Sterling run ends in final

As Virginia senior Michael Shabaz stood at mid-court accepting his runner’s-up check on Sunday afternoon at the Boar’s Head Sports Club, he managed to crack a joke. “Looking at this check, I wish I could donate it to something — like tonight at Trinity or Boylan Heights,” said Shabaz, referring to the nightspots on the Corner.

Instead, Shabaz’ $4,200 in prize money gets kicked back to the USTA. That is, unless Shabaz were to suddenly turn professional, which is something that UVa coach Brian Boland isn’t about to let happen — not after the way Shabaz played all week in the Virginia National Bank Men’s Tennis Championships.

Shabaz lost in the finals of the tournament to Robert Kendrick, but the result doesn’t come close to taking any of the luster off his play in the event. Shabaz dropped just one set en route to winning seven straight matches before losing to Kendrick, 6-2, 6-3.

“It was one of those things where you win seven in a row — it was like, ‘Why not go for eight?’” Shabaz said. “But he played well. He outplayed me. He served well and I think he hit every line possible and made it tough for me. And I didn’t serve as well as I needed to.”

Shabaz, who was playing as an amateur wild card, never got into much of a rhythm against the hard-serving Kendrick.

In the first set, Kendrick broke Shabaz for a 4-2 lead. In the very next game, Shabaz had a chance to break right back, but couldn’t capitalize on two break-point chances.

Kendrick broke Shabaz at the same point in the second set, this time at love. Shabaz then grew frustrated with some lines calls, tossing his racket at one point.

In the post-match ceremonies, Shabaz joked with Kendrick about some of the calls. “You were right on a few of them,” Kendrick responded.

Kendrick believes Shabaz has a pretty good future ahead.

“It’s tough out here [on the tour], but he really beat some great players,” Kendrick said. “[Kei] Nishikori has been playing unbelievable tennis. Beating him and [Chris] Guccione — who is very frustrating to play — is a great week.

“If he’s beating guys like that, he definitely has a great career in front of him.”

The 143rd-ranked Kendrick, who also competed in the doubles final with Donald Young — the pair defeated No. 4 seed Ryler Deheart and Pierre-Ludovic Duclos, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) — expects his VNB singles title to move him up about 20 or so spots in the rankings.

“I think I’m playing the best tennis of my career,” said Kendrick, who pocketed $8,750 in prize money on the day. “I want to get back into the top 100 pretty soon and get back to the bigger [events].

“I’ve been playing great since Wimbledon. I just want to keep it going.”

After the match, VNB CEO and president Glenn Rust said that he hopes to make the event bigger next year. “We’re going to try and move this tournament up to the next level,” Rust told the crowd, “so we need your help.”

With UVa consistently producing one of the top tennis programs in the country, Rust definitely has Boland’s support. Eleven of Boland’s players competed in this year’s event. Clearly, Shabaz reaped the most benefits.

“It was a tremendous experience for him — exactly what he needs to move forward with his career,” Boland said. “Not only for the rest of his Virginia career, but to give him experience as he transitions into his professional career in June.

“If you look at the tournament as a whole, he played some unbelievable tennis.”