Patience Pays Off for Phebus : Tennis: Corona del Mar 16-year-old wins twice to gain berth in today’s 18s final at Mission Viejo.

The powers that be seeded Keri Phebus of Corona del Mar High School eighth in the 18-and-under division of the Seventeen Magazine Tennis Tournament of Champions.

Phebus, top-ranked nationally in the 16s and the tournament’s defending 16s champion, didn’t know several of the players seeded ahead of her.

“I wasn’t complaining,” she said. “It made me the underdog, so I don’t mind.”

It seemed a curious move when the tournament began Wednesday. Now, it seems stranger still.

Today, Phebus will play in the 18s final at 1 p.m. at the Marguerite Recreation Center in Mission Viejo.

To reach the final, Phebus had to beat the second- and fourth-seeded players Friday. No. 2 Christine Neuman of Downers Grove, Ill., lost, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals Friday morning. In the semifinals later in the day, Kristin Osmond of Worthington, Ohio, couldn’t match Phebus’ patient game plan and lost, 6-4, 6-4.

Phebus will meet Jennifer Baker of Wesley Chapel, Ohio, who defeated Jennifer Nasser of Arlington Heights, Ill., 3-6, 6-2, 7-6, in the other semifinal.

Against Osmond, an 18-year-old senior at Worthington High who will attend the University of Florida in the fall, Phebus fell behind, 2-0, in the first set and 3-0 in the second.

Phebus, who turned 16 Wednesday, said she was never worried.

“I always play better when I’m behind,” said Phebus, who has won back-to-back Southern Section singles titles. “It’s my personality. I’m more of a fighter.”

It sounds like an odd approach, but it worked.

Her serve, strong though it may be, wasn’t particularly effective against Osmond. Phebus had just three aces.

She rarely came to the net, letting her cross-court volleys make up most of her attack.

Osmond gained her early advantages by coming to the net when she could and pounding the ball back at Phebus. No matter the score, Phebus seemed content to stay on the baseline, hammering groundstroke after groundstroke while waiting for Osmond to make a mistake.

“All she does is get everything back,” Osmond said. “She’s so consistent. I was up 3-0 (in the second set) and I was pounding the ball. I can’t play like that the whole match.”

In the end, too many unforced errors and steady, patient play by Phebus cost her a spot in the final, Osmond said.

“I could have done what she did (stay at the baseline), but the match would have lasted five hours,” she said.

Tournament Notes

In the 16s semifinals, Ditta Huber of La Jolla defeated Amy Chiminello of Melrose, Mass., 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, and Jill Craybas of East Greenwich, R.I., beat Wendy Sacks of Memphis, Tenn., 6-3, 6-1. Huber plays Craybas in today’s final at 11:30 a.m.

In the 14s semifinals, Lindsay Davenport of Palos Verdes advanced to the final by beating Anne Miller of Midland, Mich., 6-2, 7-6. Janet Lee of Palos Verdes defeated Maggie Cole of Santa Cruz, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Davenport and Lee meet in the 10 a.m. final.