Doubles partners square off in singles at Texas Grand Slam

Peggy Porter's doubles partner gave the No. 1 seed quite a scouting report on her opponent for Tuesday's quarterfinal match in Girls 18 Singles at the Capsher Texas Grand Slam.

"She was joking with me," Porter said. "She told me that she saw my opponent play, and she was no good, that I had it made."

Jokes aside, Makenzie Craft had a rare insight into the playing ability of the other quarterfinalist. It was Craft, who plays doubles with Porter.

The friends played against each other on a hot, windy afternoon at Texas A&M's Mitchell Tennis Center. Porter took a 6-2, 6-2 victory and both players turned their attention to their doubles semifinal scheduled to start four hours later.

The top seeds claimed a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Crystal Leung and Jane Pinkston, earning a berth in the championship match at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

"We were talking about doubles right after our match," Porter said. "We'll be fine. Makenzie's not a sore loser at all. She's a great sport."

Porter and Craft did not produce great tennis Tuesday. Double faults and unforced errors prevented the friends from pushing each other to a high level.

"We both did not come out with our games today," Craft said. "We both wish we would have played better."

Porter has been hard on the Craft family lately. On Sunday she beat Makenzie's sister Madison in the round of 16 by a score of 6-3, 6-0. Makenzie laughed when asked whether Porter might be invited to spend time with the Craft family during the holidays.

"She's our friend," Craft said. "It's so much bigger than this tournament. Our relationship is past that. We'll be fine. I bet we'll go home and practice with each other after this tournament."

Both Porter and Craft are "playing up" at the Grand Slam, competing in a higher age group than required. Porter is a 15-year-old from Dallas who will be a sophomore at Spring Creek High School in the fall. Craft, a 16-year-old home schooler from Frisco, is going into her junior year.

Porter also played in Girls 18 last year at the Grand Slam, winning four matches before falling in the quarterfinal round.

Craft was the No. 1 seed in Girls 16 last year. She dropped her second match to an unseeded player, then won seven consecutive matches to take the consolation title.

Tuesday's quarterfinal didn't have the intrigue of the Williams sisters playing each other in a Wimbledon final, but it was out of the ordinary. The novelty showed during a long opening game when Porter double-faulted twice and struggled with her serve before holding.

"A lot of it was nerves and I just changed my stance on my serve, so it takes a while for me to get adjusted in the beginning," Porter said. "We were both really nervous at the start, knowing we were going to have to play together later."

Porter took control as she settled into her service rhythm. She rolled through the first set then grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second set before Craft made a push of her own.

Craft won the next two games, picking up her play while Porter's service problems resurfaced.

"I just figured that I had played so poorly that there was only one direction that my game could go, and that was up," Craft said. "I tried to let some of the stress go and not put so much pressure on myself. I stepped it up a little bit earlier than she did, but she also started to play a little better, and then we leveled out again."

There were a few good rallies as Porter responded to the challenge with a stretch of steady play to win the last four games.

"She changed the pace she was putting on the ball and she was taking charge more," Porter said. "I had to adjust to that. I relaxed a lot and started playing with more confidence and playing more aggressively."

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NOTES -- College Station's Frankie Colunga won a pair of consolation matches in Boys 16 Singles on Tuesday, beating Peter Lanasa 6-4, 6-0 in the morning and Peter Leung in the afternoon. Colunga will play at the Mitchell Center at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. ... In Girls 12 Singles, Bryan's Jacy Smith dropped her third-round match to No. 4 seed Hannah Sutton 6-2, 6-2. Smith will enter the consolation bracket to face Isabelle Bergman of Arlington at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday at the A&M intramural courts.