Matthews wins 14s

A recent move from Fallbrook to Newport Beach pushed most of Oscar

Matthews’ growing tennis trophy collection into storage. But after

defeating top-seeded Danny Moss, 6-3, 6-2, to win the boys 14s

singles title at the 102nd Southern California Tennis Association

junior sectional championships Saturday, the shelves in his bedroom

feature a new jewel.

“This [trophy] is a good one,” Matthews said by phone after

prevailing at the Los Caballeros Racquet and Sports Club in Fountain

Valley. “I have the one I got after winning the 12s singles here [in

2002] and I’m going to put this one right next to it.”

Matthews, who will be a freshman next fall and is considering

attending high school at either Corona del Mar, Mater Dei or Newport

Harbor, has also strung together an impressive 12-match winning streak, including a recent title at the Quicksilver tournament.

Though only recently moving to Orange County, he said he feels at

home on the Los Caballeros courts.

“One of the first lessons I took here was on these courts, so I

guess I grew up playing here,” he said.

Matthews built early leads in both sets Saturday. The No. 4 seed

won the first three games of the match, then forged a 4-1 lead in the

second set, utilizing a strong serve, solid ground strokes and some

deft drop shots to knock off Moss, whom Matthews had never met

before.

“He was staying a couple feet behind the baseline, so I was able

to dink some drop shots in to get him running all over the court,”

said Matthews, who advanced to the final with a 6-0, 6-4 semifinal

triumph Friday over Andre Dome.

“I’ve been playing pretty well and I was able to take some

momentum I had from [Friday] into [Saturday],” Matthews said.

Matthews said he made a high percentage of first serves and was

broken only once by Moss, whom Matthews praised for his strong play.

“He was a very good opponent,” said Matthews, “He was grinding the

ball really hard.”

Matthews leaves today for a three-week trip to Europe, which will

include tournaments in Germany, France, Switzerland and Sweden.