Sports
Siozios Advances at West Side Tennis Championships
New Hyde Park native advances into the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 victory
Competing in the Boys 10-and-under division at the West Side Tennis Championships in Forest Hills on Monday afternoon, New Hyde Park's Pete Siozios started off slowly before winning nine of the final 10 games of the opening round match, easily moving into the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Logan Gruss of New York City.
“I play about 30 USTA tournaments a year, so I’m used to these types of matches,” Siozios said.
The opening set featured a number of grueling baseline exchanges and long deuce games. A forehand into the net from Gruss gave Siozios a 4-3 lead and he rode the momentum through the rest of the set. Taking control of the rallies earlier on and hitting closer to the lines, a strong backhand from the sixth grader at Saint Demetrios Astoria School wrapped up the opening set.
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The second set was all one-way traffic for Siozios. As he began to get frustrated, Gruss began to go for winners at low-percentage times in the points, resulting in numerous unforced errors. Content to hit the balls deep and draw his opponent into mistakes, Siozios raced through the first four games of the match to take a commanding 4-0 lead.
Three games later, a floating backhand sent long from Gruss wrapped up the match. Despite the one-sided scoreline, Siozios said he will have to step it up if he wants to continue advancing in the tournament.
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“I felt like I was hitting too many ground strokes into the net, so that’s definitely something to work on for the next matches,” Siozios said. “I need to add some more topspin to my shots as well since we’re playing on clay and the ball bounces higher.”
Tennis is serious business for Siozios. He practices several days a week with some of the best junior players on the East coast at the USTA National Tennis Center and also works with a private coach.
“We’re working on being a lot more physical on the court,” Siozios said. "My left wrist is a lot weaker than my right one, so that’s something which can be improved upon too.”
Prior to going on the court, Siozios said he watched some of the opening round matches at Wimbledon that morning to get ready.
“I watched (Rafael) Nadal and he was kicking butt out there,” said Siozios.
Siozios will look to do the same in his second round match Tuesday afternoon at 5:00pm against No. 8 seed William Turchetta of Pound Ridge. To follow Siozio’s progress in the tournament, visit the drawsheet.
