Boys’ tennis: Tchan lets his emotions show in City finals victory

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Josh Tchan is usually so calm and collected on the court that it’s difficult to tell whether he’s winning or losing. That wasn’t the case in Monday’s City Individual singles final, however. This time, body language told the entire story.

The junior from Taft was ahead 6-0, 3-0 and serving at 40-love when the match took a most unexpected turn. Tchan missed a few easy shots, opponent Dennis Mkrtchian hit a few winners and just like that the momentum had shifted.

“I took my lead for granted in the second set and mentally put a lot of pressure on myself, which I don’t usually do,” said Tchan, a 16-year-old ranked third in Southern California and 12th nationally in the 16s. “I lost my concentration and things snowballed into a big mess from there.”

Tchan eventually lost the set 7-5 and was visibly frustrated. After missing a routine shot at the net he even asked himself aloud: “Where’s your volley?”

Yet Tchan pulled himself together on the changeover before the final set. For someone who encountered few bumps on his road to the final, Tchan’s uncanny ability to handle adversity finally rose to the surface.

He screamed “Come on!” after breaking Mkrtchian to open the third set and he pumped his fist after nailing a forehand winner to go up 4-0--rare reactions for him. He even let out a victory roar after Mkrtchian double faulted on match point. Perhaps Tchan’s outward display of emotion stemmed from the fact that many people close to him, including his coach, his parents and most of his teammates, were there watching.

“I can’t really compare the two, but winning the team title was huge,” he said after becoming the first player in eight years to win the section’s team and singles titles in the same season. “This one was more for myself but I’m told no one from Taft has ever won it before so that means a lot.”

-- Steve Galluzzo

Photo: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times