For two-and-a-half hours last Thursday, Malibu High tennis ace Gabriel Rapoport sat patiently in a makeshift wooden shack outside the tennis courts at Oak Park High School while his two closest competitors battled in a grueling three-set semifinal match for the right to face him in the final.
He had dispatched his own opponent, Oaks Christian’s Daniel Sutman, in the other semifinal 6-0, 6-2, in less than an hour. So Rapoport, 16, spent the anxious minutes, then hours, plotting strategy and contemplating the defense of his 2012 Tri-Valley League singles tennis title.
Then came the disappointing news.
After Oak Park’s David Goulak defeated Kevin Bondar of Oaks Christian in their semifinal, Goulak informed officials and Rapoport that he was retiring from the tournament due to fatigue. To everyone’s surprise, Rapoport was officially declared the winner and champion without winning on the court.
“Of course I am disappointed,” Malibu coach Todd Montgomery said. “I wanted to see Gabe win it instead of winning by default. My biased opinion is he probably would have won anyway. I just wanted to see a great match.”
Rapoport and Goulak are close friends and practice partners, and it was Goulak, a freshman, who dealt Rapoport his only loss this season in league action.
Rapoport knows from experience playing in a three-hour match and then competing right after. Two years ago as a freshman, he lost to Bondar 6-3, 4-6, 13-11 in the TVL championship match 30 minutes after prevailing in a thriller against Mason Lewis of Oaks Christian 6-7 (4), 6-4, 12-10.
Last season Rapoport defeated Bondar in a finals re-match 1-6, 7-5, 10-7 to claim the title.
Visibly annoyed and let down at first, the junior southpaw with a strong forehand and smooth style eventually accepted the decision.
“I’m glad to have made it to CIF in individuals, but I would have liked to play,” said Rapoport with a sigh. “I’m close to these guys. They are my good friends. I hit with them. We warm up at tournaments together. It’s definitely not fun knowing that there could have been another good match.”
Despite the anti-climactic league ending, it’s been a fantastic junior season for Rapoport. He dominated TVL action with an overall singles record of 20-1, including 14 sets by a score of 6-0. His lone loss in league and for the overall season came at the hands of Goulak back on March 12 when Malibu lost in dual play, 12-6.
Four weeks later, Malibu exacted revenge by defeating the Eagles, 67-60, in games after playing to a 9-9 stalemate. It earned the Sharks a second-place tie in league with Oak Park behind league champion Oaks Christian.
Rapoport did not play Goulak the second time around due to an injury suffered by Goulak, who played doubles instead. Rapoport now moves on to the CIF Individuals on May 23 at either Cate or Carpinteria High School. He has lost in the second round in each of the past two seasons.
“I’m doing a lot better now. The last two years I haven’t done as well as I would have liked to,” Rapoport said. “I would like to get a little farther and have a good shot at doing well.”
Meanwhile, Malibu’s doubles team of sophomores Jesse Weinstein and Harrison White advanced to the TVL finals only to lose to Andrew Tennant and Gibson Parker of Oaks Christian 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
“I’m very proud of the team having Malibu in the finals for singles and doubles,” Montgomery said. “Jesse and Harrison knew they were up against a tough match. I was proud of the fight. They brought it to a third set. It was just a great way to end the league season on a high note.”
Malibu (8-4, 5-3 in league) begins CIF playoffs this week.