Barnett raises game, passes semifinal test

Wesley Barnett’s grind through the United States Tennis Association Southern Closed Boys and Girls 16s Championship continues today at Rebsamen Tennis Center in Little Rock.

He advanced to this morning’s 9:30 final with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 semifinal victory over Matt Halpin at Rebsamen on Friday.

Barnett, 16, of Little Rock, has taken different routes in each of his six rounds of play to earn a spot in the boys championship match against Joshua Raab of Woodstock, Ga., who advanced with a

6-4, 6-1 semifinal victory over J.J. Tracy of Hilton Head, S.C.

Girls finalists are Ella Imhof of Waxhaw, N.C., and Margaret Polk of Birmingham, Ala. Imhof advanced with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 semifinal victory over Paige Duncan, and Polk with a 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 victory over Samantha Johns.

Barnett fretted about first-set tentativeness during his first five matches, but he came out aggressively against Halpin, 16, of Lexington, Ky. He breezed through the first set and served at 3-1 and 40-15 in the second, but Halpin responded with a resolve that would push Barnett through the rest of the match.

To start, Halpin won the next four points to serve within 2-3. He won four of the next five games to force a third set.

“I had him on the edge, and I kind of let go,” Barnett said. “He found his forehand, and he just kind of stepped on it. I got a little behind, but I ended up having enough.”

“I was making too many unforced errors,” Halpin said. “I knew if I could just hit the first ball of each point, I’d have a good chance. I needed to control the points.”

Barnett’s battle with Halpin continued in the third set. He served and broke to win the first two games, but Halpin responded to tie Barnett at 3-3.

“We were both grinding,” Halpin said. “I think I started serving a little harder. I was just trying to make him play every point, and I think I did that.”