Deuces wild for Dunlap

Patrick Laverty

They’ve been friends since the seventh grade. They’ve played the last

three years together on the varsity girls tennis team at Newport

Harbor High and will enter their senior year together this fall. They

were even scheduled to play a doubles match together later in the

day.

But for two hours Thursday, Bonnie Adams and Vanessa Dunlap were

on opposite ends of the court, battling one another in the girls 16s

singles semifinals at the War by the Shore junior tennis tournament.

Befitting of the close bond the two shore off the court, there

wasn’t much separating them on the court. Though the second-seeded

Dunlap prevailed 6-3, 6-4, at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club, the

match was much closer than that.

Eleven of the final 16 games went to deuce, including two games in

the first set in which the players were at deuce five times and

another game in the second set in which they went to deuce four

times.

“Oh my gosh,” Dunlap said. “Like 20 deuces every game. It was a

joke.”

It may have felt that way to the players, but for spectators, it

turned the match into a see-saw battle to enjoy.

Adams, who had lost in three sets to Dunlap in tournament play

twice in the past, forced her opponent to play a different type of

game. It involved long rallies in which whoever made the first

mistake often lost the point.

“I’m more of like a hard hitter,” Dunlap said. “I don’t usually

stay in rallies as long as I did today. But I knew it was an

important match. I knew I really had a better chance of winning if I

play consistent tennis and not try to slam the ball every point. I’m

not really used to playing like that.”

With Dunlap leading 3-2 in the first set, those long rallies

turned into longer games. Dunlap had four game points, before Adams

broke serve to tie the set at 3-3.

In the next game it was Adams who had a chance to take the lead,

twice with game-point opportunities. But Dunlap kept bringing it back

to deuce and finally prevailed to take a one-game advantage.

Each of the final two games went to deuce as well, but Adams had

just one game point, a break opportunity in the eighth game. Dunlap

came back in that game as well and finished off the first set 6-3.

“Just tough tennis,” Dunlap said. “She’s a real great player and

she’s really steady and I tried as hard as I could to be as steady as

she was. That’s why you saw so many deuces, just battling back and

forth.”

After two quick games to start the second set in which Adams won

just one point, it was back to deuce in six of the next seven games.

Both players preferred to stay on the baseline, producing long

rallies.

“I came to the net probably once,” Dunlap said. “I’m not a doubles

player and neither is she.”

Adams once again had opportunities to steal the set, leading 3-2

and 4-3. But Dunlap captured the eighth game when Adams’ overhead

shot, after possibly the longest rally over the match, went long.

Like the first set, Dunlap closed out the match with victories in

three straight games.

With that, Dunlap advanced to the final at 1:30 p.m. today against

Estefania Serrano.

Though Dunlap claimed neither she nor Adams are doubles players,

they are the No. 1 seeded team in doubles. But they didn’t have to

play after their tough singles affair Thursday because their

opponents withdrew, giving them an automatic pass into the finals

where they will face Arianna Fahrney and Laura Robinson at 3:30 p.m.

today.