Graham Loses to No. 2 Rehe in San Diego

Debbie Graham’s surprising run through the $100,000 Virginia Slims of San Diego tennis tournament came to a halt Saturday night in a 6-2, 6-2 semifinal loss to second-seeded Stephanie Rehe at the San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club. But the former La Quinta High star wasn’t disappointed.

“I gained some valuable experience in this tournament,” Graham, who lives in Fountain Valley, said. “I had kind of expected this to happen to me much earlier in the tournament. But I was happy to get this far.”

Graham, 17, was a wild-card entry into the tournament, and she had pulled off three upsets before Saturday. Among her victims was third-seeded Elly Hakami, whom she beat, 6-0, 6-0, in the second round.

Against Rehe, however, Graham couldn’t get control of her big serve and, in less than an hour, was swept out of the tournament. Rehe will meet unseeded Ann Grossman in today’s 1:30 p.m. final. Grossman upset fourth-seeded Rosalyn Fairbank, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

“I really didn’t play my best match, but Deborah just wasn’t on,” Rehe said. “I was putting some pressure on her, but the key was that she was missing everything.”

Graham broke Rehe in the first game of both sets, but other than that, she was never in the match. She double-faulted three times in the eighth game to lose the first, 6-2, and then double-faulted three more times in her first service game of the second set. On match point, she also double-faulted.

“It was just one of those things where I wasn’t on top of my game,” Graham said. “I was fired up and everything, but my shots weren’t working.”

Graham left after the match for Memphis, Tenn., where she will compete in the U.S. Junior National tournament this week.

“That will seem like kid’s stuff after what I’ve accomplished this week,” she said.