Just when it looked like Dos Pueblos’ Sasha Gryaznov had seized control of the Channel League boys tennis singles championship, Santa Barbara’s Chase Melton dug his heels in and reversed his fortune, gutting out a 4-6, 6-2, 5-1 victory that ended a tad prematurely after Gryaznov’s second bout with leg cramps.
The two juniors battled it out for just under two and a half hours at Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club on Tuesday, entertaining spectators with a match filled with long rallies, momentum changes and brilliant shot making.
The first set alone, which Gryaznov claimed after winning the last four games, lasted over an hour. Melton had taken a 4-2 lead and was poised to break Gryaznov for a second time when the No. 1 Chargers singles player erased two break points to reach deuce and fought off another before holding serve to pull to 4-3.
In the next game, it was Gryaznov applying the pressure, taking four opportunities to finally break Melton’s serve on a backhand cross-court winner that put the pair back on serve. That started a streak of nine-straight points for Gryaznov as he ended up taking 10 of the last 11 points in the first set to close it out 6-4.
“The points were ending very quickly at the end of that first set. The last eight points ended in two shots and Sasha won all of them,” pointed out Dons assistant coach Greg Tebbe, who spoke with Melton in between sets. “So he just wanted to start making the points longer, get his confidence back and stay positive.”
From there, even on points that he lost, Melton would often pound his fist on his chest to keep his energy up.
“Even though I give my heart out to the point and it doesn’t go my way, I’m still proud of myself and it keeps me going,” Melton reasoned.
Gryaznov’s momentum was shortlived as Melton came back re-energized to start the second set, immediately breaking Gryaznov on four straight points. Melton went on the capitalize on three-of-four break point opportunities in the second set to grab a 5-0 lead and regain control of the match.
“I lost a lot of energy in the first set,” Melton explained. “Then I talked to my coaches and that got me fired up a little bit and I started to keep the ball in play a little longer and it worked out well for me.”
Gryanov attempted to relive the first set, rallying to take two games and was up 0-40 in a third before Melton was able to close out the set.
The cramps hit Gryaznov in the third set, first biting into his right calf in the first game, causing the Chargers player to take his full injury timeout.
“The first cramp was in my right calf and it kind of went away after awhile,” said Gryaznov, who used a combination of stretching, gatorade and mustard to combat the ailment. “And then I stopped using my right calf as much and then my left calf became tired and I couldn’t relax it at all.”
With Melton up 5-1 in the final set, Gryaznov jumped up to reach an overhead volley but came down in pain, unable to continue as the cramp gripped his left calf this time.
Both players were happy to be playing close to home at Cathedral Oaks, but for different reasons. The final, which was supposed to be played at the Pierpont Inn in Ventura last week, was postponed the day the Jesusita Fire broke out.
“It actually helped me a lot because when I was in the semifinals I was fighting the flu a little bit so I got kinda lucky by the fire,” admitted Melton.
“I’d rather have it here because it’s closer to my house instead of driving all the way to Ventura to play someone who’s also from Santa Barbara,” noted Gryaznov.
The singles title gives the Dons the Channel League tri-fecta, which includes Spencer Simon and Evan Tuefel’s doubles title and the overall league title, something Santa Barbara has held for 11 straight years.
Both teams, No. 1 and No. 2 in the Channel League, begin CIF playoffs on Thursday in the first round. Dos Pueblos faces Calabasas while the Dons await a winner from Tuesday’s wildcard round.
