There’s always more than one side to a story.
There’s the fact, and there’s what the fact actually
means.
So here’s the fact: Tobias Clemens has lost his last three
tennis matches.
And here’s the meaning: absolutely nothing. Well, at least
according to Clemens.
One reason is the Bruin senior’s 0-3 record isn’t
exactly indicative of how he has played. In the last two matches of
the losing streak, Clemens lost in a third set super-tiebreaker
both times. At the time of his singles losses, UCLA had already
secured the team victory.
“I really don’t care, because I don’t think it
has much to do with tennis to play a 10-point tiebreaker,”
Clemens said. “You have to consider that.”
Usually not caring presents quite a large problem in the world
of sports. But UCLA coach Billy Martin understands where his No. 1
player is coming from.
“He just was giving less than 100 percent effort,
let’s put it that way,” Martin said. “But I
can’t be too upset with him, because he’s ready.
“I have no doubts in him, come NCAAs. There’s nobody
on our team I’d rather have play a big match in the third set
than Toby. I’m not worried about him at all.”
Those strong words from the Bruin coach have been backed up by
three years of strong performances from Clemens.
In his UCLA career, the sixth-ranked Clemens has registered
victories over seven of the 10 players in the current national
top-10.
“I’ve been beating great players all season long, so
I’m really not concerned at all,” Clemens said.
This season, the two-time All-American has defeated No. 3
Benedikt Dorsch of Baylor, No. 4 Catalin Gard of Mississippi, No. 5
Phillip King of Duke and No. 8 Jesse Witten of Kentucky.
Because the players Clemens has defeated comprise a virtual
who’s-who list of collegiate tennis, questions arise when he
loses to a guy named Manuel Kost. Kost, the No. 1 player at Oregon,
is currently ranked No. 88.
In the Bruins’ match against the Ducks last Friday,
Clemens lost 0-6, 6-4, (11-9) to Kost. After dominating the first
set, he lost his mental concentration when he saw that his
teammates had their matches firmly in hand.
“Against Oregon, who cares?” Clemens asked. “I
win the first set 6-0, everybody’s done, and I lose a little
concentration because it’s basically worthless.”
Regular season collegiate tennis is interesting in the regard
that individual matches continue even when the team outcome has
been decided. And frankly, Clemens doesn’t really like it. He
would prefer to see the regular season like the postseason, when
the singles matches end once the outcome has been decided.
“You need a challenge,” Clemens said. “You
need the close situations. It’s easy to lose concentration
once the team has already won.”
The same thing happened to Clemens on Saturday. After dominating
his first set against ninth-ranked Alex Vlaski of Washington,
Clemens tumbled in the second and went on to lose in the third set
tiebreaker. The final score was 2-6, 6-4, (10-8).
“He played great first sets up there,” Martin said.
“He’s looking down the line, we’re winning quite
easily, and he loses concentration.”
The fact remains, however, that the losing streak is three. But
again, the facts don’t tell the whole story.
Clemens’ game is the same as it has been all season. The
work ethic is the same. The dedication is the same. As far as
Martin is concerned, the losing streak is a non-issue.
“Nobody works harder than he does,” Martin said.
And that’s a fact.