Right from the start, Wesley Barnett said he knew his opposition would get tougher with each round of the United States Tennis Association Southern Closed Boys and Girls 16's Championship.
True or not, he continued to make his progress look almost easy through the first four rounds.
His quarterfinal round was different. Barnett, 16, of Little Rock, was at odds early and only perseverance and tenacity enabled him to reverse course, get even and finally pull away to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over Justin Waldman on Tuesday.
By the end of the 2-hour, 27-minute match, Barnett said his current fitness level served as the tiebreaker.
"I knew in the third set, that my condition was above his," he said. "But he's definitely tough."
"He came up clutch," Waldman said. "All credit to him. He played some good points to come back. I knew coming in it was going to be a battle."
Boys and girls quarterfinal matches were delayed 30 minutes and moved from Rebsamen Tennis Center in Little Rock to North Little Rock's Burns Park Tennis Center after morning rain.
The site was different, but not nearly so much as the doggedness of Barnett's opposition.
Waldman, 16 of Acworth, Ga., had never won any of the handful of matches he has played over the past five years with Barnett, but Barnett said the current version of Waldman was unfamiliar to him.
"He was night and day from what he used to be," Barnett said. "He used to get everything back but not hit them too hard. He swings hard now. He was definitely tough."
Waldman's improvement was evident in the first set, though he sounded almost apologetic as he explained the outcome of his early play.
"I was dictating points, but I knew that he was favored to win," Waldman said. "He's the 1 seed. He's the hometown favorite, and he has pressure. I was swinging freely. "
Waldman was ultimately undone by cramps in his right quadricep, an ailment he said was once common to his game. He said his last experience with them had not come in more than 18 months, but they returned in the third set with Barnett up one game.
"It was probably nerves," Waldman said. "I just got nervous, and my body reacted. He played well. I played well, too, but in the third set, my body gave up on me."
Waldman was served 15-30 but Barnett's fitness advantage was clear. Waldman seemed nearly incapable of a response to Barnett's return. Trailing 15-40, he finally succumbed to a limp. Barnett won the game, dominated his subsequent serve to go up 3-0 in the deciding set, and called for a trainer. Barnett said he knew Waldman needed help.
"After his medical at 3-0, I knew he was done," Barnett said. "I knew if I could just keep the ball in, he was done."
In the end, Waldman said he knows where the difference lies between the games of his and most when compared to Barnett's.
"He's a competitor," he said. "Everyone here in the quarterfinals has forehands and backhands. It's what you have in your mind. He showed up on the important points and was fearless. He lets his mistakes go and focuses on the next point. His mental game is very good."
Sports on 06/16/2017