Double your pleasure

Rick Devereux

The style of play in tennis has evolved from serve and volley to more

baseline play. Technology in the rackets, athleticism of the

participants and the history of star players all factor in to the

modern game.

“All the guys from my generation that are 50 at this point and

time, we were brought up to be serve-and-volleyers,” War by the Shore

tournament director Bob Ogle said. “And then Bjorn Borg came along

and people started realizing, ‘Man, you can win from the baseline.’ I

think technology is a major part of it, but the overall conditioning

and fitness of the kids has played a huge part of it, too.”

Most participants in the 15th annual Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club

junior tennis tournament also hold the racket in a manner that is

more suited for ground shots than volleys.

“When you get down in a western grip, it allows a person to hit

the ball with more energy because they are putting more top spin on

the ball,” Ogle said. “They can hit it harder, keep the ball in play,

but, unfortunately you don’t see as many serve-and-volleyers in this

day and age because that type of grip doesn’t lend itself well with

going to the net.”

Along with the western grip, pros also typically teach the eastern

and continental grips for the three basic approaches to hitting.

Even in doubles, where volleys are traditionally the name of the

game, the modern matches resemble singles play with cross-court shots

becoming the norm and a player at the net waiting for an opportunity

to smash a ball. But tennis purists need not worry, because there are

some up-and-coming players that utilize and even prefer the way

doubles matches are played.

“I really like doubles because you get to serve and volley,” said

Cierra Gaytan-Leach from Corona del Mar. “I like to play at the net.”

Gaytan-Leach, 12, and Corona del Mar High sophomore-to-be Jillian

Braverman advanced to Thursday’s girls 18s doubles semifinals before

being eliminated by Bianca and Carissa Aboubakare, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Gaytan-Leach and Braverman also excel in singles. Gaytan-Leach

will play today at 12:30 p.m. in the girls 14s singles final after

beating Chun Wing Sher, 6-2, 6-1, Thursday. Braverman will play at

the 2 p.m. girls 18s singles final following her, 6-1, 6-3, victory

over recent Newport Harbor High graduate, Diana Khoury.

“I really wanted to be in the 18s doubles and singles finals,”

Braverman said. “I’m not disappointed at all, but I would have liked

to play against Bonnie [Adams] and Vanessa [Dunlap] in the doubles

finals.”

The Newport duo of Adams-Dunlap advanced to the finals after a

hard-fought semifinal match against Khoury and Newport Beach’s

Jamison Steele, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (3).

Melissa Matsuoka from Newport Beach and Hayley Miller from Laguna

Beach advanced to the girls 12s doubles final by beating the Tustin

tandem of Megan Heneghan and Kristen Hibbs, 6-3, 6-3. Matsuoka-Miller

will play today at 3:30 p.m.

Matsuoka will also play at 9:30 a.m. in the girls 12s singles

final, after having dispensed of Oceanside’s Lacey Smyth, 6-2, 7-5,

Thursday.

Charlie Corum from Corona del Mar and Connor Curry from Newport

Beach will play in today’s 3:30 p.m. boys 12s doubles final after

beating Chun Hun Kevin Wong and Long Fung Vincent Yau, 7-5, 6-0,

Thursday.

Corum will also play in the boys 12s singles final at 2 p.m.

because he defeated top-seeded Kwun Ho Kwong, 7-5, 7-5. Corum will

face No. 3 seed Joseph DiGiulio from Newport Beach in the final.

DiGiulio beat Curry in the Thursday semifinals, 6-3, 6-1.