Wesley Barnett spent the last school year at a tennis academy with a 10 p.m. bed check and food he said was terrible.
He pushed through the nine months committed to twice-daily fitness sessions and five hours a day of work on his game.
He said his experience at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch in south Texas isn't for everyone, but it helps him appreciate the physical ease of his current task. All Barnett has to do now is play one match a day, albeit against the south's best 15- and 16-year-old tennis players.
Barnett, 16, of Little Rock advanced through the round of 16 with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Parrish Simmons at the Southern Closed Boys and Girls 16's Championship at Little Rock's Rebsamen Tennis Center on Wednesday.
Simmons, 16, of Huntsville, Ala., said there is no secret to Barnett's success.
"He just hits the target he wants to hit," he said.
Barnett and Justin Waldman of Acworth, Ga., are scheduled for a quarterfinal match at noon today. Waldman advanced with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Suhas Krishnan of Johns Creek, Ga.
Barnett said persistent work on his serve has helped him advance through the tournament.
"I've served a lot better than I have the last couple of months," he said.
Barnett seemed in charge early in his match against Simmons, whose father Joc Simmons was a member of the 1994 NCAA doubles champions for Mississippi State. Barnett led 4-1 in the first set and seemed in control until Simmons won three consecutive games to pull even.
Simmons said his confidence soared, but shortly thereafter fatigue generated by his effort and a heat index of 95 degrees compromised his chance. He would win just one of the match's final eight games.
"The heat got to me the second set," Simmons said. "I was hanging with him the first set, and then I just got tired, I guess. I was satisfied by the way I played in the first set, but he's just in better shape than me. Once you get to the fourth or fifth game, 65 percent of it is fitness."
Barnett said his game was off early.
"I wasn't on in the first set," he said. "My racket head speed was slow, and I was playing with too much caution. In the second set, I kind of got more relaxed."
Barnett said he recently has battled against complacency and tentativeness early in matches.
"It's become common for me when I play early rounds," he said. "I don't know why. I tell myself to play the first set like it's the final point, but it's easier said than done."
He said his play through his first four rounds of the Southern has pleased him. Only twice in four matches has an opponent managed more than two games off of him in a set.
"I've played good," Barnett said. "I'm trying to keep my matches as short as I can. I haven't watched a point of tennis yet. I've been at my house after my matches and before."
Sports on 06/15/2017