Top-Seeded Graham Rallies to Advance in Tennis
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Debbie Graham of Fountain Valley, the top-seeded player in the 18-and under division, started slowly but finished quickly Thursday, defeating Susan Klingenberg of Maryland, 7-6, 6-0, in the second round of the Seventeen magazine Tournament of Champions tennis competition at the Marguerite Recreation Center in Mission Viejo.
Graham’s problems in the first set, in which she trailed 5-3, could be traced to wind, allergies and a contact lens.
“It was real windy when the match started and I wasn’t hitting out very well,” she said. “Then my allergies acted up. Then I had trouble with one of my contact lenses so I took it out and tried to play the match with one.”
That proved to be no help.
“I couldn’t focus on the ball,” she said.
So Graham put on her glasses to play, something she has never done. She could see much better, but . . .
“It took me a long time to get adjusted to them,” she said. “They stick out and you can see blurs out of the side. It was really weird playing with them.”
She came back to force the first set into a tiebreaker, and won that, 7-2. She then dominated the second set.
Graham will play Kim Po of Rolling Hills in today’s quarterfinals. Po defeated Shea McGuier, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, in her second-round match.
Graham said she will try a new pair of contact lenses today and will “see if they work.” If not, she may play tennis wearing her glasses for the second time in her career.
Keri Phebus of Newport Beach defeated Cara Abe, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, in the second round of the 16-and-under division. Phebus will play Angelica Gavaldon in the quarterfinals. Gavaldon defeated Veena Prabhakar, 6-2, 6-3.
Also in the 16-and-under division, El Toro’s Kimberly Chang defeated Ellie Stark, 7-5, 6-1. Chang will play top-seeded Audra Keller in the quarterfinals. Keller defeated Kirsten Smith, 6-0, 6-4.
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