Newport Beach’s Paul Dandler’s run ends at Southern California Junior Sectional Championships

Newport Beach’s Paul Dandler, one of the top young tennis talents in coastal Orange County, recently made the jump to the U14 division after turning 13 years old in March.

As with any adjustment, there are road bumps and teaching moments. Both occurred this weekend.

Dandler exited the 116th annual Southern California Junior Sectional Championships qualifying in the round of 64 on Saturday afternoon, dropping a tightly-contested, three-set match to Ignatio Tran at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

The 6-2, 3-6, 4-6 defeat stung, but it also allowed for self-evaluation as Dandler becomes acclimated to a new division.

“I would like to be more aggressive,” Dandler said. “I thought that wasn’t the best today.”

Dandler started strong on Saturday, cruising his way to a 6-2 victory in the first set. While he seemed to be dominating the early stages of the match on paper, though, Dandler never felt as if he was in control.

He struggled with focus and hitting his spots throughout the match — particularly on serves — and credits his early success to the miscues of his opponent.

“I think he just started off missing,” said Dandler on what drove his opening-set win. “Other than that, nothing else. I wasn’t playing well. I was just winning the points.”

Dandler proceeded to open up an early lead in the second set. After allowing his opponent to even the score, a double-fault from Tran gave Dandler a 3-2 lead in the set.

With a two-set sweep potentially three games away, though, Tran locked in and completely flipped the momentum of the match. As Dandler appeared to become relaxed, Tran capitalized. The Rancho Santa Fe resident stormed back to win four consecutive games and take the second set.

“I started off negative,” Tran said. “Really negative. I wasn’t boosting my game enough. With my dad cheering me on, and everybody on me, I started composing myself and playing much better. I was moving him around a little bit more, and it worked out a lot.”

The fatigue set in for Dandler as the match wore on, with the second set clearly taking a toll. Tran placed an emphasis on making Dandler run around the court, and on several points, was able to deliver key finishes on extended rallies.

With confidence high after his second-set comeback, Tran maintained control in the final set. Amid a game-point rally that featured four returns on each side, Tran painted the corner with a powerful forehand past the outstretched racket of Dandler to take a 3-1 lead.

Dandler refused to fold, exerting newfound energy in the next game to cut into the deficit, but Tran answered back by winning two straight.

Dandler made one last run, fighting off elimination and momentarily reclaiming momentum with wins in the next two games. It was not enough, though, as Tran regrouped in the next game to close out the match with a 6-4 victory in the third set.

As Dandler moves forward in search of success at the U14 level, he hopes to develop his backhand into a vital weapon.

“I like my forehand and my backhand, but I think I like my backhand better,” Dandler said. “I can work on that, and I think it will be a powerhouse when I work on it more.”

Next up for Tran is a main draw round of 64 showdown on Wednesday against Guilherme Padilha of Studio City.

JOSH CRISWELL is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @joshccriswell