THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 22, 1996 TAG: 9607220127
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 66 lines
Melissa Middleton compared her week at the USTA Girls' 16-and-under Clay Court Championships to the movie ``Groundhog Day'' in which Bill Murray relives the same day over and over.
``I feel like I've been here a long time,'' said the top seed and Houston resident, sitting inside the Virginia Beach Tennis & Country Club on Sunday morning. ``I get tired of seeing the same people every day. At the Easter Bowl (in Palm Springs, Cal.) when you're done with your match, you can go watch the guys or the older girls. Here it's like the same people, the same things - like `Groundhog Day.' ''
And repeatedly, Middleton was the star, displaying familiar form and aggression. The top junior in the Girls 16s rolled to her fourth title of the year with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over second-seeded Lauren Kalvaria of Indialantic, Fla. In Middleton's seven wins, no opponent was able to take more than three games in a set or five games in a match.
``I had a lot of chances,'' Kalvaria, 15, said. ``And I let them slip away.''
A few of them came in the opening game when Middleton endured a disputed line call, a foot fault and a net cord. Unrattled, she held serve at love and broke Kalvaria en route to a 3-0 lead. While Kalvaria was able to answer Middleton's blistering pace with a backhand slice and a gorgeous inside-out forehand, she could not muster them consistently.
``Her backhand has a lot of variety,'' Middleton said. ``You don't know what she's going to hit, whether she's going to drive the ball or angle it, topspin slice it. But I also think with such choice of shots, it's hard for her to decide which one to do, and that confuses her and causes her to miss.''
Kalvaria held and then broke back in the fifth game, but the errors returned, and Middleton went up 4-2. Kalvaria quickly put her in a hole on her serve, but Middleton relied on the drop shot to set up her big forehand to win the game. Kalvaria held for 5-3, but Middleton served out the set at love.
``I had a game plan going in and I got totally away from it,'' said Kalvaria, who is 0-3 versus Middleton. ``I just didn't want her to be able to attack anything.''
Kalvaria served at 40-15 to open the second set, but Middleton won the next four points to break. But a couple of questioned line calls later, Kalvaria broke back for 1-1. Middleton was convinced one of Kalvaria's winners strayed wide, but the umpire called it good after checking the mark. Kalvaria then hit a foot beyond the baseline on the next point, and Middleton noted it by circling the mark with her racket.
``I still think that ball was out,'' Middleton said. ``But there was a couple of points where they gave me the good call and then they'd turn around on the next point and give her the good call. I think there were definitely calls that were missed, but it was pretty even.''
Middleton swept the next five games, showing off her steadiness from the backcourt, an untouchable overhead and the hustle to outwit Kalvaria's drop shot. Now Middleton, also the doubles runner-up with Anne Nguyen, returns to Houston for 10 days before flying to San Diego for the hardcourt championships. Though eager to leave, she posed with her red roses and hardware, stopping to autograph a ball for a younger fan.
``I don't really have that happen to me in the U.S.,'' she said. ``But when I've gone to international tournaments, especially in France, there's thousands of little kids asking for your autograph. There I expect it. But here I was like, `Well, whatever you want.' '' ILLUSTRATION: L. TODD SPENCER
Top seed Melissa Middleton of Houston, won the Girls Clay 16s with
steadiness from the backcourt, an untouchable overhead and hustle. by CNB