Despite losing practice time due to the weather and recovering from an illness, James TenBroeck, 12, performed well in two tournaments in Tucson, Ariz.
TenBroeck won the first round of the Super-National Winter Championships 7-6 (7-3), 0-6, 6-3 against an opponent from Maryland.
In the next round, he went up against Roy Lederman from Florida, the No. 6-ranked player in the nation.
TenBroeck lost the first set 2-6 but came back to win the second 6-3. Lederman experienced an emotional meltdown, throwing his racket at one point.
In the tiebreaker third set, Lederman exhibited some great athleticism and put together a large lead, but TenBroeck rolled off five straight points. He still came up just short, losing 10-8.
TenBroeck won three matches at the event, two of which involved tiebreakers.
In the Copper Bowl, another national tournament, with a draw of 128 players, TenBroeck lost in the first round to the No. 6 seed 6-2, 6-4.
From there, he went on to register four consecutive wins, one being an 11-9 third-set tiebreaker. He then lost to the No. 11 seed 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-2).
-- Bill Welch is The Record-Courier's tennis columnist. He can be reached at 782-5775.
