Grupposo Clinches Junior Tennis Classic Championship Title

What was looking like a one-sided drubbing Monday afternoon for ended up being the biggest win of his young tennis career.

Down 6-3, 2-0 in the finals of the Boys 14-and-under division at the BJKNTC Junior Tennis Classic Championships in Flushing, Queens, Grupposo began using off-speed shots to throw his opponent off his game. The plan worked as he fought off numerous game points to take the second set, and held on to claim the title with a 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 win over Jeremiah Ryser of Cross River (a 10 point ‘super tiebreaker’ was used in lieu of a third set for all matches).

“In the beginning of the second set, I was still mad from losing the first set and made some stupid mistakes,” Grupposo said.

Down 1-2 in the second set, Grupposo won a five deuce game on Ryser’s serve to even the match. The momentum began to shift as Grupposo ceased engaging in hard-hitting baseline rallies with Ryser, opting to loop up high groundstrokes with low slice backhands.

“He likes driving the ball, so I wanted to hit higher shots,” Grupposo said. 

Grupposo’s best tennis in the match came at the end of the second set, when a group of 50 kids from the summer camp at the USTA National Tennis Center, where the tournament was being held, sat down to watch the match. 

The crowd, however, seemed to unnerve Ryser, as he double faulted to go down 5-4 in the second set. A pair of forehand winners from Grupposo set up a set point, and a strong first serve sent the match into the deciding super tiebreaker.

“I play better with people watching, so my game definitely got better towards the end of that set,” said Grupposo, who is an eighth grader at Laurel Springs Online Academy.

A backhand approach, followed by a volley winner gave Grupposo a 4-1 lead in the decider. Continuing to hit medium paced shots down the middle of the court and close to the lines, Ryser began to lose his timing on his forehand and commit unforced errors. A double fault from him gave the Bayport native a 9-4 lead, and he closed out the match on his third championship point.

With the win giving Grupposo his first Level 1 title, considered to be the highest rank of junior tournaments in the region, he said he expects the momentum to continue with tournaments coming up this month in Muttontown and Port Washington.

“A lot of players would say a win like this is their peak, but I think I can still go up several levels,” Grupposo said. “This is just the beginning.”