Though She Doesn’t Like No. 1, Basica Overcomes the Burden : Tennis: She wins the USTA Girls’ 16 National Championship with 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 come-from-behind victory over Christina Moros.

The titles fit, but Amanda Basica isn’t sure she always wants to wear them.

Judging from the past, she’s going to have find a way.

Ever since Basica was old enough to be ranked in the legions of tennis-playing little girls, the Rolling Hills Estates resident has never fallen below No. 1 in her respective age group.

That means she’s consistently the top-seeded player in whatever tournament she enteres. This time it was the USTA Girls’ 16 National Championships at Morley Field . . . and she won it in impressive fashion Saturday afternoon, roaring back from a two-game deficit in the third set for a 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 victory over unseeded Christina Moros.

“I’m just glad it’s over,” said Basica. “I don’t like being seeded No. 1. It’s like you’re supposed to win. It’s better if it’s an upset.”

Moros, of Sarasota, Fla., did her best to accommodate her opponent, but fell short when Basica started playing to her weaknesses.

“We have different weapons for different opponents,” said Mike Lanahan, Basica’s coach since she was 7.

Until she met up with Basica, Moros’ own weapons--big serve, big shot selection--were working just fine, and they were enough to win her the first set.

But Basica’s patience and ability to adjust to the change of pace Moros had established to control the match finally won out.

After a lengthy first set, Basica took 25 minutes to win the second.

“I don’t know what happened,” Moros said. “I lost a little of my concentration, a little of my focus.”

In the final two sets, Basica forced errors from Moros by feeding high, deep shots to her backhand and low cross-court shots to her forehand.

Moros jumped to a 4-2 lead in the third, but Basica fought back and won four of the next five games for the 6-5 lead. With Moros serving, Basica won the title on the first match point, forcing Moros to the net with a drop shot, then finishing off the point with a cross-court backhand that fell way out of Moros’ reach.

“There was nothing I could do, she played great,” Moros said.

Said Basica: “I thought if I could hold serve, then break her, I’d still have a chance to win the set.”

Landers had little room to disagree. He has seen Basica win countless matches after falling behind and was equally confident she could do it here.

“She always plays better when she’s behind,” he said. “She likes to say that her finest shot is when she’s down 2-5.”

Not everyone oozed such optimism. Becky, Amanda’s mother, saw her daughter blow a 5-1 lead to Moros in the third set the last time they played in a national championship--when they were in 12s. Landers said this victory avenged that long-ago loss.

“This was a revenge match, this was a long time in coming,” he said. “She had a lot of pressure in this match. We’ve been working a long time for this, because this title qualifies her for the Junior U.S. Open.”

But before the Open and her freshman year at Peninsula High begin this fall, Basica will continue on an international tour that earlier took her to Italy and France for a month. This week she leaves for the World Cup in Tokyo.

This is the second major 16s tournament title Basica has captured this year. She won the Easter Bowl as a 13-year-old, and made it to the finals of the National Clay Courts, where she lost to Mylin Torres, who Moros eliminated earlier in the week.

Tennis Notes

In the third-place match, Spring Valley’s Vanessa Rooks, seeded third, defeated Corina Morariu of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-2, 5-7, 7-5.