Boca’s Nefve battles to reach round of 16
BOCA RATON — Axel Nefve needed a place to sit. His breaths were coming quick. He sipped on his drink, trying to rehydrate.
“Most physical match I’ve played,” the 16-year-old said, finally getting a chance to sit in an air-conditioned hallway inside the tennis club at Boca Pointe.
Itwas 87 degrees and humid in Boca Raton on Wednesday, andNefve, who moved to Boca last year, had just won a two-hour tennis match 6-4, 6-4, to reach the Round of 16 of the Boys 18s of the USTA National Clay Court Championships.
It was his third consecutive two-set victory. A quick glance at his stat sheet — a 6-1,6-2winonMonday, a6-1, 6-4 win on Tuesday — suggests he’s rolling through his competition.
“Absolutely not,” Nefve said. “Todaywas a battle.”
It was an intense match between Nefve and Maxwell Freeman of Ashland, Mass., one that featured screams and fist pumps and flexing after each player won a game point. After trailing 4-3 in the first set, Nefve climbed all the way back, suddenly hitting serves that Freeman couldn’t handle and extending rallies until Freeman’s backhands soared past the baseline.
After winning one point, Nefve yelled, turned to the spectators sitting courtside and thumped his chest.
“I try to be self-motivated,” Nefve said. “It feels good to kind of let it out a little bit sometimes.”
Nefve has always been that way. He was born in France and lived there until he was 6, quickly growing attached to any sport with a racket. Tennisandtable tenniswere his favorites, but he stuck with tennis because it was more challenging. And, Nefve said, it helped that tennis was one of France’s most popular sports.
After leaving France, he moved to Chicago and eventually to Boca, but he returned to Europe earlier this summer to play tennis. He traveled for two months, competing against other top junior players on clay courts. He returned earlier this month, just in time for the National Clay Court Championships.
“The level is high over there [in Europe],” Nefve said, “and it feels good to bring it here.”
Once Nefve found his rhythm during Wednesday’s match, it was clear he was the better player. He is tall and thin, but his serves were fast and strong, impressing college scouts fromVir giniaTech, Tennessee and Arizona who sat courtside.
But, Nefve admitted, he was nervous. Even though he wasn’t focused on dazzling any colleges now that professional tennis is an option, he still felt nerves on Wednesday before facing Freeman, aVanderbilt commit.
“A little bit,” Nefve said, “but once you’re playing a great player, you don’t have roomfor nerves.”
Within the next two years, Nefve will have some decisions to make. He will likely decide between a potential roster spot on a college tennis team or a path that allows to him play professionally.
But, for now, Nefve said he prefers to stay in the present, as he prepares to face Oren Vasser from New Rochelle, N.Y., today, with hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals and beyond.
“I feel like this year ismy strongest year,” Nefve said. “I’ve got a real opportunity to do some damage in this tournament.”