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Kim Enjoys the Spotlight

Just how wide-eyed was former All-Met Alex Kim over his first ATP tour event?

When the 18-year-old walked into the media room after his 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 loss to veteran Bryan Shelton on the stadium court of the William H.G. FitzGerald tennis center in the first round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on Monday, he paused and said, "Wow, a press conference."

Despite the unfamiliar environs, Kim — who said he wasn't nervous until just as the match began — held his own against the eight-year tour veteran. Kim excited the crowd with several well-placed winners as he broke Shelton's serve after having his own serve broken to force a first-set tiebreaker.

"I was a little surprised he broke back," said Shelton, who conceded that Kim's return game made him work a little harder on his serve. "His main strength is his quickness. He was able to get to some balls I didn't think he'd get to."

In the second set, Shelton broke Kim's serve twice and he needed just 30 minutes to close out the match.

Afterward, the 5-foot-7, 140-pound Kim was the first to point out the areas of his game that need improvement as he prepares to play for Stanford University in the fall.

"It was glaring that my serve is the weakest part of my game," said Kim, who never topped 100 mph on his serve while Shelton's reached 115 mph more than once. "It's something I definitely need to work on."

To reach the main draw of this tournament, Kim — who was the 1995 All-Met Player of the Year in his sophomore year at Churchill High School in Potomac, Md. — had to win six matches in a tournament that included almost 200 players.

At Stanford, Kim will join another former All-Met, Paul Goldstein, who also has played in the main draw at this tournament after winning the wild-card challenge tournament. This year, Goldstein, who will play a doubles match Tuesday night, fell just short of reaching the main singles draw through the professional qualifying draw.

Goldstein had some valuable advice for his future teammate. "Paul and I are pretty close ... he told me to move my feet early to try to get over the nerves a little," Kim said. "It was definitely good advice."

Note: Goldstein still could reach the tournament's main draw. Should one of the players still waiting to play a first-round match Tuesday withdraw, Goldstein is considered the first "Lucky Loser" from the qualifying draw to fill the space.

© Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company

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