Daily Bruin File Photo Sophomore Jean-Julien
Rojer, shown here at a match last year, qualified for the
round of 16 at the All-American Tournament.
By Pauline Vu
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
At last weekend’s All-American Tournament, UCLA
men’s tennis player Jean-Julien Rojer made it to the round of
16 before falling 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to eventual tournament winner
Genius Chidzikwe of SMU.
“I felt he had a good tournament,” UCLA head coach
Billy Martin said. “This should solidify him in the
rankings.”
The All-American Tournament is the second Grand Slam event out
of three that determines who makes it to NCAA Championships for
singles play. In the first event, the National Clay Court
Championships in late September, Rojer lost in the first round
““ also to Chidzikwe.
“I personally felt like he respected (Chidzikwe) a little
too much,” Martin said of Rojer. “He was more worried
about what that young man would do instead of worrying about what
he wanted to do.
“In our sport, you can’t be worried about the other
guy. You just go out, hit your shot.”
Actually, Rojer said that wasn’t the problem at all.
“I was actually looking forward to the match,” he
said. “When I lose, it motivates me.
“I made too many errors,” he continued. “His
game was just to get a lot of balls back; he’s very
consistent. I just made too many mistakes.”
The 64-player field at the All-American included only the
country’s best, based on preseason rankings. Rojer is ranked
30th in the nation.
The unseeded sophomore beat Phillip Stolt of Illinois in the
first round, and then upset eighth-seeded Alex Hartman of
Mississippi in the second round.
“I started moving better, anticipating better,”
Rojer said of the match against Hartman.
“Julien’s a real all-court player,” Martin
said. “He doesn’t just serve and volley, doesn’t
just stay in the backcourt. He was able to mix up his game, keep
the kid on his toes and not let (Hartman) play his game as much as
he would’ve liked.”
Senior Jean-Noel Grinda, ranked 12th in the nation, was the
other Bruin who qualified for the main draw of the tournament.
Because of a nagging back problem and the fact he had only been
practicing for two weeks, he chose not to go.
“It’s a grueling tournament,” Martin said.
“If you go into it a little injured you’ll come out
more injured. I don’t think he’s going to have a
problem qualifying for NCAA singles, just because he’s by far
one of the top kids in the country.”
Grinda, who was preseason No. 3 last year before injuries took
him out for the season, agreed.
“I don’t need to prove anything new,
rankings-wise,” he said.
Other Bruins also went to the tournament, but none of them made
it past the qualifying round.
The last of the three Grand Slam singles events is the ITA
National Championships, which will take place in Dallas, Texas in
January. Unlike the previous two events, this one is not based on
rankings but on how the players will do at the regional
championships, which will take place in November.
Next for the Bruins is the Southern California Intercollegiate
Championships at the Los Angeles Tennis Club, starting Oct. 25.