OJAI VALLEY TENNIS : On Heels of an Upset, Smith Drops Semifinal

Paul Steele’s discourse on what constitutes the consummate tennis professional didn’t quite sink in at first with Kirstin Smith.

The speech, delivered to Smith by her coach on the drive to Ojai on Saturday morning, was sound in theory: A true professional always considers herself the underdog.

For Smith, who entered her girls’ 18 semifinal match against Carla Quaresma in the 90th Ojai Valley Tennis tournament as the favorite, the underdog feeling grew as the match wore on.

After taking a three-game advantage in the first set, Smith dropped five consecutive games and lost, 6-4. She was dispatched even more quickly in the second set, losing, 6-2, and was eliminated from the tournament.

A day earlier, Smith had crushed top-seeded Cammie Foley of San Diego, 6-0, 6-2. Next, she made short work of Kirsten Green, 6-2, 6-2, in a quarterfinal match. No wonder she felt like top dog heading into the semifinal.

“I never feel like I’m the underdog,” Smith said.

Not against Foley. And certainly not against Quaresma.

Smith, a senior at Thousand Oaks High, has faced Quaresma several times in her career and she beat her in the previous two meetings. In fact, Smith has not lost to Quaresma since they were 15.

Still, Smith was leery about becoming overconfident.

“I didn’t want to come in thinking, ‘I had the big win Friday so she should be intimidated,’ ” she said.

At the outset, the match followed the recent trend. Behind a powerful, flat serve, Smith took a 4-1 lead.

Then Smith’s concentration began to wane.

“I was supposed to keep my eyes on the court,” Smith said. “But it was like, ‘Oh, there’s my ex-boyfriend. There’s some people from the club. That’s all in one glance.

“And when my eyes begin to wander, my coach is like, ‘Here goes.’ ”

Smith’s drifting focus did not go unnoticed by Quaresma, who forced Smith into errors with long rallies.

“Kirstin hits the ball really hard and really deep,” Quaresma said. “In this match I knew I had to keep the ball high and deep. Just keep her back so she couldn’t hit those winners because her forehand is deadly. If I hit a short ball to her forehand, it’s gone.”

Smith, 17, has a history of using her ruthless ground strokes and explosive serve to dispose of opponents. At 16 last year, she was ranked 36th in the nation in singles, and she and partner Laura Richards were ranked third in doubles.

Smith, a three-time All-Marmonte League selection, will attend Pepperdine on a tennis scholarship in the fall. In the preseason, the Waves’ women’s team was ranked ninth in the nation.

Quaresma’s shot selection played a large role in Smith’s decision to abandon the strategy that has served her so well in the past.

“(Quaresma) hit some low slices and I’d just hit it and run back to the baseline,” Smith said. “Normally, I would come in and hit an approach shot, but she was passing so well today.”

Another reason for Smith’s gentler approach might be a shoulder injury she incurred Friday. While warming up with overhead smashes before the match against Green, Smith felt a jolt in her right shoulder.

“I hit the ball on the frame and I just felt it,” she said grinding her fist into her shoulder. “It wasn’t like a tear or anything but I felt it. I just hit spin serves the whole match.”

Smith has played with pain before. She wore a fiberglass cast last month to correct a stress fracture that she sustained in her left foot while playing. The injury initially was detected when Steele noticed that she was shaking her foot before serving.

Steele says it was impatience, not pain, that cost Smith the match against Quaresma.

“In order to win a match, you have to be willing to stay out there all day,” he said. “Sometimes, after big wins you’re not willing to do it all over again.”