Ball drops title to familiar foe

COSTA MESA — Four days before the boys’ 14 doubles title match, Christian Ball wasn’t too ashamed to ask Matthew Chung a favor after losing to him in singles play of the Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic.

Ball, who will be an eighth-grader at Corona del Mar Intermediate, needed a doubles partner because his former teammate, Gannon Daynes, had already paired up with Julian Ruffin.

Chung didn’t turn Ball down and they made a run to Friday’s championship match against, guess who?

That’s right, Daynes and Ruffin. It was only last week that Ball and Daynes teamed up to win the boys’ 14 doubles title at the War by the Shore tournament. But this time, they were battling against each other.

Daynes of Trabuco Hills and Ruffin of Irvine were consistent and accurate in capturing the title, 6-4, 6-3, over Ball and Chung. The Ball-Chung duo was down 3-2, but broke serve to tie it up. But Daynes and Ruffin then won three straight.

“If we could have just a couple of more balls go in maybe we would have been able to win,” said Ball, who plans to meet up against Chung again today.

Ball plays in the Seal Beach and Lakewood Junior Open at 8 a.m. at Long Beach City College. If he beats Jasper Lee of Irvine, he’ll face Chung, the No. 10 seed in the boys’ 14 singles, at 11 a.m.

— Steve Virgen