CdM duo falls to Chinese players

NEWPORT BEACH — The opponents were speaking another language on the court.

But in tennis, a good shot is a good shot, and Yan Lo and Shiu Ma of Hong Kong had plenty of those Wednesday at The Tennis Club Newport Beach.

Yan and Shiu, part of a summer traveling delegation from China to California, got a good match from Corona del Mar High duo Alison Ishii and Ariana Naaseh. But the Chinese team had too much in the end, taking a 6-4, 6-1 victory in a girls' 16s doubles quarterfinal at the 21st annual The Tennis Club Junior Tournament.

Ishii will be a sophomore at CdM in the fall and Naaseh a junior. They were playing their first doubles tournament together, but they have plenty of game themselves. According to the Corona del Mar tennis website, Ishii went 42-10 in doubles last year for the Sea Kings. Naaseh, who played mostly junior varsity, went 21-5 in singles.

They had to give props to Yan and Shiu, however, in this match.

"They had a really steady game," Ishii said. "They kept everything in. They were obviously really, really good players."

Yan and Shiu cruised to a 5-2 lead in the opening set. Ishii and Naaseh nearly came back, getting within 5-4, but Naaseh's serve was broken in a long game that went to deuce.

Yan and Shiu then zoomed out to a 5-0 lead in the second set.

"It's always hard to come back after you're down a set, because it seems like that match is almost over," Naaseh said. "But also, they picked up their game a little bit and we got more frustrated."

Bob Ogle, the tournament director at the "War by the Shore," said international players are not uncommon in his tournament. This year, there is also a delegation from Mexico that is doing well.

"They come over quite regularly, actually," Ogle said. "We've got a nice international flair. It's just hard to know where they fit in with the rankings."

Yan and Shiu were quite good, albeit with some quirks. Yan would say the score before nearly every point, even when the CdM duo was serving. When Ishii or Naaseh would call out the score before a serve, they would usually just be repeating what Yan said.

"It was strange, because obviously that's never happened to us before," Ishii said. "It got a little frustrating in our minds, but I mean, you can't change how they play. We just had to deal with it."

Ishii and Naaseh plan to keep playing together prior to the high school season starting next month. Ishii said they could possibly play doubles together during the high school season as well.