Bayani Gets a Break and Diaz Finally Bends

Two exhausted players, two sore bodies. One semifinalist. One broken heart.

Third-seeded Bernadette Bayani of Simi Valley defeated No. 7 Maureen Diaz of Glendale, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, Friday to reach today’s semifinals of the girls’ 16-and-under division in the Southern California Junior Tennis Championships.

Bayani’s backhand winner down the line broke Diaz’s serve and ended the final game, which went to deuce twice. It capped a 2 hour 50 minute battle, in which every point produced long rallies at the Los Caballeros Sports Village.

“Not a lot of people keep the ball in play like Maureen Diaz,” Bayani said. “She’s a good player.”

In beating Diaz for only the second time in seven tries, Bayani broke Diaz’s serve in the final game, ending a match that saw 22 service breaks and two dramatic momentum shifts.

It started with Diaz abandoning a new aggressive style and reverting to her old baseline strategy and two-hand forehand that led her to a 4-0 lead in the first set.

But Bayani suddenly figured out Diaz’s ground strokes and rallied to win the set, 6-4.

“I was on a streak or something,” Bayani said. “Everything was going in. I was able to place the ball well.”

Bayani kept Diaz on the run in the second set, building a 4-2 lead while serving with the advantage.

But with Bayani sensing a victory, Diaz came roaring back, breaking Bayani’s serve and winning the next four games to take the set, 6-4.

“I told myself to stay aggressive,” Diaz said. “Make her make the errors.”

Nobody could take control in the third set, which had eight consecutive service breaks when both players became tired and nervous.

Bayani finally held serve to pull ahead, 6-5. Then she opened with two strong volley winners against Diaz’s serve and Diaz never recovered.

“I didn’t get upset and I tried to stay patient,” Bayani said. “And it finally worked.”

Bayani is not the only 16-and-under semifinalist from the region. Shervin Saedinia of Woodland Hills beat Jieun Jacobs, 6-3, 6-3, in a battle of unseeded players.

Saedinia will face second-seeded Tiffany Brymer today at 10:30 a.m., while Bayani will take on top-seeded Natalie Mikolich.

Saedinia trailed, 3-0, in the first set against Jacobs, the 1996 champion in 14s, before she staged a rousing comeback. She never let Jacobs back into match after breaking out to a 4-1 lead in the second set.

“I wasn’t warmed up, but then I got into a groove,” Saedinia said. “I feel pretty confident, good about my game.

“[Jacobs] was powerful, but I mixed it up. She started missing and I started taking control of points.”

Saedinia is making her first semifinal appearance in a junior sectional.

Jacobs, who has been plagued by shin splints, played in pain and battled fatigue.

“I kind of beat myself,” Jacobs said. “I was not playing my game. She did nothing special.”