Conda Rips Miyamoto for Title

Jerry Miyamoto tried just about everything to derail the James Conda express. He stayed back. He came in. He changed pace. He even resorted to hitting top-spin moon balls.

Normally, Miyamoto wouldn’t have to try much of anything to beat Conda. In their previous three meetings, Miyamoto didn’t lose a set.

But Friday in the San Diego Section boys’ individual singles finals at Morley Field, Miyamoto barely won a point--losing 6-1, 6-0.

In the doubles’ finals, top-seeded Christian Abbott and Derek Baker of Torrey Pines staved off two match points to beat second-seeded Jon Gilula and Simon Kurth of La Jolla, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, in a match that took 2 1/2 hours to play.

It took Conda, a junior at La Jolla, just over 40 minutes to dispose of Miyamoto, a senior at Patrick Henry.

Conda’s father, Nick, said his son was so good that he barely recognized him.

“This is the first time I’ve seen him play like that,” Nick said.

Conda said almost the same thing about Miyamoto.

“His serve was very off,” Conda said. “I saw in the first set that he was not playing that well. I really don’t like playing him, because he’s a lefty. But today wasn’t his day.”

To put it mildly.

During one stretch, Miyamoto, seeded first, lost 10 consecutive points. During another, Miyamoto lost 14 points in a row on his serve.

“I wasn’t making my first serve,” Miyamoto said. “I’m a serve-and-volley (player). If you don’t make your first serves, you’ve lost half of your game.”

Conda took care of the other half with his lethal backhand-passing shots, forehand volleys and steady serving.

Although he realized Miyamoto was struggling, Conda said he was not about to feel sorry for him.

“He was trying to change his game,” said Conda, who was third-seeded. “I wasn’t going to let him back into the match. I told myself that I wasn’t going to drift off, like I did yesterday.”

In Thursday’s semifinal against Joe Barbarie of University City, which carried over to Friday because of Thursday’s rain, Conda said he did his share of drifting. But Friday morning, Skip Redondo, Conda’s coach, had a long talk with his student about being more focused.

“He told me he wanted me to be business-like,” Conda said.

Miyamoto acknowledged he was anything but business-like in his approach.

“In the semis (against Chris Tontz of University of San Diego High), I was pumped up,” Miyamoto said. “That was an intense match. But I just didn’t have it today. I was just out there.”

Miyamoto couldn’t even blame his lethargy on asthma, which has been bothering him since Wednesday.

“I’ve been feeling better every day, and today I felt fine,” said Miyamoto, who along with Tontz has earned a tennis scholarship to UC Irvine.

Conda said the victory makes up for his loss in the section doubles finals last year.

“This meant a lot to me, especially after what happened last year,” Conda said.

Conda was also reminded about his frustrating three-set defeat to Alex Decret of France last month in the semifinals at Ojai.

“When I had Decret down, I wasn’t very aggressive,” he said. “I made sure that didn’t happen today.”

In the doubles finals, Gilula and Kurth appeared to have Abbott and Baker down and out, until a funny thing happened.

With Gilula and Kurth ahead 4-3 and 40-0 in the third set, Abbott’s forehand volley that was going long hit Gilula’s foot. The umpire didn’t make a call, but Baker and Abbott pleaded their case and the umpire awarded them the point.

From there, Baker and Abbott, both sophomores, won four points in a row to tie the set at 4-4.

“I think that would have been the match if they would have won that game and gone up 5-3,” said Baker. “That point gave us new life.”

Kurth agreed.

“I don’t think it affected our play, but it stuck in my mind, and it gave them a lift,” said Kurth, a junior. “They played a great point after that, and suddenly it was 30-40.

“I don’t disagree with the call. You have to expect that in the finals. Rules are rules.”

Kurth and Gilula, a freshman, came back to hold serve and lead, 5-4. In the next game, they actually had two match points, but both times Abbott came up with big shots. Baker held his serve and the Torrey Pines duo went on to win the next two games and the match.