Somewhere along their drive from Woodstock, Ga., to the Rebsamen Tennis Center in Little Rock, Josh Raab told his mother that he thought he would win the boys’ United States Tennis Association Southern Closed Boys and Girls 16’s Championship.
Raab, the ninth seed, thought right. He seized command early and held it firmly enough throughout to hold on for a 6-0, 7-6 (5) victory over top-seed and hometown favorite Wesley Barnett on Saturday.
“I was feeling good as we were on our way here,” Raab said. “I knew I was a nine seed, but my confidence is so high right now.”
Margaret Polk of Mountain Brook, Ala., defeated Ella Imhof of Waxhaw, N.C., 6-1, 6-3 in the girls’ final.
When the boys final started at 9:30 a.m. under an overcast sky, a light breeze blew and the temperature was an unseasonably comfortable and dry 74 degrees, an ideal circumstance for everyone except Barnett, 16, of Little Rock, whose extensive conditioning program left him better able to endure traditional southern summer heat and humidity than most.
“If it was hot, the second set would’ve been different, I think,” Barnett said.
Raab’s fast start eliminated superior physical fitness as a significant asset, at least early. His serve was masterful from the beginning and his return game consistent enough to assist his control of points and games throughout the first set.
Raab, 16, said he had never played better. He continued to hold serve to start the second set, which was played evenly through the first six games. He said he expected Barnett to dig in and respond to a first-set result that surely served as both a disappointment and an inspiration. The two had split their previous two matches, and Raab said he was nearly stunned by his first-set success.
“I just kept holding serve,” he said. “I know I’ve returned well, but I had no idea it was going to be that easy.”
“I didn’t serve good the whole match,” Barnett said. “I didn’t get as many free points as I did the first few matches, but he’s good. He’s got funky strokes, and he’s annoying to play, too. He doesn’t miss.”
Barnett at last broke Saab’s serve to lead 4-3 in the second set, but Saab broke back to tie.
“When I broke for the first time in the second, I kind of realized that if I could focus, I could win this,” Barnett said. “I just didn’t focus long enough.”
Trailing 6-5, Barnett held serve, forcing a tiebreaker eventually won by Raab, who thought it was essential the match not go to a third set.
“My nerves were definitely getting to me at the end,” Saab said. “I really wasn’t feeling my best, either, in my legs. I really had to toughen up.”
A third set seemed likely as Barnett served with a 4-2 lead in the tiebreaker.
“If I would have won that, I would’ve won the match,” Barnett said. “I had a chance, but I just couldn’t convert.”
“I knew I had to get the next point because obviously there’s a big difference between 4-3 and 5-2,” Raab said. “I needed that to save the match.
“My legs weren’t feeling their best. I knew it’s his hometown, and he had everyone out here that he knew, and he had the momentum. I knew I had to close it out there.”