Cacic Glad She Extended Her Stay in U.S.

Sandra Cacic of Bradenton, Fla., was the highest-ranked player in the field of 32 at the USTA Women’s Challenger of Newport Beach, yet neither her ranking--71--nor her name figured to scare many people. After seven years on the tour, Cacic’s highest ranking has been 35 and her biggest victory has come against Jana Novatna.

But Cacic showed the up-and-comers that rank and experience still count for something these days on the women’s professional tennis tour. Cacic, 23, completed a perfect week at the Newport Beach Marriott, holding off 18-year-old Samantha Reeves of Monona, Wis., 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, in Sunday’s finals in front of about 100 spectators.

Reeves, who was given a wild-card spot in the tournament by the International Tennis Federation because she is one of the country’s more promising juniors, staved off four match points before succumbing to Cacic in a match that lasted more than two hours.

“She definitely has the game to play at this level,” Cacic said. “I was just a little smarter and I played the big points better.”

Cacic could have traveled to Europe and played in the regular Women’s Tennis Assn. tour, but she decided to save some travel expenses and play two California satellite tournaments before rejoining the regular tour in Canada.

“I was only guaranteed getting in one tournament in Europe and this tournament was just as hard,” said Cacic, who grew up in Croatia and is coached by her father, Tony. “I also kind of wanted to stay in the States.”

For her trouble, Cacic will collect $4,000 in prize money and pick up 22 ranking points. “I’ll probably move up a couple spots on the computer,” Cacic said.

Reeves, ranked 200, will collect 15 points. She would have pocketed the runners-up check of $2,350, but as an amateur, she must decline the prize money and take only cash for traveling expenses.

“This match will give me a lot of confidence,” Reeves said. “It’s my dream to make it on tour, but I’m putting that decision off for a while. I want to make sure I’m making the right decision. If I decide to turn pro, I can’t ever get a college scholarship and college is a lot of money these days.”

If she is going to become a factor on the women’s tour, Reeves probably will have to strengthen her serve. She was broken in her last three service games by Cacic, who was taking the ball early and hitting winners off the forehand and backhand side.

“I was seeing the same serve in the third set as I did earlier,” Cacic said. “I just decided to pick up my returns a little. I picked up my game when I had to.”

In the doubles final, the top-seeded team of Ginger Helgeson-Nielson of Alpine and Janet Lee of Rancho Palos Verdes defeated the unseeded team of Amanda Augustus of Rancho Palos Verdes and Amy Jensen of Australia, 6-3, 6-3. Helgeson-Nielson and Lee earned $750 each, Augustus and Jensen received $400 each.