Patience powers aspiring Glatch

Bryce Alderton

Alexa Glatch prefers to play from the baseline, eyeing all of the

court to plan her next shot.

But from the results she has produced on the court recently, the

15-year-old who calls Newport Beach home when she isn’t traveling to

tournaments across the United States and overseas might as well be

peering down on the junior tennis world from a high perch.

Glatch reached one of her career zeniths at the 38th United States

Tennis Association Easter Bowl championships last week, where she

claimed both the singles and doubles titles in the girls 18s

division.

It was the second time in three years Glatch has won singles and

doubles titles in the same division at the Easter Bowl, considered

one of the top junior tournament in the United States. She won both

crowns in the girls 14s division in 2003.

Glatch, the top seed in the singles draw this year, defeated

Jennifer Lee Heinser, 6-7 (1), 6-0, 6-3, in the singles final while

teaming with Lindsay Burdette -- the duo was seeded second -- to

claim glory on the doubles side.

All of this played out in temperatures that averaged in the 90s.

But the warm weather hardly affected Glatch, who actually likes

playing in similar climates.

It also helped that the matches went quickly.

During a stretch of four matches ending with the singles

semifinal, Glatch lost just four games in the quartet of victories.

Getting through the first match turned out to be most difficult.

“I had just come off a loss in the [USTA International Spring

championships] final the day before,” said Glatch, who has surged to

eighth in the International Tennis Federation rankings for girls, her

highest seeding to date.

Glatch holds a No. 1 ranking nationally in girls 18s singles,

according to tennisinformation.com, an independent web site not

affiliated with the USTA.

For the first time, girls and boys 18s singles and doubles

divisions at the Easter Bowl provided players opportunities to earn

points for their ITF rankings in smaller draws.

Glatch is ranked 11th in the USTA girls 18s. The USTA ranks

players using a point system for competing in organization-sanctioned

tournaments.

Glatch book-ended her singles run to the Easter Bowl title with

three setters, including the victory over Lee Heinser.

“I was nervous,” Glatch said of facing Lee Heinser. “I had played

her once before two years ago. I lost in three sets at an ITF event

in Tulsa, Okla.”

Glatch said she was surprised losing the first set, but made some

quick adjustments.

“She played different than I thought. She was slicing a lot more

and coming to the net. I stuck to the baseline and had to start

playing more aggressively, going for my shots a bit more. I served a

bit better, moved a bit better and the nerves went away.”

Glatch considers herself more of a baseline player rather than a

serve-and-volleyer, a dying breed among today’s competitors.

“I play every point as hard as I can. If I win, [6-0, 6-1] ... I

don’t expect to go out and win that easily.”

Glatch’s confidence is soaring, especially after a win earlier

this year in Malaysia, which she said gave her momentum heading into

the Easter Bowl.

She knew everyone would be gunning for her with the top-seeded tag

affixed to her name, but she tried to block that out.

“I haven’t been the No. 1 seed at a lot of tournaments,” she said.

“It doesn’t change anything whether you are seeded or not. I don’t

focus on that. I just go out there, have fun and play.”

And play Glatch does.

When she is in the area, a rare occurrence these days a Glatch,

travels extensively with Katie Schlukebir, one of her coaches.

Schlukebir, who played at Stanford and competed for six years on

the Women’s Tennis Association Tour, lives in Chicago and meets

Glatch wherever the tournaments take her.

Glatch has played eight WTA events and is ranked 355th in the

circuit.

WTA rules limit 15-year-olds to nine tournament appearances a

year, Schlukebir said. So far, Glatch has competed in three.

Last summer, Glatch reached the second round of U.S. Open

qualifying and in March lost in the first round of the main draw to

Jill Crabas at Indian Wells.

Glatch said she will travel to Europe next month and play in

junior Italian and French Open events in addition to competing in a

$50,000 USTA pro circuit contest in Charlottesville, Va.

Schlukebir and Glatch have worked together for almost a year.

Glatch, who is home schooled, pounds forehands and backhands on

the Sea King courts.

Her goal is to someday play regularly as a professional.

“She is getting a better feel for how the game is played,”

Schlukebir said.

Trey Glatch, Alexa’s father, has also noticed a change, for the

better, in his daughter’s game.

“She is maturing mentally,” Trey Glatch said. Glatch loves

traveling. She considers South Africa at the top of her favorites’

list.

“We saw elephants, lions and zebras,” Glatch said.

In the world of junior girls tennis, Glatch is inching toward

queen-of-the-jungle stature.