Though team play will not pick up again for the No. 4 UCLA
men’s tennis team until May 10 in the NCAA Regionals,
individual play starts today at the 103rd Ojai Valley tennis
tournament. This tournament acts as the Pac-10 championships
in both singles and doubles.
Last year’s tournament was dominated by Bruins, with
Rodrigo Grilli winning the singles title and Marcin Matkowski and
Jean-Julien Rojer teaming up to take the doubles title.
A repeat performance by Grilli would be great for the Bruins,
considering how much he’s struggled this season. He has
gone 13-8 after going 19-3 last year.
“I’d certainly love to see Rodrigo repeat,”
coach Billy Martin said. “I’m hoping Ojai will
juice him up for the NCAA tournament. He’s never lost up
there, so I hope he’ll get there and start to feel some
confidence.”
In the three previous years, both with his junior college,
College of the Desert, and UCLA, Grilli has never tasted defeat in
Ojai.
“I love playing up there,” he said.Â
“When I get up there, I play good.”
His expectations, however, are realistic.
“I’m not really that worried about defending my
championship,” he said. “I just hope to play my
best tennis. I’ll give it a shot and we’ll see
what happens.
One player whose absence from the tournament may surprise some
people is Tobias Clemens, the No. 6 player in the country.
No one has dominated Pac-10 play like Clemens, as his only loss
to a player from a Pac-10 school came way back on Jan. 31 when he
lost to Prakash Amritraj of USC. Boasting a dual match record of
18-2, Clemens is almost a lock to win Pac-10 Player of the
Year.
His choice to skip the tournament stems from his desire to help
his team later in the season.
“I just feel like I’d rather work intensively on
fitness, Clemens said. “It’s going to be very hot in
Georgia (where the NCAA Tournament is), and I have to be ready.
“I know I have to play six very tough matches if we are
going to win the NCAAs. If I try to play the five tough matches at
Ojai, I won’t be as ready for that.”
Martin stands behind his player’s decision.
“I really think it’s a good idea for him to take the
week off,” he said. “I was going to recommend it
to him, but he beat me to it.”
With Clemens out, the tournament title is up for grabs.Â
Matkowski, ranked No. 26 in the nation and seeded at the top of the
draw, has an excellent chance.
“Marcin is playing very good right now,” Martin
said. “He lost in the semis last year, so I think he has
a very good chance this year. But there are probably seven or eight
guys who can win this tournament.”
Grilli opens his title defense against Carl Hagman of
Arizona. Matkowski takes on Olivier Charroin of Arizona State
in his first round match. No. 50 Chris Lam battles Christoph
Palmanshofer of Washington, and No. 81 Erfan Djahangiri plays Pim
Van Mele of Arizona State.
In doubles, the No. 12 team of Grilli and Matkowski opens
against Van Mele and Ryan McBride of Arizona State. The Stanford
team of seniors David Martin and Scott Lipsky is ranked No. 2 in
the nation and is the favorite to win the doubles title.
A total of nine Bruins will be competing this weekend. All
matches are held at Libbey Park in Ojai.