McKennon adjusting to playing up
FOUNTAIN VALLEY — Two years can be an eternity in junior tennis.
Newport Beach resident Max McKennon turned 13 in May. On Thursday morning he played Kirun Cheung of Santa Monica, who will turn 15 in September.
McKennon needed his best performance to top Cheung in the boys’ 14 singles round of 64 match of the 113th annual Southern California Junior Sectionals tournament.
Instead, unforced errors proved to be McKennon’s downfall. Cheung won, 6-3, 6-2, in the opening main draw match for both players at Fountain Valley Tennis Center.
“I wasn’t changing anything,” McKennon said. “I was just trying to go for his backhand, and that obviously didn’t work. And I made too many unforced errors and tried to do wrong shots at the wrong time.”
McKennon earned an early break of serve against Cheung, who he defeated in three tough sets in a tournament in Fullerton in April. But Cheung, who like McKennon is a lefty, rattled off four straight games from down 2-0 to win the first set.
The second set was similar. McKennon was tied, 2-2, before again losing four straight games to end the match.
“That’s what helped him win last time we played, his inside-out forehand to my backhand,” said Cheung, who had to go through qualifying last weekend to earn his spot in the main draw. “I felt like I kind of neutralized that a little bit this time.”
Cheung, who will be a sophomore at Santa Monica High, moves on to play top-seeded Harry Yang of Rancho Cucamonga in a round of 32 match Friday. McKennon will attempt to do damage in the consolation draw, where he will play Leo Wang of San Marino in a first-round match Friday at 2 p.m. at Costa Mesa Tennis Center.
Despite Thursday’s result, McKennon still feels like he’s playing good tennis. He’s currently enrolled in Connections Academy, an online school, where he will be an eighth-grader this upcoming school year. He does plan to attend Newport Harbor High for high school, he said.
“I’ve adapted to it well,” McKennon said of moving up age divisions from the 12s to the 14s. “I’m just taking it one step at a time, but I’m playing really well right now.”
McKennon recently won the 14s doubles title at the Esme Pearson Memorial Junior Tournament in San Diego with partner Matthew Sah, and he and Sah also were doubles finalists at the Harper Ink in San Diego.
He will be headed to the USTA west zone championships, which begin July 2 in Colorado Springs.
“I’m really working on my footwork,” said McKennon, coached by former Newport Harbor, UC Irvine and USC standout Brett Hansen-Dent. “That’s gotten a lot better, and I’m just trying to make more balls.”
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•In other singles action Thursday at Junior Sectionals, recent Newport Harbor graduate Reese Stalder and Corona del Mar’s Bjorn Hoffmann each won their opening boys’ 18 singles matches of the main draw.
Stalder, the No. 3 seed, defeated Julian Gordy of Tarzana, 6-4, 6-2. Stalder will play Andrew Leahy of Claremont in a round of 32 match Friday at 9:30 a.m. at Los Caballeros.
Hoffmann, the No. 5 seed, defeated Axel Stern of Tustin, 7-5, 6-3, and will play Daunte Harris of Lomita in a round of 32 match Friday at 11 a.m. at Los Caballeros.
Corona del Mar’s Jasie Dunk was another winner, in girls’ 16 singles. She topped Calli Shafer of Carlsbad, 6-1, 6-1, and will play No. 4-seeded Julia Haynes of San Diego in a round of 32 match Friday at The Tennis Club Newport Beach.
Newport Coast resident Kyle Pham beat Shervin Dehmoubed of Cardiff, 6-1, 6-4, in a boys’ 14 singles round of 64 match. Pham will play No. 5-seeded Alexey Lunin of Irvine in the round of 32 Friday at 10:30 a.m. at Fountain Valley Tennis Center.
Andre Saleh of Newport Beach fell to Isaiah Volk of Oak Park, 5-7, 6-1, 2-0 (retired) in a boys’ 18 singles round of 64 match. Max Pham of Newport Coast fell to No. 9-seeded Daniel Gealer of San Marino, 6-4, 6-3.
Newport Coast resident Kristina Evloeva fell to Emily Ackerman of Thousand Oaks, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in a girls’ 16 singles round of 64 match.
All main draw losers will continue in the consolation bracket for his or her age group.
