By Pete Borello

Boys Tennis Playoffs

Other local players also exit early

A tired Jon Wong of Los Altos High probably couldn’t have faced a more challenging opponent than Will McAllister in the first round of last week’s Central Coast Section individual boys tennis championships.

The relentless player from Los Gatos stunned Wong, the top seed, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 in the opening round of the tournament on May 22 at Imperial Courts in Aptos.

“He’s a grinder, but he’s not nearly at the level of Jon,” Los Altos coach Cuong Duong said of unseeded McAllister. “But when you’re tired, you don’t want to play a guy like that who hits everything back.”

McAllister was not only determined, according to Duong, but also held the upper hand in two areas Wong usually excels in: speed and strategy.

“Jon’s mind was really tired,” Duong said. “He couldn’t move his feet or focus; he just hit the ball.”

Wong said he was fatigued from a busy few days at school, including a late night working on the Los Altos newspaper the day before the match.

“I feel sorry for him because he just did too much along with being a tennis player; he put too much on himself,” Duong said. “He likes to take on a lot of responsibility, which is something I respect about him.”

Wong, who lost only three matches during the regular season, said he has no one to blame but himself.

“I was definitely disappointed with the way I played,” he said. “But I guess I can’t really be too worried about it - it was my choice. It’s done now and I can’t do anything about it.”

After getting routed in the first set, Wong mustered up enough energy to pull out the second set.

“You have to give him credit,” Duong said. “There was no gas in him, but he fought hard.”

However, Duong pointed out that the 12-game set took a toll on Wong. The junior twice led 40-0 in the third set, yet lost both games.

“Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have lost those games,” Duong said. “Those are the type of games he usually wins.”

Wong agreed.

“I should have won them, but I kind of checked out of those games thinking I’d win,” the SCVAL De Anza Division champion said. “But (McAllister) is a fighter and he caught me off guard.”

Had Wong won the match, Duong said he would have been in a good position to capture the CCS title.

“He had a good draw to get to the final,” the coach said. “There’s no doubt he could have won it.”

Last year, Wong made it to the quarterfinals.

Like Wong, the other two local players in last week’s tournament also failed to get past the first day of competition.

St. Francis senior Ngon Huynh lost 6-1, 6-3 to Soquel’s Travis Crawford in the first round.

Gunn’s Shane Templeman won his opener, a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Leland’s Mark Yalkut, then lost to McAllister in the quarterfinals later that afternoon.

Templeman, a junior, took McAllister to three sets before falling 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.