Nelson Goes on Attack Against Her Nerves

For two sets, Lindsey Nelson battled nerves and Kady Pooler’s surprisingly advanced all-court game. But once Nelson conquered her nerves, Pooler’s game didn’t seem so advanced.

Nelson, an eighth-grader from Orange, defeated Pooler, a Dana Hills freshman, 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-0, Tuesday in the girls’ 16 semifinals of the Quiksilver/Roxy Junior Open at Los Caballeros Racquet Club. The first two sets took 90 minutes. The last set was over in 15 minutes.

It was no coincidence Nelson’s game had more of a purpose after a brief chat with her father and coach, Mike Nelson, between the second and third sets.

“He told me to play my game, my attacking game,” Nelson said.

Why did it take two sets to settle into her game? “I was really nervous,” she said.

Pooler, who was rolling along nicely for two sets with her chip-and-charge, serve-and-volley style, was blindsided in the third set.

“She started attacking a lot more and it surprised me,” Pooler said. “I didn’t know what to do. The balls were coming a lot faster and a lot deeper.”

The second-seeded Nelson had been content to float balls back to the middle of the court, where Pooler could cut them off and charge the net.

“I’m usually able to hit a lot of passing shots, but she was all over the net,” Nelson said. “She’s really good up there.”

At 5-feet-9, Pooler hopes to get even better up there.

“I like to serve and volley,” said the unseeded Pooler, who knocked off three seeded players in reaching the semifinals. “I think that’s what’s taking over women’s tennis. That’s what it takes to get there.”

Nelson said she is a few years from trying a serve-and-volley game. For now, she’s simply happy to be playing again. Nelson missed two months in the spring with a painful back injury.

“I grew too fast,” said Nelson, who is 5-11. “My hips weren’t even and I was in a lot of pain. I’m fine now.”

Nelson will play top-seeded Brooke Borishoff of Agoura Hills in the final this morning at 9.

In the girls’ 18s, Woodbridge junior Susanna Lingman stormed into the final by upsetting top-seeded Andrea Yung of San Marino, 7-5, 6-2, in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Jennifer Baker of Palm Desert, 6-3, 6-3, in the semifinals. Lingman, who reached the semifinals at Ojai last month, will play third-seeded Angie Haynes of Compton in the final today at 11:30.

In the girls’ 14s, top-seeded Tracy Lin of Anaheim moved into the finals with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over fifth-seeded Tiffany Clifford of Little Rock, Ark. Lin will face second-seeded Nicole Leimbach of Colorado Springs, Colo. today at 1.