Smith Sees Progress Despite Familiar End in One-Sided Rivalry

Even the best of athletes oftentimes have a nemesis. In basketball, Wilt Chamberlain had Bill Russell. In horse racing, Alydar had Affirmed.

And in tennis, Kirsten Smith has Courtney Rose.

That the latter two are junior tennis players, not professionals, and that they met in the 16-and-under division Friday at the Ojai tournament, not at Wimbledon, in no way diminished the frustration Smith felt after a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 second-round loss.

The Thousand Oaks High junior is 0 for 4 against her adversary, a petite Beverly Hills High sophomore who plays with the precision and consistency of a backboard.

If it’s any consolation for Smith--which, immediately after the three-hour match, it wasn’t--she forced a third game for the third time. Trailing, 5-2, in the first set, she rallied to win in a tiebreaker.

Smith, 16, doubles champion in the Southern Section 4-A Division last season, chose to interpret this as a sign that she is slowly but surely narrowing the advantage Rose holds against her. “I know I can beat her,” she said. “I just need to play a lot more consistent.”

That cause would be aided, said Smith’s private coach, Hobie Holbach, if Smith didn’t think quite so much. “In the second set I think she was probably looking ahead instead of playing one point at a time,” he said. “It’s history. In an individual sport, when someone has always beaten you, it’s tough to break through that first time. It’s a mental thing.”

Smith agreed. “That’s me. I’m a mental case. After I won the first set I started thinking about those other matches, and that’s a no-no.”

Rose, 16, was no match for Smith in the tiebreaker, losing, 7-2. But she came back to win the second set and took a 2-0 advantage in the third before Smith mounted one last charge by winning the next three games--the last at love.

Smith, who was ranked 47th nationally in the 16-and-under age division last year, had her opponent reeling with an aggressive, attacking style. Rose experienced trouble with her first serve and Smith took advantage with strong forehands off her second delivery.

The momentum began to shift, however, when Rose broke serve to tie the score, 3-3. Smith regained the lead by breaking serve, but Rose won the next three games to close out the match.

“I just wanted to keep the ball in play,” Rose said. “I thought she’d make some mistakes, and she did.”

Smith balks when advised to adopt Rose’s strategy. “I don’t have faith in that game at all,” she said. “I only do it when I’m up 40-love, 6-0, 5-0.

“My style of game is a lot better than hers, I think. She’s a wall. She doesn’t hit that many winners. I go for it at the baseline--whether it’s smart or not.”

Holbach, who is head pro at the Calabasas and Warner Center tennis clubs and an assistant at UCLA, said the outcome of the match does not necessarily mean Rose’s plan of attack is better--only that it’s sufficing for now.

“Kirsten always plays the same way--aggressive,” he said. “When she’s hitting her shots, there’s not much the opponent can do about it. She’ll get better. She’s the kind of player who won’t hit her potential until college.”

For now, consistency is the key word.

“I had too many unforced errors,” Smith said. “It was like a roller-coaster today.”

Holbach, however, is confident her time is near. “If she beats Courtney once--and she can--then she’ll be over the hump,” he said. “All it takes is once and she might start a winning streak of her own.”

Smith already has at least one string she is looking forward to continuing. She was undefeated in singles and doubles for Thousand Oaks last season, literally toying with the competition the Marmonte League had to offer.

In fact, after a match in Simi Valley she had enough energy to go trick or treating afterward--while the rest of her teammates were still playing.

“I got done early,” she said. “I had my costume I wore for the Halloween rally, so me and my friend, she took the top half and I took the bottom half and we went out with racquets and brought back all the candy. I’ll probably do the same thing this year.”

Just one victory over Courtney Rose, however, probably would be even sweeter.