Manhattan Beach’s Tarango, the Top Amateur, Upsets Doohan

Jeff Tarango, 20, is ranked No. 99, which makes him the top amateur player in the world.

Tarango, from Manhattan Beach, said he enjoys being an amateur competing in a business dominated by professionals because he gets an education a little different than the one he receives at Stanford.

Tarango learned Wednesday what it felt like to win a match at a Grand Slam event. He won his first-round Australian Open match easily, defeating Australian Peter Doohan, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3.

But no matter how successful he may be, Tarango is in no hurry to turn pro. In the meantime, he seems to be having a good time.

“Twenty years down the line, what will it matter if I stayed 6 months more in college?” Tarango said.

“I like being an amateur because it just shows people there are still some of us out there,” he said. “People turn pro so early now. Everybody is so money hungry. They forget about growing up.

“And parents forget that kids need to grow up and have fun.”

Bob Tarango is back home, but Mary Tarango is with her son at his second Grand Slam event. Tarango lost to Jared Palmer in the first round at last year’s U.S. Open. After winning the first two sets, Tarango lost the next three and went down 6-0 in the fifth.

“I gagged,” he said.

Since he is unseeded here, Tarango has had to scramble to find practice courts. He has had only 1 1/2 hours of practice since his arrival.

Off the court, Tarango is finding out some things about Australia. Take the roadways, for instance, where motorists drive on the left side.

“I think I’m going to die every time I go out on the road,” he said. “I don’t look.

“Everything’s different. And they have all these neat animals over here.”

Tarango said he and his mother had decided how to celebrate his victory.

“We’re going to the zoo,” he said.