured to make the shot too good for Meister to run down.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm having internet issues, so I can't write as much as I would like about all the day's action. For complete draws, see usta.com.

TAGS: tennis, junior tennis, International Spring Championships, Nick Meister