AJAI VALLEY TENNIS TOURNEY: MAMIIT STARTS SLOW, FINISHES STRONG FORMER USC PLAYER WINS MEN'S OPEN FINAL.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

OJAI - Cecil Mamiit was flipping through television channels Saturday night when he stumbled upon ``The Karate Kid.''

Mamiit took a little advice from the popular 1980s flick, which showcased the merits of concentration. Mamiit needed every bit of that inspiration after falling two games behind in the first set of the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament men's open final Sunday.

Mamiit captured four consecutive games and beat Lester Cook of Sherman Oaks 6-3, 6-2 to earn $2,250.

Mamiit, a Los Angeles native who attended USC in 1996 and wore a USC cap, double-faulted on the first point en route to defeats in the first two games. He took control after winning the third game with an ace.

``I was so hyper,'' Mamiit said. ``I was nervous in the sense that I wanted to do so well. I was kind of rushed and playing lights out. Out on the (ATP) Tour, it's more of a nervousness like, `Shoot, I've got to play this guy.' I was eager to play.''

Cook was eager to make a name for himself. He celebrated his 21st birthday Sunday but it wasn't as joyous as his 16th, on which he won the 16s singles title at Ojai. Cook nonetheless was happy for the $1,000 paycheck as runner-up, joking that he ought to take a late flight to Las Vegas if not for his dinner plans.

Cook teamed later Sunday with Derek Rostagno, a partner he chose the night before the tournament began, to win the men's doubles final over Grant Doyle and tournament darling Sam Querrey of Thousand Oaks 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4.

Cook, who turned pro this year, is headed to Venezuela for tournaments the next few weeks. Mamiit, once ranked as high as 72nd on the ATP Tour, will try to qualify for ATP events.

Cook possesses an impressive one-handed backhand he used for several winners, but Mamiit had him running all over the baseline. Cook started the match by breaking Mamiit's serve.

``It was really early, and I knew I had to take care of my serve,'' Cook said. ``If I could've, it's a totally different match.''

The women's open singles final was over before it started. Amanda Fink, a Calabasas High product, withdrew Sunday morning with a sprained right ankle she said she suffered in her doubles match Saturday. The ankle was swollen Saturday night, and she decided she couldn't play after warming up Sunday morning with Jessica Nguyen of Chatsworth, who won the title.

``It's disappointing because I always look forward to playing Jessica,'' Fink said. ``Our matches are always really good. We live about 10 minutes from each other, and we know each other's games really well.''

Nguyen and Fink teamed to reach the doubles final but withdrew, giving the championship to Maureen Diaz of Glendale and Anita Loyola of Tucson, Ariz.

In the Pac-10 women's singles final, USC freshman Nicole Leimbach scored a 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 victory over Stanford's Alice Barnes. The first game was close, but Leimbach was in charge after that.

``I felt I should've won the first set, being up and serving for it,'' Leimbach said. ``But I feel good. Winning always helps.''

In the Pac-10 men's singles final, Stanford's Sam Warburg edged Washington's Alex Vlaski 7-5, 7-5.

Jill Painter, [phone]

jill.painter(at)dailynews.com