Singles final proves too tough for Damion

NEWPORT BEACH — Sanghoon Song sped around the court Friday at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club.

But, for Corona del Mar High senior-to-be Chris Damion, it was an unfortunate time to run out of gas at the 19th annual Balboa Bay Club Junior Tennis Tournament.

Damion couldn’t hold a second-set lead and fell to Song, 6-4, 7-5, in the boys’ 18 singles championship match at the tournament also known as the “War by the Shore.”

Damion’s CdM teammate, Shane Korber, did win a title Friday in doubles. Korber, who will be a sophomore at CdM, teamed with Santa Margarita High’s Gavin Krogius to win the boys’ 16 doubles title, 6-0, 6-1, over Peng Dai and Tyler Mallery of Manhattan Beach.

Estancia High senior-to-be Ellie Edles also came so close to winning a title. But, eventually, Edles and partner Sabrina Man-Son-Hing of Calabasas fell to Chun-Wing Sher and Pui-Wing Sher of Hong Kong, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in the girls’ 18 doubles title match.

Damion, who had played so solidly all week in getting to the final, traded breaks of serve with Song in the first set. But Song, from Korea, got another break to go up, 5-4. Damion got the next game to deuce, but then hit a pair of forehands into the net.

But, early in the second set, Damion started mixing up his game a bit. The match seemed destined to go three sets as Damion caught Song off-guard with a variety of drop shots and slice shots. They gave the CdM player a 4-1 lead in the set.

“Every time I hit the ball hard, he would just hit it harder,” Damion said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to start slicing.’ He didn’t really seem like he was used to that short backhand slice. I tried to change it up a little bit. It worked for a while, but he started anticipating it and didn’t stand so far back. If my slice wasn’t perfect, he’d just hit it up the line.”

Song stormed back, winning four straight games. Damion then broke Song’s serve to tie the score at 5-5, but Song immediately broke back.

Damion’s double fault at ad-out gave Song a chance to serve for the match, which he converted.

“I’m kind of tired, but he played really well,” Damion said. “He was so fast. There were times where I hit a forehand where I thought it was a winner. I turned around, and he was there. He never gave up.

“I lost in the finals, but considering I’m really just starting to play a lot of tournaments again, I did a lot better than I thought I was going to. I was happy with my results. I obviously would have liked to win, but finalist isn’t bad.”

 Korber, meanwhile, had a much easier time in cruising to the boys’ 16 doubles title. He and Krogius didn’t lose a set all week. In four matches, the closest set was 6-3.

“We played pretty well,” Korber said. “We just played relaxed. The fact that he’s lefty really mixes it up, especially on the serve. They’re seeing two different serves. We have forehands on the outside, so I play deuce [side] and he plays ad [side].”

Korber said he’s known Krogius for a long time. They both play in an academy through the Woodbridge Tennis Club, but this is the first time they’ve played doubles together.

“I’ve done a lot of work this summer, and I hope to continue that way,” Korber said. “I hope to play pretty well for high school next year.”

 Edles and Man-Son-Hing had the distinction of being the last match of the whole tournament to finish. They finally succumbed to the Sher sisters in a match that lasted about two and a half hours.

After losing the first set, Edles and Man-Son-Hing won the second, the first set the Sher sisters had lost all tournament. They also got an early break in the third set, but gave it back as Edles’ serve was broken at 4-3.

After Chun-Wing Sher held serve, Man-Son-Hing’s next service game was a long one. But, after three deuces, the Sher sisters converted their second match point when a volley went long.

The Shers knocked out five Newport-Mesa players on their way to the title. They also topped CdM’s team of Kelli Feeley and Karen Ishii in the quarterfinals, as well as Sea Kings Lindsay Zotovich and Melissa Matsuoka in the semifinals.

“It was a really fun match,” said Edles, who celebrates her 17th birthday today. “They were tough. They got everything back. We gave them everything, and it always came back.”

Edles, who is headed to the West Coast Junior Championships tournament in Sacramento next weekend, is also an alternate for the USTA National Championships that begin Aug. 3 in Berkeley.

She said she looks forward to her senior year at Estancia. She’s also looking at colleges with help with her dad, UC Irvine women’s tennis coach Mike Edles, who was there to watch Ellie’s match Friday.

“It’s really exciting, but also kind of nerve-wracking,” Ellie Edles said. “It’s nice having my dad help out.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].