Hot Doubles Teams Facing a Final Test

Conventional strategy in tennis says that the best individuals on any team should play singles.

Don’t tell that to Granada Hills and Kennedy, two teams that advanced to today’s City Section finals at the Racquet Centre in Studio City by virtue of their success in doubles.

At the north end of the Valley, standards are thrown out the window.

Granada Hills (13-1 in 4-A) will face defending champion Palisades, while Kennedy (15-1 in 3-A) will take on Van Nuys at 2 p.m.

“I played singles once this year against El Camino Real and I got killed,” said Matt Weiss, who plays No. 2 doubles for Granada Hills, which breezed through the regular season undefeated in doubles. “I like playing doubles.”

In its 24 1/2-5 rout of Eagle Rock in Tuesday’s semifinals, Kennedy won all nine doubles sets.

Kennedy also has hot singles players in Sonny Warda and Norman Menjivar. Van Nuys won eight of 16 sets in singles and seven of nine in doubles in its 18 1/2-11 semifinal victory over Cleveland. Arman Davtyan swept at No. 1 singles, while Herman Bradley and Alex Magnu swept at No. 3 doubles.