The hot weather could not overcome the soaring confidence of a tennis player from Jonesboro.
Hunter Roper, 16, a Valley View junior, endured a 109-degree heat index in her 6-2, 6-2 round-of-16 victory over Callie Billman, 15, of Jackson, Miss., in the United States Tennis Association Southern Closed Boys and Girls 16s Championships at Little Rock's Rebsamen Tennis Center on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service reported a temperature of 94 degrees with relative humidity of 58 percent in Little Rock at the end of their match.
"The weather made a big difference," Billman said.
The victory was Roper's first in four matches over Billman.
Roper said she and Billman were wily in their attempt to take on the heat.
"Playing Callie is always a long, hard match for me," she said. "And we had long points today, so with the heat, I was going to take a little extra time going back to my towel and trying to get my breath back before we had to go back to the next one. We both did that to try to catch our breath."
Their match started at noon and lasted one hour, 28 minutes despite the lopsided outcome. Roper, the No. 3 seed, plays Katherine Lyman of Mount Pleasant, S.C., in today's quarterfinal round. Lyman, the No. 2 seed, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Junmoke James of Marietta, Ga.
Patience by Roper and Billman was evident from the start. Occasions were rare when points were completed without an immediate trip to the towels to dry their hands and rackets. Two games lasted 10 or more minutes, including the second of the match.
Roper served to take a 1-0 lead in the first set but trailed 30-love against Billman's first serve. Billman battled back to lead 40-30, but Roper gained the advantage after she scored the next two points. The game was at deuce three more times before consecutive points by Roper gave her a 2-0, first-set lead.
"I knew if I could break her, I would really have an advantage," Roper said.
Roper reached a career pinnacle with an unseeded USTA regional victory in Georgia in October, but she returned home with a stress fracture in her left foot. She said she wore a boot on her injured foot through January.
"The first couple of months back were tough," Roper said. "But I've been working really hard, so it's nice after the work to start seeing some good outcomes. I've been playing well."
Roper's advantage against Billman became practically ironclad at the end of a second-set, multi-deuce game that lasted more than 11 minutes, with Roper serving at 3-1.
"That was a little nerve-wracking," Roper said. "The difference between going up 4-1 or it being 3-2 is huge. It's two different things."
Roper won the game, and Billman said she was exhausted.
Roper said she knew her quarterfinal match with Lyman, which is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. today, would offer a significant challenge.
"I've heard about her," Roper said. "I know she's good. I mean, everybody in the quarterfinals is good."
Sports on 06/16/2016