Dolphins’ Duo Comes of Age

Palisades High Freshmen Win 16s Doubles Title at Copper Bowl

Neither Robbie Bellamy nor his doubles partner Alex Giannini expected to advance very far at least week’s Copper Bowl in Tucson, Arizona. That might be the biggest reason they were lifting the first-place trophy at the end of the Level III national junior tennis tournament. “We were unseeded coming in so I didn’t expect to win the doubles,” Bellamy said. “We actually won most of our matches pretty easily. I think what makes us tough is that I’m good at the baseline and Alex is good at the net.” What made the feat so impressive is that Bellamy just “aged up” to the 16s division and Giannini won’t do so for another month. Both are still 14, yet they carved through a draw loaded with older, more experienced players, knocking off four seeded teams en route to the title. “We played really well in the finals,” Giannini said of the pair’s 8-2 rout over No. 5-seeded Matthew Browne of Florida and Garrett Gordon of Georgia. “We couldn’t beat them in singles but doubles is a different game. We were really on that day. Browne has a huge serve but we broke him every time.” The win was especially satisfying for Giannini, who was playing his second tournament after sitting out three months with a foot injury. Bellamy, meanwhile, won three national doubles titles–all with different partners–and came within a couple points of the No. 1 national ranking. “I’ve been struggling with my serve for five months,” Giannini said. “I developed a bad habit that I’m trying to correct. I didn’t play well in the semifinals but Robbie was awesome.” Bellamy and Giannini, both ninth graders at Palisades High, ousted top-seeded Jay Billa of Folsom and James Boyd of San Diego, 8-6, in the semifinals. With the pro set knotted at 6-6 and Bellamy in trouble at Love-40, he reeled off back-to-back service winners, then won a long rally from the backcourt to reach deuce. Two more big serves led to easy volley winners for Giannini and the Palisades duo then broke Boyd to close out the match. If not for an equipment problem, Bellamy might also have reached the 16s singles final. He was up a break at 3-1 in the third set in the semifinals when he cracked the frame of his last racquet against 10th-seeded Nicolas Montoya of Scottsdale, Arizona, and lost 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. “By the time we got to 5-5 my racquet was bent out of shape and I couldn’t do anything except lob the ball back,” said Bellamy, who turns 15 on January 26. “Then, in the third-place match I got killed by one of the guys we beat in the doubles final (Browne). It just goes to show that doubles is a completely different game.” Wayne Bryan, whose twin sons Mike and Bob won the Copper Bowl as juniors in high school and went on to become the No. 1-ranked professional doubles team in the world, offered high praise for the Palisades pair. “The Brothers were usually No. 1 in the nation their first and second year, but I don’t ever recall them winning a national title playing in a higher age group.” Next up for Bellamy and Giannini is the Fullerton Tournament in two weeks. In the spring, both boys will play for their high school on a varsity team that is not only an overwhelming favorite to repeat as City Section champion but figures to be one of the best in all of Southern California. “That should be fun,” Giannini said. “Coach [Bud] Kling hasn’t told us where we’ll be playing yet or even if we’ll be partners but I know the team as a whole should be pretty strong.”