Boisclair Gets Lesson in Basica Math : Tennis: Agoura Hills 15-year-old falls to 18-under No. 1 in Easter Bowl semifinal, 6-4, 6-2.

Erin Boisclair, welcome to the big time.

Boisclair, 15, a rising tennis player from Agoura Hills, wanted to see how she would fare in the 18-and-under singles division in a national juniors tournament, and she came to a conclusion Friday against the best player in the United States.

Amanda Basica of Lomita defeated Boisclair, 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Easter Bowl tournament at Riviera Resort and Racquet Club.

Basica, 16, was seeded fourth only because she doesn’t play much in the United States these days. A three-year member of the U.S. National team, Basica is ranked 12th in the world in 18-under and generally is considered the best player in the country.

But facing a 4-2 deficit in the first set, Basica had to rally to beat Boisclair and played brilliantly in doing so.

“I had a couple good gets on some key points,” Basica said. “I got lucky on a couple balls. (Boisclair) played well. She’s really talented and she’s improved a lot since the last time I saw her.”

High praise for Boisclair, who committed only 19 unforced errors in a 121-point match. But Basica was better, committing only 17 unforced errors and breaking Boisclair’s service eight times.

Boisclair was not disappointed with her performance.

“I’m pleased with the way I played,” said Boisclair, whose goal is to play for the national team. “I definitely know I’m up there now.”

Playing Basica in the semifinal of the biggest tournament outside of the United States Tennis Assn. Junior Nationals, Boisclair was dizzied by the height she had reached after breaking Basica’s first three serves to lead, 4-2, in the first set.

“I was overwhelmed,” Boisclair said. “I thought, ‘Wow!’ ”

Basica said she was nervous up to that point because she and Boisclair have been sharing a room at the hotel and having a good time.

“It was kind of weird sitting in the room last night, having breakfast together and then getting ready to play each other,” Basica said. “I felt more confident as the match went on.”

At 4-2, Boisclair started to come back to earth. She double faulted on break point to make it 4-3. Then Basica, whose strategy was to attack Boisclair’s backhand and keep her off balance, went for the kill.

With textbook form, Basica started pinning balls into corners or hitting them where Boisclair didn’t expect them.

“She disguised her shots really well,” Boisclair said. “I couldn’t tell where they were going. I had to guess.”

The only part of Basica’s game that was inconsistent was her serving. She committed 10 double-faults. She hit 52% of her first serves, Boisclair 55%.

In the consolation semifinals of boys’ 18s, Bob Bryan of Camarillo beat twin Mike Bryan, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2). In third-place matches today, Bob Bryan will play Mike Russell of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and Boisclair will play Samantha Reeves of Monona, Wis.