Another junior tennis title for Dunk
When Jasie Dunk woke up on Friday morning, she was admittedly a bit nervous.
For the second straight Friday, she would be playing for a junior tennis title after winning the “War by the Shore” last week. This time, it was the Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic that was up for grabs.
“I had knots, literally, in my stomach,” said Dunk, who will be a junior at Corona del Mar High. “I really wanted to win today. I’ve never won back-to-back titles.”
For the second straight week, the top-seeded Dunk stepped up to the occasion.
She claimed the girls’ 16s title at Costa Mesa Tennis Center after a hard-fought victory over No. 2-seeded Skyler Grishuk of Aliso Viejo, 6-2, 3-6, and 10-4 in the super-tiebreaker played in lieu of the third set.
Dunk called it the best tennis that she’s ever played. She needed it against Grishuk, a lefty who is just 12 years old but is ranked No. 2 in Southern California in that age division.
“She was a little inconsistent in the beginning, so that’s when I took my lead,” said Dunk, who is ranked No. 34 in Southern California in the 16s. “I had my one break that brought me up to 5-2, then I broke again for the set. I think I got a little comfortable after that, though, because I came out in the second set and I was down 2-0 after 10 minutes. Second set, I started out a little shaky, and she completely took advantage of that to her credit.”
Grishuk dictated the action for much of the second set, even after Dunk broke serve to level the set at 2-2. Grishuk’s mother, Oksana, a former two-time Olympic champion and four-time world champion in ice dancing for Russia, stood close behind the fence to yell out support for her daughter.
Grishuk broke Dunk’s serve twice more in the set. Serving at 3-5, Dunk was broken at love. The players were then informed that there would be the super-tiebreaker instead of a full third set.
“I was anticipating a third set, because I’ve never played a tiebreak in the finals,” Dunk said. “I was like, ‘Oh, God.’”
Dunk’s father, Chris, went on court to give some advice to his daughter. Chris was a two-time tennis All-American at Cal and had success on the pro tour in doubles, reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and the French Open in men’s doubles and the U.S. Open semifinals in mixed doubles. He won two ATP doubles titles in 1981 with partners Martin Davis and Chris Mayotte, respectively.
On Friday, his advice was relatively simple.
“I went over at the split and I talked to my dad, and he was like, ‘Why are you hitting everything to her forehand again?’” Jasie Dunk said. “I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ Tiebreak, I was hitting everything to her backhand and get her off the court a little bit, then hit the ball to her forehand side. That’s what I was trying to do. I think that really helped me out in the tiebreak, and that’s why I put it away.”
She never trailed in the super-tiebreaker, opening up a 4-1 lead and eventually winning.
Jasie Dunk plans to play in the Level 2 Mary Brymer tournament in Irvine next week, before a well-deserved vacation. But not for long. She’d like to start playing tournaments in the 18s soon, and the Jim Buck team tournament in San Diego in late August is key for ranking points as it is a Level 1.
And before long, the Sea Kings’ high school season also will begin. Dunk, who didn’t even crack the top 100 in the 16s until March, believes she’ll be ready. She’s recently been working with Matt Harris, who has helped her improve her strength and conditioning.
“My goal is to play No. 1 on the team and just to win more matches this year,” said Dunk, who played mainly at the No. 2 singles spot last year behind incoming sophomore Danielle Willson. “Hopefully I’ll play well, win a lot of matches and help the team. I think we have a good chance of doing better than last year.”
