Melandro, Shah Repeat As Nassau County Doubles Champions
They had been there before.
A year ago, Syosset’s Devan Melandro & Nikhil Shah came back from a set down to win the Nassau County Doubles Championship. So, when the duo found themselves in the same position on Sunday, there was no panic.
“We told ourselves we could do it, we did it last year,” said Shah. “In the first set we were a point or two away in every game, and lost 8-6 in the tiebreaker, so we knew we were right there.”
The two made some adjustments heading into the second set, making sure to mix up their pace and give Russell Notaris & Bryan Bin of Friends Academy more variety. The plan worked, and Melandro & Shah leaned on their experience from last year to win their second straight county title, coming back to win 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4.
“I felt like on the important points were there, but I was horrible in the first set, missing returns and easy volleys. I did a better job of that in the second set, and Nikki was amazing on serve all day, and it came down to consistency,” said Melandro. “At 4-4 in the third set, those two games was where we played our best. It was all about staying focused and being mentally tough.”
Melandro & Shah will now look to build on this victory as they prepare for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Championships, which are held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center from Friday, May 31 through Sunday, June 2.
Joining them at States will be Notaris & Bin, as well as Jericho’s Brian Berger & Anish Pylla who finished in third place with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Manhasset’s Jairus Bo & Zakaria Ahmed.
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