LITTLE ROCK — Garrett Brasseaux didn’t win a second consecutive USTA Southern Closed 18s boys title Friday, but at least no one was doubting his toughness.
Brasseaux lost in the final to second-seeded Hunter Reese 6-4, 6-0 at the Burns Park Tennis Center in North Little Rock, but the match ceased to be competitive midway through the first set.
That was when Brasseaux, of Covington, La., injured his right rotator cuff. He was tended to by a trainer between games, but returned to finish the first set.
Brasseaux dropped the last two games of the set, and seemed to be in increasing physical discomfort as the second set continued. By the midway point of the second set, Brasseaux had essentially lost the use of his serve and forehand.
But he didn’t retire, even when Reese was winning points with ease.
“I always want to go to the end,” Brasseaux said. “I barely got through it today, but I did.”
It was a show of grit that earned the respect of Reese, who had never faced Brasseaux.
“I got a little lucky that he was hurt,” said Reese, who is from Kennesaw, Ga. “He came out swinging the first couple of games, and he hit the ball pretty well. It was going to be a great match, I think. Hewon this tournament last year, which is awesome. I knew he was going to be tough.”
Reese showed a little toughness himself simply by getting to the final round. Though the championship match was played at 8:30 a.m., when temperatures were cooler, he and other competitors spent the week dealing with intense heat in the late morning and afternoon.
Even by the standards of elite junior play, Reese said this week’s tournament was a test of fitness and stamina.
“This is the hottest place I’ve ever played,” Reese said. “I just got done in Macon, Ga., and I thought that was hot. But this is rough. Getting through that was the biggest thing.”
Sports, Pages 26 on 06/26/2010