YOUNG Border tennis star Isaac Dallinger was brought undone in the under-14s final yesterday, going down to close friend and doubles partner Georgije Babic.
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Dallinger’s normally reliable serve went missing as Babic took control of the final to win 6-2 7-5.
“I played all right, but I didn’t serve at my best which was disappointing,” Dallinger said.
“I had a lot of double faults and didn’t get many first serves in, unfortunately.”
“Georgije played really well — he was too good on the grass and kept the ball low.
“I managed to turn things around a bit in the second set — I was actually 5-4 up.
“But when Georgije got back in it, I seemed to slow right down and he had all the momentum.”
Babic pounced on that lack of confidence to secure the win.
“Isaac was in good form in the second set, Babic said.
“He was serving for the set, but I broke him and from then he played kind of negatively.”
Babic said every shot seemed to come off just the way he wanted it to.
“I was able to play aggressively and all my shots just seemed to go in,” Babic said.
“I was consistent, bad bounces didn’t affect me, my slices were good, and every shot just worked.”
Babic will next play tournaments in Melbourne before returning home to Sydney. Dallinger will contest the Victorian Junior Grasscourt Championships in Wodonga this week.
