National Senior Tennis Championships : Kujawski Waits Way Into Final

Seniors tennis player Patricia Kujawski describes herself as a backboard.

She says she hates to rush the net, preferring to sit back and wait for her opponent to make a mistake.

So far, her strategy of patience has paid off.

Unseeded Kujawski, from Rancho Bernardo, has used her backcourt style to defeat two seeded opponents on her way to the final of the Women’s 50 National Hardcourt Senior Tennis Championships at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.

Saturday, Kujawski beat fourth-seeded Kathe Henry of Hinsdale, Ill., 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, in a semifinal match that spanned three hours and six minutes. Friday, she surprised everyone, including herself, by defeating top-seeded defending champion Dorothy (Dodo) Matthiessen, 6-2, 6-7, 6-2.

“Everybody who enters a tournament, in the back of their mind, thinks they have a shot at winning,” said Kujawski, 52. “But I didn’t think I had a serious chance of making it this far.”

This has been a week of surprises for the retired tennis instructor, whose previous best finish in three years here was advancing to the third round. Wednesday, Barbara Oldfield scanned the draw, searching for a suitable doubles partner. Kujawski was available. The two, who had never played together, advanced to the semifinals before losing to the team of Rosemary Brown and Henry, 6-2, 6-4, Saturday.

Kujawski said she was amazed that she and Oldfield had such success. Because her slow style in singles translates into long, tiring matches, she usually avoids doubles play later in the day.

Kujawski employs the wait-and-see strategy because of her ability to locate an opponent’s weakness, something she developed during her 10 years of teaching tennis in Syracuse, N.Y.

In the final game of Saturday’s match, Kujawski approached the net only twice after Henry had drawn her in with short drop shots. Then Kujawski quickly retreated to the baseline to loft moon balls and smooth volleys, waiting for Henry to slip up.

“I just don’t make mistakes and beat myself,” Kujawski said. “I was trying to get it up to (Henry’s) backhand, because she has a two-handed backhand and was having problems.”

After sending a towering volley, Kujawski countered Henry’s leaping backhand with a drop shot of her own. The ball dribbled in front of an exhausted Henry. Kujawski had forced the mistake she had been waiting for.

In today’s final, Kujawski will play second-seeded Doris DeVries of Orangevale, Calif. DeVries defeated Louella Parsons (Carpinteria), 2-6, 6-5, 6-4.

In the 60 singles semifinal, Piedmont’s June Gay narrowly defeated Elizabeth Eisentstein of Washington, D.C., 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (11-9). Gay, who is not seeded, will play third-seeded Doris Clark of Claremont in the final. Clark rallied to beat unseeded Doris Hakman, 0-6, 6-3, 6-0.