麻豆社区

After coaching tennis camps for most of the summer, the trash talk was at an all-time high Friday morning.

Ewan Halliday and Matthias Hoenisch, both coaches for Tennis Yukon鈥檚 summer programming and students at Victoria鈥檚 St. Michaels University School, faced each other in the men鈥檚 singles final of the Yukon Tennis Championships Friday night.

Halliday secured the win in three sets 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been spending a lot of time together and we鈥檝e been hitting a lot of tennis balls together,鈥� said Hoenisch. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e both pretty happy with how things went and I think the fans liked it, so that鈥檚 what really matters.鈥�

Hoenisch got off to an early lead, securing the first set.

He knew he couldn鈥檛 play the way he did the last time he faced Halliday on the court and planned to be more offensive.

鈥淚 know that if I hit defensively, he鈥檒l just eat me up on those ground strokes and he鈥檒l hit lots of winners because that鈥檚 the kind of player he is,鈥� said Hoenisch. 鈥淚 had to hit offensively and I think in the first set it paid off.鈥�

On the other side of the net, Halliday was feeling his nerves. He struggled with butterflies in his stomach for the first 10 games, but when Hoenisch took the first set, he said it was a wake-up call.

鈥淚 said, 鈥楨wan, you gotta start playing. This game is going to be too short if you keep playing like this,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淎t the end of the first set is when I really woke up and I started thinking, 鈥極K, how can I beat this guy?鈥欌��

Instead of biding his time on the baseline, Halliday moved his way up the court for a few points and hit two solid drop shots.

The momentum shifted.

鈥淗itting a drop shot is kind of a good booster for the player who does it,鈥� said Hoenisch. 鈥淚 think he got more confident and it took me down a bit for that set.鈥�

Halliday became the first junior in the Tennis Yukon era to win the men鈥檚 singles title at the Yukon鈥圱ennis Championships last year when he beat Shahid Sayed.

Halliday had advanced to this year鈥檚 final with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Sayed in Thursday night鈥檚 semifinals.

Hoenisch beat Kieran Halliday 6-2, 6-1 to advance from the other semifinal.

Halliday won the match point on a Hoenisch serve.

鈥淚 knew it was coming.鈥圚e has a big serve. I was sitting at the back and I was just waiting for it,鈥� said Halliday. 鈥淟uckily I got a good piece of racket on it and went back and just waited.鈥�

When the rally ended, both teens embraced over the net sporting big smiles.

鈥淚鈥檓 disappointed, but not heartbroken,鈥� said Hoenisch. 鈥淚鈥檓 pretty happy with how I played even though I lost.鈥�

The duo is now shifting their focus to school, which begins in September. They鈥檒l hit a few balls but start in earnest in the new year when the school tennis season begins.

Tonight, the doubles final takes place at Mount McIntyre at 5 p.m.