Casting His Cares Away : When Tennis Becomes Too Much of a Grind, Graham Gilles Breaks Out His Fishing Gear

When his mind dwells on thoughts of backhands, ground strokes and top-spin lobs, Graham Gilles turns his attention to a set of rocks that jut into the ocean not far from his home in Laguna Beach.

It’s easy for tennis to dominate Gilles’ life. He has been a national-class player of some renown for most of the six years he has played the sport. He lists major tournament singles and doubles titles on his resume.

He is the No. 2 singles player at Laguna Beach High School, behind the defending Southern Section singles champion, Jon Leach. So far this season, he has a 23-1 record in singles play and is 9-0 in doubles.

Gilles will be playing in the 16-year-old age group at the prestigious Ojai Valley tournament, which begins today. Last year, he won the 14s championship at Ojai, which includes only the top age-group players in the region.

The toughest competition could come from his own neighborhood, though.

“I’m only about the No. 6 player in Emerald Bay,” Gilles jokes.

Leach--his neighbor, best friend and teammate--won the Southern Section singles champion last season as a freshman. Leach’s older brother, Rick, is a top player on the pro tour and his father, Dick, is the men’s tennis coach at USC.

But when Gilles, a 15-year-old freshman, feels he’s being swept up and swarmed over by tennis, he turns his attention toward another passion.

When the going gets tough, the tough go fishing.

Out on the rocks, perhaps alone but more likely with his pal Leach along for company, Gilles’ thoughts are of garibaldi and perch.

Not long ago, Gilles and Leach went to Dana Point and bought some anchovy lures and headed back to the familiar rocks. Thanks to the new lures, the two were able to land a couple of halibut.

These are the thoughts that dominate Gilles’ life, much to the relief of his mother, Pat.

“In my opinion, he’s real normal,” Pat Gilles said. “He’s never been the type to spend five hours on the court the way some kids do. An hour and a half is enough for him.”

If there is a secret to Gilles’ success, it’s that a little has gone a long way. He’s got a firm command on his priorities. Tennis is important, but not at the expense of the rest of his life.

Certainly Pat has helped by not pushing too hard. On the days she doesn’t attend matches, Pat usually asks how the team did first. Then she asks how he played, not whether he won or not.

“I don’t want him to think winning is all-important,” Pat said.

Neither does his coach, Bob Walton.

“To a lot of kids, that’s all they do--play tennis,” Walton said. “After a while, it becomes work. You shouldn’t start to think of it as work at that age.”

And so Gilles has developed other interests.

In addition to fishing, Gilles likes ceramics. Laguna Beach has a good department, which, as Gilles points out with a chuckle, would figure because the school’s nickname is the Artists.

But Gilles likes sports, too. He played baseball when he was younger, but when his older brother John introduced him to tennis, he was hooked.

He played against a wall at first, learning the fundamentals. As he began playing tennis competitively, his desire to play baseball waned. He found losing baseball games difficult to stomach, especially when he had played so well.

“I like to win on my own rather than lose with a team,” Gilles said.

So he gave up baseball to concentrate on tennis. Since then, Gilles has mostly been on the winning end of his matches.

He handles winning well, according to his mother. “He’s very humble, not cocky at all,” Pat said.

On the court, he goes about his business in a quiet, unassuming fashion.

“Nothing really bothers him--that’s what really impresses me most,” Walton said.

He tries to work on his own weaknesses when he plays against lesser opponents in high school matches.

Improvement is the name of the game at this point in his career.

“I’m just trying to develop my game right now,” Gilles said.

He’s not attempting to outdo Leach, his more acclaimed teammate. The two practice together, even paired for doubles a few years ago, but have not faced each other in tournament play.

Gilles said he’s not bothered by the lavish praise heaped upon Leach.

“The only attention he gets is the attention he deserves,” Gilles said.

They save their competitive nature for practice sessions and for fishing off the rocks whenever they feel they need a break from tennis.

“Usually we just see who catches more fish,” Gilles said.