MV's Sherbakov reaches quarters
By Pete Borello, Town Crier Staff Writer
 Joe Hu/town Crier Los Altos High’s Denny Fafek, above, took top seed Steven Benvenuto to three sets before losing in the first round of the Central Coast Section individual tennis tournament last week in Aptos. |
The luck of the draw didn’t work in Denny Fafek’s favor at last week’s Central Coast Section individual boys tennis championships.
The Los Altos High junior, unseeded in the singles portion of the tournament, drew the top seed in the opening round.
Aragon’s Steven Benvenuto won, but the match wasn’t as easy as some might expect it would be for the No. 1 seed and defending champion. Fafek put up a fight before losing in three sets May 23 at Imperial Courts in Aptos.
“It was kind of like the final,” Los Altos coach Cuong Duong said of Benvenuto’s 7-6 (11-9), 1-6, 6-1 victory. “It was tough; I thought (Denny) had a chance to win.”
Fafek, who lost in straight sets to Benvenuto a few months earlier in a USTA tournament, nearly knocked off his friendly rival this time. But a few judgment calls by Fafek in the initial set may have led to his demise, according to Duong.
“In the first set there were a couple of shots Denny should have called out that could have been the difference, but he played them,” the coach said.
Fafek didn’t let losing the first set in a tiebreaker get him down, however. He rebounded for a decisive win in the second set.
“He played calm, under control and didn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Duong said of Fafek’s second-set performance.
But the third set belonged to Benvenuto, who showed why he’s headed to Santa Clara University on a scholarship next year.
“The guy played well in the third set,” Duong said. “Denny lost his forehand - he missed shots that are his bread and butter. He was a little off and missed shots here and there in the third set and he lost a little momentum.”
Benvenuto went on to win the singles title Thursday. Next season, Duong wouldn’t be surprised to see Fafek succeed him as champion.
“Next year, he has a chance of winning it,” the coach said. “He’s a good player and he’s definitely going to get better. He’ll be at his best next year.”
Sherbakov makes strides
Mountain View High’s Toki Sherbakov reached the quarterfinals of the CCS tourney, not a small feat for a freshman who began the season as the No. 4 singles player on his team.
Sherbakov beat Sacred Heart Prep’s David McCall, also unseeded, in straight sets to open CCS May 23. Sherbakov won the first set 6-2 and was leading 3-0 in the second set when McCall defaulted due to a sore shoulder.
“The good thing about Toki is that he has an all-court game,” Spartans coach Frank Smyth said. “He came in a lot and moved this guy around and (McCall) wasn’t as accurate. Toki had him on the run and took advantage of his weaknesses.”
Later that day in the quarterfinals, No. 2 seed Simon Cheng of Leland beat Sherbakov 6-3, 7-5.
“It was a very close match,” Smyth said. “Toki lost on a break (point) in the first set and it was 5-all in the second set. He was right there. But he served and was broken, and Simon served it out.”
Sherbakov, the SCVAL El Camino Division singles champ, is the first Mountain View player to make CCS in Smyth’s six years as coach.
