Killingsworth handles the heat, N.C. opponent

As third-seed Brooke Killingsworth and unseeded Jade Houston began girls quarterfinal play of the United States Tennis Association’s Boys and Girls Southern Closed 16’s Championships at Little Rock’s Rebsamen Tennis Center at 10 a.m. Thursday, the breeze that cut across their court carried with it a relatively cool 81 degrees, well below the low- to mid90-degree temperatures and 100-plus heat indexes of the event’s first five days.

Killingsworth of Rogers took 1 hour, 7 minutes to defeat Houston and advance to today’s semifinal round with her 6-2, 6-1 victory, but said she prefers to play with the heat on high.

“It’s definitely easier between points, not huffing and puffing as much, but I actually like the heat,” Killingsworth said. “I feel like if you’re in good shape then it’s an edge over your opponent.”

The comfortable weather didn’t sit well with Houston, either.

“I play better when it’s really hot outside because most girls can’t last as long as I can,” Houston said.

As for spectators, volun- teers, and officials, a break from the brutal and binding heat was ideal. Many players appreciated it, too, particularly those with multiple matches. In terms of safety, it aided all.

“This has been the nicest day we’ve had,” tournament director Chips Stearns said.

Weather has not affected Killingsworth’s march to the late rounds. She had a bye through the first, followed by victories of 6-1, 6-0 over Willa Rogers of Kingsport, Tenn., 6-2, 6-3 over May Nguyen of Atlanta, and 6-3, 6-0 over Jackeline Lopez of Lawrenceville, Ga., and she maintained her streak of scoring dominance against Houston of Raleigh, N.C.

Killingsworth sat in the shade Wednesday, the day before her match with Houston, out of a searing June heat, and as she watched boys play through a round-of-16 match, said she would ignore Houston’s unseeded status.

“All the players in this tournament are good,” she said. “I’m not taking anything for granted.”

Though Killingsworth broke Houston’s first two service games to lead 3-0, Houston broke back and held serve to close within 3-2.

Killingsworth led 5-0 in the second set, but her attempt to serve for a shutout was stymied by Houston’s four consecutive points, an effort that gathered Killingsworth’s attention.

“She hit the ball very hard,” Killingsworth said. “She could definitely hit the ball.”

“I just tried to not think about how fast her serve was,” Houston said. “I just thought about returning it the best that I could. I just tried to slow it down in my head.”

Killingsworth completed the match with a first-serve percentage of .800.

Next up for Killingsworth is No. 1 seed Lara Schneider of Mount Pleasant, S.C., who she will meet in today’s 10 a.m. semifinal round.

“I know Lara pretty well,” Killingsworth said. “She’s a really good player. She’s very intense, very aggressive. Our game styles are pretty similar.”

After her match with Houston, Killingsworth again spoke from cool shade, a plentiful summertime asset at Rebsamen, where towering evergreens and old hardwood provide relief from even the hottest days.

“The nicer it is, there are more people who are likely to come out,” Stearns said. “But Rebsamen does have the added benefit of having all these trees. There aren’t a lot of facilities like this. Most are concrete jungles. They can put more courts out there because it’s harder to build around trees. There aren’t many left like this one, where there’s a lot of green, a lot of trees, a lot of shade.”