MLYNARIK SHOWS HE CAN STILL PLAY FORMER ATP PLAYER DEFEATS QUERREY IN THREE SETS IN OJAI MEN'S FINAL.

Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News

OJAI - Zbynek Mlynarik might be in the twilight of his tennis career, but the 29-year-old Chatsworth resident showed one of the United States' most talented teenagers that he still has plenty of big serves, well-placed volleys and forehand winners left in his arsenal.

Mlynarik, a native of the Czech Republic who played professionally for nearly a decade before three operations on his right ankle forced him to stop competing in ATP events in October, entered the men's open championships at the 106th annual Ojai Valley Tournament with a No. 688 world ranking and few expectations.

He concluded a brilliant four-day run with a three-set victory Sunday over Thousand Oaks High senior Sam Querrey, the world's 358th-ranked player.

After being eliminated in the first round of the inaugural $50,000 Challenger of Santa Clarita three weeks ago, Mlynarik won five consecutive matches - capped with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 triumph over the top-seeded Querrey at Libbey Park - to receive the $4,000 winner's prize.

"I played my last tournament professionally in October, so I'm basically retired," said Mlynarik, who broke Querrey threetimes in the final set.

"Before when I played tennis, it was for survival, now it's for pure enjoyment. If you don't win on the tour, you don't live (comfortably). Now, I enjoy the fact that I don't have to train like (Sam).

"But I thought we both played very well. It was a great match. I thought we both had some spectacular shots."

Querrey, 18, who lost for only the fourth time in 18 career singles matches at Ojai, did the majority of his shot-making in the second set. But after breaking Mlynarik in the opening game of the third, Querrey's first-serve percentage dwindled and the savvy veteran took advantage of several second-serve opportunities.

"If you lose focus for a moment or if you play one bad game and go down a break, that can be the difference," said Querrey, who dropped a 6-2, 6-2 decision later Sunday to Nicholas Rainey and Brian Wilson in the men's open doubles final with partner and personal coach Grant Doyle.

"It seems like I've been going three sets a lot lately and I've had some trouble closing out matches."

Querrey's loss was one of many setbacks by former area standouts in championship matches Sunday, as USC freshman Amanda Fink (Calabasas High) lost in the Pac-10 women's final and Glendale resident Maureen Diaz - a former USC standout - was defeated in the women's open final.

Aside from Mlynarik, the only other title won by an area player came from 2003 Daily News All-Area Girls' Player of the Year Daron Moore, who teamed with former three-time NCAA champion Amy Jensen to capture the women's open doubles championship.

Moore, who led Campbell Hall of North Hollywood to a Southern Section Div. III title in 2003, atoned for losses in singles finals at Ojai in 2000 and 2004 to contribute to a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Laguna Beach's Lyndsay Kinstler and Ojai's Kasenia Milevskaya.

"I never dreamed I'd be back in Ojai," said Moore, who was forced to sit out a year after transferring from Tennessee to Cal. "I obviously love this tournament. There's something great about this place.

"When I was approached about playing with Amy, I said, `That's the best offer I've gotten in a long time.' I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot."

Fink, ranked eighth in the country, suffered a 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 setback to No. 10 Suzi Fodor of Cal in a 2 1/2-hour battle. Diaz lost 6-3, 6-1 to the 15-year-old Milevskaya, who attends the Ojai-based Weil Tennis Academy.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Zbynek Mlynarik of Chatsworth returns a shot against Thousand Oaks' Sam Querrey in the men's open championship at the 106th annual Ojai Valley Tournament. Mlynarik, a former ATP player, won 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.

(2) USC's Amanda Fink, a former Calabasas High standout, agonizes over a missed shot in the women's Pac-10 final.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer