Saleh hangs on to win

COSTA MESA — Dante Saleh pumped his fist, trying to psych himself up early in the third set Friday at the 16th annual Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic.

The 13-year-old Newport Beach resident had just lost the second set of his boys’ 14 singles championship match, but it wasn’t time to pack it in. He regrouped during a short break, taking to his father, Terek.

The younger Saleh stayed focused, hitting winners. At one point later in the set, when it was clear he was in control, he again pumped his fist before kissing his racquet strings.

Saleh surged to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 win over James Lafond of Irvine at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center. It’s No. 5-seeded Saleh’s second straight championship at the tournament. He was the boys’ 12s champion a year ago.

“I just started missing a lot,” Saleh, who is home-schooled, said of losing the second set. “Then, in the 10-minute break, I really regrouped, talked to my dad and then went out there and didn’t miss. I stayed aggressive. I was mad because I shouldn’t have gone three sets ... I was missing a lot of the high balls. I was dumping them into the net, and I wasn’t making a lot of my first serves.”

Saleh certainly started the match strong, cruising to a 4-0 lead in the first set and winning it easily. The second set was back and forth, however.

Saleh dug out of a hole serving at 3-3, holding serve in a game that had four deuces. But he was broken in his next service game, allowing Lafond, seeded No. 6, a chance to serve for the set at 5-4. He converted it, staving off three break points in the process and causing Saleh to nearly throw his blue cap before he glanced at the referee.

But Saleh easily broke Lafond’s serve twice in the third set to build a 5-0 advantage. Lafond then nearly got on the board, saving three match points before Saleh’s forehand winner won him the match.

“I couldn’t really stay in control,” said Lafond, 14, who will be a freshman at Woodbridge High. “I just tried to hit too many winners and I kept missing. He was taking all the balls on the rise. He was really good at that.”

Terek Saleh smiled at his son’s victory. There will be plenty more matches this summer, starting today, when Dante is in the semifinals of both the boys’ 14 and 16 singles at the Canyon Crest Summer Junior Open in Riverside. He’s the top seed there in the boys’ 14s.

“You’ve got to give the kid credit because he’s not afraid to compete,” Terek Saleh said. “A lot of kids, they’re afraid to compete, but he wants to do it.”

Dante Saleh was also in the boys’ 16s draw at the Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic, before falling in the round of 16. This summer he said he’s been practicing up to five hours a day, at the courts on Lido Island as well as at Matchpoint Tennis Academy in Santa Ana.

“I want to get a lot of match experience,” he said. “It helps a lot.”

Other champions Friday included Corona del Mar resident Alastair Hurry and Costa Mesa resident Reese Stalder. The top-seeded partners won the boys’ 12s doubles final, 6-2, 6-0, over No. 2-seeded Even and Bret Kittelsen of Lake Forest.

There was another local winner at Costa Mesa Tennis Center. Andrew Nguyen of Newport Beach, playing with Evan Nguyen of Huntington Beach, won the boys’ 14 doubles title with a 6-3, 6-0, victory over Jenteel Alcafaras and Cory Ritter of Long Beach.

Top-seeded Hurry fell in the boys’ 12 singles final to Patricio Zarazua of Mexico, 6-1, 6-2.

“[Zarazua] played really well,” Hurry said. “He just crushed the ball on his forehand; he had a huge topspin forehand ... I feel pretty good about my result here, but I still would have liked to take it one step further and win.”

Costa Mesa resident Samantha Stalder lost in the girls’ 14 singles final. Stalder, the No. 3-seed, was defeated by top-seeded Krystal Lai, 6-2, 6-0. Lai is an Irvine resident.

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