Crowd behind Van’t Hof

NEWPORT BEACH — Only one bid came in for a private tennis lesson with Billie Jean King.

Times are hard, even at Newport Beach Country Club.

Or maybe none of the men at the Newport Beach Breakers home opener Saturday night wanted to get beat by the baddest female tennis player of all time.

Well, the bidding did start at $2,500.

Some of the Breakers and Kansas City Explorers might want to consider a session with King.

Players sprayed balls out of play in practically every direction. A couple almost landed in the stadium seats. Some forced coaches to throw a yellow flag onto the court to dispute if the ball was in or out.

At the end, it was Newport Beach that was ousted as Kansas City won, 20-18, in front of 1,512 fans.

Even though there weren’t any marquee names, with Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe and Anna Kournikova slated to appear at later dates, the crowd cheered throughout.

Kaes Van’t Hof returned home to Newport Beach, much to the delight of those fans in section D. Van’t Hof was happy to be back as well.

“It’s something I’ve always dreamed about growing up. Now I’m lucky enough to actually be part of the real deal,” Van’t Hof said. “It felt great, [a] supportive home crowd, always a lot of energy. It’s great to have them behind me.”

The section rooted for Van’t Hof, even though the former Mater Dei standout’s efforts down the stretch put the Breakers in a tough situation.

With the overall team score tied at 10-10, the 21-year-old teamed up with Ramon Delgado, of Paraguay, in men’s doubles. The rookie and the veteran, and Van’t Hof definitely felt nervous.

“It’s always tough to play in front of all your friends,” Van’t Hof said, “especially against players at such a high level that we’re playing against.”

The 31-year-old Delgado, with the Breakers since 2004, played like a rookie, too, the first time he saw action Saturday.

Van’t Hof lifted his sleeves to gain an advantage, or either to show off the biceps he developed at USC, where he became an NCAA Division I doubles champion this past season. But James Auckland and Dusan Vemic won, 5-2, giving the Explorers a 15-12 lead heading into the evening’s final event, the men’s singles.

Van’t Hof rolled down his sleeves and took a seat. Delgado returned to face Vemic, who was born in Croatia.

It was a battle. Delgado regained his form from Newport Beach’s better years, 2004-06, when they advanced to the finals, winning it in 2004.

The few fans that stuck around yelled “Ramon! Ramon!”

Vemic allowed Delgado back in and the Breakers. It went into overtime and Delgado had Newport Beach within one point of tying things up.

On one rally, Vemic stumbled toward the net, looking like he was about to break dance. He got up and finished Delgado off in a fashion Van’t Hof isn’t used to.

“It’s a different level compared to what I played in college,” Van’t Hof said. “It’s a tough adjustment, but it’s also a lot of fun.”

So is a private lesson with King. Right now Van’t Hof can’t afford to miss out.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].