Boys’ tennis: Dennis does Mkrtchians proud despite finals loss

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Dennis Mkrtchian may have lost Monday’s City Individual singles final, but he did something his older brother Ken had failed to do in the semifinals--take a set off top-seeded Josh Tchan of Taft.

Dennis, a freshman at Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, was in danger of being bageled before staging a remarkable comeback to win the second set, 7-5. It was a moral victory for a player who had managed just one game in his previous five sets against Tchan.

‘I was trying to play like him in the first set and be aggressive,’ said the younger Mkrtchian (pictured), a 14-year-old ranked 16th in Southern California in the 16s. ‘So in the second set I hit a lot of high, heavy balls to his backhand and he started making some errors. Winning that first game was a huge momentum switch. I told myself ‘You got one, why can’t you get 11 more?’’

Tchan’s semifinal victory over Ken Mkrtchian reversed an upset loss in the third round of the individuals when both were freshmen. Ken won his third-place match on Monday against North Hollywood’s Dillon Klincke--who had lost to Ken’s younger brother in the semifinals.

‘I’ve played Josh eight times just in the last two years and I came very close to beating him twice,’ said Dennis, who felt confident having just won the Quicksilver 16s title. ‘I respect him but yeah, maybe I wanted a little revenge for the Mkrtchian family.’

Tchan’s older brother Joseph, now a graduating senior at the University of Chicago, also played for Taft and finished third in the City in 2004. Monday, however, was a chance for the younger siblings--Josh and Dennis--to take center stage.

-- Steve Galluzzo

Photo: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times