With both parents heavily involved in tennis, Jessica Failla said she was practically “born on the court.”
The USC Trojan, who just completed her freshman NCAA season in the Pac-12, certainly spent a lot of time Saturday on one particular court at the Panorama Recreation Centre.
Failla defeated top-seed Alexa Graham from Long Island, New York, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 in a 31Ú2-hour marathon in the semifinals of the $10,000 Encore FX Victoria International women’s tournament.
Dad Greg Failla, a former U.S. junior Davis Cup team player, also was a Trojan. He was NCAA top-10 at Long Beach State before transferring to USC and later playing pro tennis. Jessica’s mom, Katrina, is also a former pro player. Both of Jessica Failla’s parents are now tennis instructors.
Failla said that familial background and support has been crucial in her progress. The eighth seed put it to good use to defeat the favourite Graham, an 18-year-old who played in the U.S. Open junior tournament last year.
Failla, from San Diego, said consistency and aggressiveness are her best attributes as a player.
In the other semifinal Saturday, the University of Michigan Wolverines freshman Katharine Fahey from New Jersey defeated Lorraine Guillermo, three times all-conference in her NCAA career at Pepperdine, 6-1, 6-3.
The tournament began Monday with a main draw of 32, which followed earlier qualifying rounds.
Today’s final, pitting Failla against Fahey, is at 10:30 a.m. Seating is court level and admission is free.
The third-annual Victoria event is among a series of entry-level pro tournaments hosted around the world for promising young players by the International Tennis Federation. They range from the $10,000 US-level, like this event, through to $25,000, $50,000, $75,000 and $100,000 tournaments. The Victoria tournament has a commitment for three more years.
Most of the players ranked in the big-league women’s WTA have played in these ITF development tournaments.
