UCLA’s Marcin Matkowski is the new Pac-10 singles
champion. A year after teammate Rodrigo Grilli made his way through
the bracket to seize the championship, Matkowski breezed through
his five matches, never dropping a set and only being broken once
en route to his first Pac-10 title.
Matkowski, the nation’s No. 26 player, defeated
Washington’s Alex Vlaski, No. 18 in the nation, 6-4, 6-2 in
Sunday’s final at Libbey Park in Ojai.
When teammate Tobias Clemens, No. 6 in the nation, decided to
rest in preparation for the NCAA tournament, Matkowski took on the
role of tournament favorite.
Matkowski, who has played at the No. 2 position all year for the
Bruins behind Clemens, seemed to relish the role of top dog.
“I knew I had to step up,” he said. “But I was
playing pretty well, so I didn’t feel any
pressure.”
He defeated Arizona State’s Olivier Charroin, 6-3, 6-2 in
the first round, USC’s Johan Berg, 6-3, 6-4 in the second
round, Stanford’s Scott Lipsky, 6-2, 6-0 in the
quarterfinals, and Cal’s John Paul Fruttero, 6-2, 6-4 in the
semifinals.
With the victory over Vlaski, who lost to Grilli in the finals
last year, Matkowski improves his season record to 23-3. He is
currently riding a 12-match winning streak.
“I’ve been playing the tennis I’ve wanted to
play,” he said. “This is my best tennis so far at
UCLA.”
UCLA head coach Billy Martin wholeheartedly agreed.
“I was really quite happy with Marcin,” he said.
“He played really well the whole week.”
“This is the best I’ve ever seen him during his
career at UCLA. He’s working hard, he’s slimmed down,
and he’s moving well. I hope this is a real
confidence-builder for him.”
The tournament marked Matkowski’s third victory of the
season over Berg, and his second victories over both Lipsky and
Vlaski.
Especially fulfilling was the victory over Lipsky, whom
Matkowski had struggled to defeat the previous weekend, 3-6, 6-3,
6-4.
“I didn’t feel like I was playing well
before,” Matkowski said. “I wanted to show him that it
shouldn’t be that close.”
Matkowski wasn’t the only Bruin to fare well in Ojai.
Sophomore Alberto Francis, who plays only at No. 3 doubles for
the Bruins, won the invitational bracket of the tournament,
defeating Cal’s No. 6 player, Wayne Wong, 6-1, 6-3 in
Sunday’s final.
“Bert had a great tournament,” Martin said.
“We know we have a great seventh guy who’s playing
super-well.”
Chris Lam and Rodrigo Grilli both made it to the quarterfinals
of the tournament. Vlaski defeated Grilli, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, and Lam
lost to Stanford’s David Martin, 7-5, 6-3.