Teaching Pro Tennis Tournament : Fedderly Discovers They Weren’t Saving the Best for Last

Mike Fedderly spends at least 50 hours a week going over the fundamentals with his students at the Big Canyon Tennis Club in Newport Beach.

But during his second-round match of the Reebok Teaching Pro Classic at the Lindborg Racquet Club in Huntington Beach Wednesday, Fedderly, the No. 1-seeded player, almost forgot one of the most basic rules of the game: never underestimate your opponent.

Unseeded Eric Styrmoe of Tucson, showing a tremendous serve and powerful overhead, gave Fedderly a scare before losing, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

“I’d say that was the final match of the tournament,” said Fedderly, who figured the competition wasn’t going to get any better.

Fedderly was as surprised as anyone when he learned that Styrmoe had won the tournament in 1985.

“The guy won the thing two years ago and isn’t even seeded,” he said. “How come they (tournament organizers) didn’t know it?”

Tournament director Rick Waring said the players were seeded according to their performance in local and California tournaments only, and that he was aware of Styrmoe’s background.

“Basically, he (Styrmoe) was an unknown player to us,” Waring said. “All our other seeds are widely known. But he hasn’t played any local tournaments. It’s definitely a lesson learned for the future.”

And a lesson learned for Fedderly. Actually, one of many lessons.

“I was too tentative in the first set,” Fedderly said. “I should’ve come in more, I should’ve attacked more, and I should’ve won the first set. I must be getting old.”

Fedderly, 27, played at Corona del Mar High School from 1975-1977, leading the Sea Kings to two Southern Section 4-A championships. At Orange Coast College, Fedderly won the Ojai Tournament in 1979, then accepted a scholarship to Northeast Louisiana where he played No. 1 singles.

For two years after college, Fedderly played satellite tournaments throughout Europe, South America, South Africa, and the Far East. Last year, Fedderly played doubles in Mexico with the man who fills Boris Becker’s nightmares: Peter Doohan.

But after tiring of two years of constant travel, Fedderly returned to Newport Beach to give lessons and regain his enthusiasm.

“Like most guys, I got burned out on living out of a suitcase,” Fedderly said. “Now I teach and teach, but I think I’m ready to get back. I’m starting to make the time again. And get myself in shape again.”

If his second-round match was any indication, Fedderly has a pretty fair base from which to start. Though Styrmoe’s serve overpowered him several times, Fedderly maintained an edge with his keen net play.

“It was amazing that I pulled it off today, huh?” Fedderly said. “If I can get through that I think, well, I better not say it.”

Yes, it would be better not say anything about his next opponent, Hugh Stratman of Santa Barbara, who Fedderly will meet in a third-round match at 1:30 today.

Stratman’s not seeded either.