MALIBU, Calif. — Capping off his successful run at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association West Sectionals tournament, Pepperdine men's tennis junior Maxi Homberg won the singles title with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Nevada's Youssef Kadiri on Sunday.
Homberg never lost a break point. His backhand flummoxed Kadiri throughout the title-winning match, which featured mostly short rallies and dominant service games from the Pepperdine junior. Already making history as the first Nevada men's tennis player to qualify for NCAAs, Kadiri moved like a player who needed to win multiple three-set matches to reach Sunday's championship. To no surprise, Homberg prevailed in nearly all of the longer rallies.
The first set was played on serve until the seventh game, yet both players needed to win deuce points to get there. Kadiri saved a break point in the third game to hold for a 2-1 lead, then Homberg won a long deuce point with several backhands to keep the match on serve. Piecing together his best service game of the set, Homberg then capped off a love hold with an ace in the sixth game.
Kadiri won the first point of the seventh game and both players traded points until the Nevada senior took a 40-30 lead. But on Kadiri's second serve on the first set point, Homberg forced a deciding point with his winner in the ad-side doubles alley. Homberg then dealt the first blow by advancing to the net on a long rally, before breaking Kadiri on a series of forehand winners.
Up 4-3, Homberg eventually consolidated the break in the eighth game by winning two long points late in the eighth game. He then broke Kadiri for the set in the ninth when the Wolf Pack senior double-faulted on set point.
Both players held serve to open the second set, but Homberg quickly seized control of the match in the third game. A series of Homberg backhands on deuce point broke Kadiri, then the Pepperdine junior consolidated the break with a love hold in the fifth game. From that point forward, the match featured very little drama as Homberg broke Kadiri one final time before serving out the match in his 6-3, 6-1 championship victory.
Homberg and Kadiri will compete at the NCAA Singles Championships later this month. The tournament runs from Nov. 19-24 at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Homberg's first-round opponent will be determined in the coming weeks.
RESULTS
Singles Finals
#103
Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Youssef Kadiri (UNR), 6-3, 6-1
