Sluggish Huerta Slugs Out a Victory

His eyes still a little overcast and recovering from a lively social weekend, Chatsworth High tennis player Rafael Huerta said he had the Monday blahs.

But Huerta, the defending champion, could still muster some luster during his 6-3, 6-3 victory over Venice’s Ryan Ing in the City Section individual tournament quarterfinal round Monday at the Universal City Racquet Centre.

Just another day at the office for Huerta, a senior with a 26-0 record.

“Mentally, I was ready, but not physically,” said Huerta, whose shots were so accurate it might not have mattered if he were mentally and physically out of it. “When you play every single day, three days off makes a big difference.”

After beating South Gate’s Jesse Zaldivar, 6-0, 6-0, in the first round Thursday, Huerta started planning for his senior prom. He had to rent a tuxedo and a car, make dinner reservations . . . the usual stuff.

Over the long weekend, Huerta didn’t touch a racket until noon Monday, and then he wrenched his right shoulder early against Ing because he didn’t stretch.

“Pretty dumb, but it won’t happen again,” Huerta said. “I’ll be ready by Wednesday.”

In Wednesday’s 2 p.m. semifinals, Huerta will face Taft’s Dvir Levy for the fourth time this season. The closest Levy has come to beating Huerta was a 6-4, 6-3 loss the first time they played.

It took Levy 2 1/2 hours to dispense of Babak Morshed of Palisades, 6-7 (7-3), 6-3, 6-1.