Matias Fends Off Upset in City Singles Final

The short, sliced forehand return that Carson High senior Dianne Matias put away on match point in the third-set tiebreaker of the City Section girls’ tennis individual tournament ended the last of many lengthy rallies Wednesday.

The most impressive of them all, though, was the one nearly pulled off by Granada Hills junior Christine Dao.

The third-seeded Dao made a strong bid for her second upset victory in two days before the top-seeded Matias prevailed, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (5), in the singles championship match at Balboa Sports Complex in Encino.

“I pulled it out,” Matias said. “It was a really good match. After I won the first set, I think I got a little tired in the second, and I kind of relaxed a little bit.”

That’s not a good idea against Dao.

She seemed to get stronger and more confident as the match wore on. Except for the final result, Wednesday’s match was a carbon copy of Tuesday’s semifinal, in which Dao lost the first set but came back to upset second-seeded Judith De Vera, another Carson senior, who began the tournament as the defending champion.

“I feel kind of disappointed and happy at the same time,” Dao said. “I’m happy that I got that far, and I think I played very well. But to come so close and not win is a little disappointing.”

Matias won the first set handily, relying heavily on a deceptive sliced backhand to convert breaks in the third and seventh games.

The roles were reversed in the second set as Dao began to match Matias stroke for stroke in well-played rallies. Dao took command with a 4-1 advantage.

Matias broke Dao in the third game of the third set and held the next game for a 3-1 lead, which didn’t last. Dao tied the score when she broke Matias’ serve in the eighth game.

The top-seeded Palisades team of seniors Madison Sellers and Jasmine Reed defeated Granada Hills’ Tracey Takeshita and Maria Cardenas, 6-4, 6-0, to win the doubles championship.