A sturdy and dominant display by the Burbank High boys’ doubles squad saw them sweep visiting Hoover which helped catapult the Bulldogs to a 14-4 victory in a Pacific League match on Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile the Burbank singles, No. 1, junior Sid Denduluri, No. 2, freshman Yash Desai and No. 3, sophomore Hakop Kerimyan, played well, capturing five of the nine points.
The Bulldogs now have two matches under their belt, both victories, including a 10-8 triumph over Glendale.
The Tornadoes haven’t been as fortunate, losing three, as Burroughs won 13-5 and Crescenta Valley was also victorious, 15-3.
Burbank’s No. 1 duo, senior Ethan Lee and sophomore Abasi Abukusumo knocked off Hoover’s No. 1, sophomore Kevin Nazarian and sophomore Benji Choi 6-0.
Lee/Abukusumo then defeated No. 2, junior George Sakellariou and freshman Eric Chakhoyan 6-0.
The duo also drilled Hoover’s No. 3, freshman Haik Aslanyan and freshman Edwin Barseghian 6-0.
At No. 2, junior Parker Katz and junior Dominic Sumera, were highly effective versus the same pairs, faring 6-2, 6-0, 6-0.
The Bulldogs’ No. 3 duo, senior Greg Gevojanyan and junior Daniel Khrlobian, went 6-1, 6-4, 6-0, over the same Hoover teams.
Denduluri, who when on his game, is a tough nut to crack, seemed strangely off from the outset.
At several junctures, Denduluri made unforced hitting errors and offered a less than accurate first serve, which forced a weaker second serve.
“For the one’s I played, I just was overthinking it,” Denduluri said of the two setbacks. “With my skill set, I should have been able to beat both of them.”
Denduluri went on: “I’m a little bit under the weather right now, I have a sore throat, but that’s not the full reason. I went out to bad starts in both games. That got into my head. Once you get off to a bad start, you feel the pressure, so you say to yourself, I got off to a bad start, so I have to really pick it up. That got to me. I was overthinking every ground stroke, every serve,” he noted.
Denduluri said his service and forehand are his bread and butter.
“Usually I have a great serve. I can rely on my first serve. But I got almost none in,” he pointed out. “My serve is much better. I was so petrified of double faulting.”
Hoover freshman, No. 1 Edward Markosian defeated Denduluri 6-2 and No. 3, senior Anthony Ghadimi survived 6-4.
Denduluri’s 6-0 victory came when sophomore Vahe Haleblian forfeited due to an injured ankle.
Desai defeated Haleblian 6-3 and Ghadimi 6-2, but Markosian prevailed 6-2. Kerimyan staved off Markosian 6-3, and Haleblian 5-2 (retired with the ankle injury) while Ghadimi won 6-4.
