COSTA MESA SUMMER JUNIOR CLASSIC:Grosek’s blistering win

COSTA MESA — Ready to pop were the blisters on Alexander Grosek’s right hand. The tighter he held the racket, the more they hurt.

No wonder the tennis player kept dropping his racket.

At times the Costa Mesa resident said he let it go on purpose during his first-round match Monday afternoon against CJ Chomeau of Newport Beach.

Grosek lost it throughout the first day of the 16-year-old division at the 15th annual Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic.

From a distance, his mother, Yvonne, reminded Grosek to keep his cool. Easy for her to say, standing in the shade under a canopy at Orange Coast College.

Grosek and Chomeau competed in the heat on court No. 7, the wall nearby not tall enough to block the sun.

Chomeau appeared to need no protection until Grosek finally channeled his pain, his frustrations into winners. Then Chomeau started to unravel, unlike Grosek, he loudly questioned his game on the court late.

Now it was Grosek forcing Chomeau to toss his racket at the end when he came back and won, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, taking the tiebreaker, 7-5.

Only if Chomeau had noticed those huge blisters on Grosek’s hand, the ones that he says he can’t prevent from developing and worsening because he plays tennis.

A handshake prior to the match would’ve taken care of that for Chomeau.

The last time these two unseeded players faced each other they said they were 10.

At the end, Chomeau saw Grosek’s hand after congratulating each other. By then, the blisters resembled a blimp’s view of a mountain range.

But Chomeau found out too late that the future junior at Calvary Chapel High stood no chance of returning shots with his forehand.

“I would’ve gone to the forehand a lot more and waited for him to miss,� said Chomeau, who will be a junior at Mater Dei this fall. “I don’t pay attention.�

Chomeau became more concerned about his own game. He had to because of the tournament’s single-elimination format.

After going up, 3-1, in the third set, Chomeau allowed an agitated Grosek to find his strokes. The hard serves from Chomeau continued to go out, wide, or long, giving Grosek something easy to return on the second serve.

The serve burned Chomeau more than the ball hitting the court’s hot surface. Still, Chomeau’s opportunity to close out the match existed. Too bad he had to serve ahead, 6-5.

“I was having trouble holding,� said Chomeau, who only hit one winner as Grosek went on to tie the set. “I just wasn’t making it.�

Grosek made the most of his opportunities, rewarding himself with a Sweet 16 date today against Jordan Brown of San Diego at 12:30 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

Grosek and Chomeau have entered the tournament before, with Grosek saying he once advanced to the finals in the 12-year-old division. Chomeau said his best effort was the third round.

Despite being ousted in the opener, Chomeau planned to play more tennis in Anaheim later in the day. Grosek had other plans.

“I’m going to play golf,� said Grosek, sounding as if gripping golf clubs would help his blisters heal.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].