Leyden Games tops Janie Marcus in all-Newport match at SoCal Junior Sectionals

The Southern California Junior Sectional Championships stands as one of those tennis tournaments that can bring out all the top players.

Looking across the grounds at the Los Caballeros Racquet and Sports Club, the seasoned competitors were not hard to spot.

Newport Beach resident Leyden Games, a 15-year-old playing up in the girls’ 18-and-under division, was one of them. Even as she cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 first-round win on Wednesday over incoming Corona del Mar High transfer Janie Marcus, Games sounded off on things she thought she could do better.

After points that she won, Games became a critic, imploring herself to hit through the ball.

Despite playing up a division, Games came into the tournament as a seeded player (one of several competitors with a No. 9 next to their name). While onlookers considered the depth and consistency of her ground strokes a joy to watch, the blue-chip recruit knew she had things to work on.

“Right now, my goal is to be an aggressive base-liner,” Games said. “I’m working on a couple of things. Today, I was a little more negative than usual. I think that definitely had an effect on how I was playing.

“Tomorrow, maybe I’ll be able to swing through it more. This is just the first-round jitters, I guess.”

Games’ father, Adrian, is a tennis coach in his own right. He says that his daughter has made great strides in taking control of her own goals in the last year.

She has created what the family calls a “vision board,” which is a wooden board in her closet with strings and clips across that hold pictures of her deepest desires. Games said that she has included pictures of grand slam tournaments like the U.S. Open and the Australian Open, as well as images of the major colleges she might want to attend.

“Going to an amazing school and going pro, they’re both big goals of mine,” Games said.

Marcus, who formerly played for Los Angeles Marlborough, trained with Games at the Advantage Tennis Academy this year.

Although the two adversaries had extensive knowledge of each other’s skill sets, it did not have much of an impact on the way that they played. Marcus said that her favorite shot is the inside-out forehand, and she spent much of the match trying to set it up.

In the end, Games covered ground well, often outlasting her opponent on key points.

Games will oppose Yuka Perera of Santa Barbara in the second round on Thursday at 1 p.m. Perera defeated Julianna Sabile of Fullerton 6-1, 6-2.

Marcus said she is looking forward to joining the Sea Kings after her change of residency to the Newport area.

“I love the girls on the team,” she said. “I also think that Jamie [Gresh] is a great coach. I’m excited to be a part of a winning team. I think that’s really fun.

“This year, I’m doing Advantage and online school, and I think that going back to a brick and mortar school is going to be exciting and good. I think that it would be fun to be on a team that could win again.”

Kristina Evloeva, a current Sea King, played on the court adjacent to Marcus. The rising senior fell to second-seeded Julia Haynes of San Diego 6-2, 6-1.

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner