Tennis Topics
Published: May 23, 2009, Richmond Tennis Association website
Sorkin, Leitch survive hot weather to claim Davenport titles
by John Packett, RTA Staff Writer
"Welcome to the sweatbox," Raymond Straus told a visitor today at the University of Richmond.
Straus, who is helping run the Davenport City Junior Tennis Championships this weekend, was referring to the hot and sultry conditions -- temperatures were in the upper 80s -- in and around the courts on the Westhampton side of the UR campus.
In many cases, it seemed to bother the parents watching the matches from the hillside more than the kids on the courts.
Part of the tournament was also being held at Byrd Park, where it was only marginally cooler because of more shade from the trees.
The tournament runs through Monday and will crown city champions in a number of singles and doubles categories.
Two of the girls divisions were completed today because of the small draws.
In the girls 10-under singles, Nina Sorkin outlasted Grace Blackmon 6-1, 6-0 in a match that was much closer than the score indicates.
"Nice point, girls," shouted Maria Sorkin, Nina's mother, who was watching with Elizabeth Blackmon, Grace's mom.
"Good shot, Nina," yelled Blackmon, after the 10-year-old delivered another winner.
Most of the time, it's harder for the parents to watch their children, missing shots or forgetting the score.
"Nina played a match last week," said Sorkin. "She had a third-set tiebreaker and won it. The next morning, she played another third-set tiebreaker. She won it but she was up 9-3 and the girl came back to 9-all. I thought, she's going to lose this after being up 9-3.
"I walked away. Came back and the pro told me, 'Oh, she just won the tiebreaker 11-9.' I was like, 'Oh.' But they're young and you don't know what they're going to do. They go through these ups and downs during a match. It's just funny."
Sorkin knows something about winning and losing in tennis, since she played at Virginia Tech in the mid-80s.
"I used to get uptight, but now ... it humbles you very quickly," said Blackmon, with a laugh.
Spending part of the family's holiday weekend playing and watching tennis was left up to Elizabeth.
"We gave her the choice," said Blackmon. "She really wanted to play, so we said OK, we'd stay in town."
Nina is a fourth-grader at Shady Grove Elementary, and has been involved in swimming and soccer, in addition to tennis.
"She's decided she wants to drop swimming," said Sorkin. "But we want her to keep playing soccer or maybe field hockey, too. I don't want her to get burned out on tennis. She's too young to just focus on one sport right now."
Grace, 9, is in the third grade at Tuckahoe Elementary and swims and plays soccer, along with tennis.
"She loves tennis," said Blackmon. "It's by far her favorite, but she likes soccer, too."
Both families had to rise early, because the semifinal matches started at 8.a.m. Sorkin wasn't sure where the courts were located, so she didn't arrive until 8:02 for Nina's first match. She thought the courts on the Richmond side were going to be used.
When it was over, the Blackmon family, and Grace's brother, Bennett (already with his bathing suit on), were heading for the pool to cool off.
Nina was proud of the trophy she received from Straus as the city champion and glad to have the rest of the day to relax.
"I was trying to hit the ball crosscourt and hit it into the open court," said Nina of her strategy. "It feels good [to win]."
Meanwhile, at Byrd Park, Corbin Leitch needed less than an hour to dispose of Schineatha Jones 6-0, 6-0 in the girls 18-under final.
Leitch's opponent was much less experienced, so the points didn't last very long.
"She told me she had only been playing for seven months," said Leitch, who played No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles for Steward School this spring. Steward won the League of Independent Schools championship, losing only two matches all season (both to Mills Godwin High).
Leitch is the daughter of former junior standout John Leitch, who also played for the University of Richmond. She won the girls 18 title last year, when the competition was much stiffer and she had to win three matches instead of just the one this time.
Last year's victory was special because she was able to tell her grandfather, former city champion Bobby Leitch, about it before he died.
"He knew that I won it, because that was when he was doing a little bit better," said Leitch. "He was proud."
Leitch said her dad has been her only real coach. "He took me out when I was around four and started hitting with me," she said. "He won't let me get lessons. He always teaches me how to play and gives me tips and stuff. I hit with him at St. Christopher's because it's right beside our house."
Leitch's younger sister, Anne Peyton, plays for St. Catherine's, which holds its season in the fall, so the two haven't met on the court. Leitch, 18, will graduate from Steward shortly and is heading for Roanoke College, where she plans to play on the team.