Ojai tournament: Thacher coming of age in men’s Open division

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On the tennis court Ryan Thacher is often described as ‘a man among boys’ and usually it’s true. On Thursday, however, he was merely a boy among men, yet he proved that’s where he belongs.

Perhaps bored with beating kids his own age, the senior from Studio City entered the Men’s Open Singles at this year’s Ojai tournament and two wins later finds himself in the quarterfinals, where he’ll meet second-seeded Lester Cook of Marina del Rey at 12:30 p.m. Friday at the Ojai Valley Inn.

Thacher, 18, is the highest-rated high school player in the nation and plays No. 1 singles for Harvard-Westlake, which is ranked third in this week’s Southern Section Division I Coaches’ poll.

Thacher lost only two games in his opening match against Victorville’s David Goodman, but lost the second-set tiebreaker before recovering to beat Irvine’s Aaron Yovan, 6-2, in the third in the round of 16. Cook, the event’s defending champion, turned 24 on Thursday and celebrated with dominating victories in the first two rounds.

Beating Cook, who is currently ranked No. 376 on the ATP Tour, would be a huge boost to Thacher’s young career and could potentially set the stage for a Saturday morning showdown at Libbey Park with former Camarillo High star, Ojai’s own Travis Rettenmaier, who has played Ojai since he was 10, winning the Boys 14s and 16s titles and reaching the Open finals twice.

-- Steve Galluzzo

-- Image: http://www.juniortennis.com