LEWISTON – For the four players left standing after Saturday’s Round of 40 tennis tournament, the territory of the Maine boys singles championships’ semifinal round is very familiar for two and unknown for the others.
No. 2 seed Ian Robinson of Brewer overcame a loss of rhythm in two sets to earn his third straight trip to the semis and a possible third straight finals clash with top seed and defending champ Pat Conway from Deering of Portland.
Conway had just one close set in three matches to advance to a Thursday semifinal match against unseeded Garret Currier of Cape Elizabeth, who won 36 of 42 games in three matches to emerge out of an upset-laden (Nos.) 4-5 bracket. The other 12:30 p.m. semifinal will pit Robinson against No. 6 seed Justin Chaffee of Fryeburg Academy. The matches will be held at Waynflete School in Portland.
Chaffee overcame an first set 3-6 loss to No. 3 seed Bryan Brown of Bangor by winning the next two, 6-4 and 7-5 in a marathon match in which both players took timeouts to combat cramping.
Robinson wasn’t bothered by cramping, thanks to the addition of power to his game and some newfound weapons that have allowed him to shorten some of his matches.
“I’ve got three serves. The bomb, which is a flat one that works really well when it’s on. Then there’s the slice and the kick,” Robinson said. “Especially on these courts, which are so grippy, I’ve been able to get that kick on my serve and these courts take it well.”
Robinson, who is one of 30 freshmen accepted to New York University’s ballet program next fall, won all but two of his sets either 6-1 or 6-2. He blamed laziness and sloppy hitting for getting him off kilter and forcing him to gut out two 6-4 wins in his last two matches.
He was able to rediscover his serve-and-volley game to close out both matches strongly.
“I don’t want to spend 31/2 hours out here each time trying to beat someone,” said the 2001 boys state champ. “I could run around and I might still win, but I’d be dead. If I finish earlier, it’s better for me.”
Currier’s charge was made possible by a first-round upset of No. 5 seed Justin Tardif from Biddeford by Waynflete’s Jonny Asen and the withdrawal of No. 4 seed Manuel Blanc from Foxcroft Academy.
Blanc, an exchange student from Barcelona, Spain, opted to withdraw last Thursday after he realized he would have to miss Thursday’s semifinal/final round if he won his matches on Saturday due to an airline reservation he was unable to reschedule.
“I was supposed to leave June 8, but then I found out I have to take this test in Spain which starts next week,” said Blanc, who lost to Robinson in last year’s semifinals. “I had a flight May 21. My plan was to leave May 23, but we couldn’t find any tickets for that date until last Thursday.”
Blanc thought he was safe until his parents notified him via e-mail that the date couldn’t be changed and he’d have to leave two days earlier.
Since he couldn’t play, he and FA school officials thought it best if he withdrew Saturday rather than gamble and possibly have to do it Thursday.
Despite not playing, Blanc was courtside Saturday.
“I was looking forward to this championship and I just wanted to be here, so I came down anyway,” he said. “I just felt like I had to come here and be part of this. It’s sad, but it’s the way it is.”
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