Vu-Anh Thai recovers from a slow start but still loses in singles and doubles.
By EMILY NIPPS
Published April 29, 2004
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS - After losing the first set of his first-round match badly, Land O'Lakes No. 1 Vu-Anh Thai had to do something.
His opponent, Mike Anders of Pensacola, completely took him by surprise in the first round of the Class 3A individuals tournament.
"He was just like a wall," Thai said. "He just kept hitting everything back. I got a little bit too anxious and couldn't play my game."
So Thai used his serve, which seemed to be his biggest strength on Wednesday, and changed up his style. Earning several second-serve points, he felt like he was back in the match. But it wasn't enough as he fell 6-0, 7-5 to exit singles play.
Thai found himself staring down Anders a few hours later when the two played each other in doubles. Thai and doubles partner Kyle Staiger knew what to expect this time around, and it fared well for them in the match. Down the first set, the two rallied against Anders and Garion Adkins to narrowly beat them in the tiebreak (7-5) of the second set.
Anders and Adkins were dominant in the final set, though, and were up 5-0 before Thai and Staiger won their first game. It was the only game they won, and they lost the match 6-4, 6-7 (7-5), 6-1.
The Central girls had trouble as the top two players, Jeannette McDonald and Shelane Etchison, faced King's strong top two in the quarterfinals. Linda Tien defeated McDonald 6-1, 6-0, and Brooke Allen defeated Etchison 6-0, 6-1.
No. 4 player Shaena Keefe gave Central its lone point of the day, defeating Alonso's Tracy Wolf in an easy 6-1, 6-0 quarterfinal. She wasn't able to pull it off in the semifinals, though, as she dropped both sets to Naples Barron Collier's Jordan Vaughan.
No. 3 Irene Cho and No. 5 Stephanie D'Anna each lost in straight sets, as did both of Central's doubles teams.
After Wednesday's play, Fort Lauderdale's St. Thomas Aquinas was leading the 3A girls with 11 points, and Barron Collier and King were tied in second place with eight points.
