Robert Yim of Irvine outlasted UCLA’s Clay Thompson, 21-16, to capture the fifth annual Shotgun 21 tournament, presented by www.10sballs.com, on Sunday at the Palisades Tennis Center. Yim seemed to have a slight disadvantage, considering his semifinal match had just ended and Thompson had considerable time to rest after his, but adrenaline and momentum carried the day for the 27-year-old. ‘Playing that many baseline points with quality players is tiring, but I got through it,’ said Yim. ‘I played Thompson about four or five years ago, so I kind of had an idea of how he played.’ Yim played at UCLA and then professionally for a few years before an injury derailed him, and he now teaches at Advantage Tennis Academy in Irvine. He is originally from Glendale. Meanwhile, Thompson, a junior at UCLA who used to train at the Palisades Tennis Center, was involved in a number of thrilling matches throughout the day, including a tight quarterfinals affair against Palisadian TJ Pura. Thompson prevailed against Pura, 21-17, then edged Zack Fleishman, 21-20, in the semifinals. Yim defeated Prakash Amrittaj in the semifinals. ’I came to play this event because of the high level of tennis that’s here right next door [for me],’ said Pura, a senior at Brentwood School. He added jokingly, ‘Clay and I go back to my freshman year and he beat me when he was at Crossroads, so hopefully I’ll get him back sometime.’ Pura, Brentwood’s top player, has committed to Duke University in the fall of 2013. The rules of the Shotgun 21 event are somewhat quirky but keep fans entertained. The first player to 21 wins, and there is no serving, providing the ultimate equalizer as players instead hit ground strokes to one another. There are also no lets, and if games are tied at 20, matches become sudden death. Other entertaining matches on the day included Palisadian Roscoe Bellamy, 12, nearly pulling off a major upset of McKenzie McDonald, 17, who was a semifinalist at the Australian Open Juniors last year. Bellamy took McDonald right down to the wire before falling, 21-19. Elsewhere, pro player Dennis Mkrtchian rallied from 8-0 to top Tim Kpulun, 21-20. Last year, the tournament was won by British pro Alex Bogdanovic, who outlasted American ATP tour player Michael Russell, 21-18. Steve Bellamy, who operates the Palisades Tennis Center, was the court announcer and the tournament chairman.
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