King can make pitch with a smile

If you see Jim King doing back flips through the tennis courts at the Yuba City Health and Racquet Club in Yuba City, it has nothing to do with a new fitness program — at least I don't think so.

No, the director of the annual Yuba City Challenger professional tennis tournament has been reading the Appeal-Democrat.

OK, so it is a cheap, obvious self-promotion — but true just the same.

In fact, in these very pages today, King and other local tennis fans will take note of a very familiar name — Sam Querrey.

The 6-foot-6, 20-year-old Thousand Oaks resident won his first ATP tournament over the weekend, defeating another first-time finalist, Kevin Anderson of South Africa, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas.

For those who may not recall, Querrey was a virtual youngster when he played his way to the 2006 Sunset Moulding-Yuba City Racquet Club Challenger championship 21 months ago.

Although the tall, lanky redhead had played in some Futures and Challenger events leading up to the Yuba City tournament, it was his coming out party as a professional.

And what a party it turned out to be for the Thousand Oak High School senior.

Yep, Querrey graduated the week after he defeated Sam Warburg of Sacramento, 7-6 (6), 6-1.

Warburg, a Jesuit High product and star at Stanford, was the crowd favorite, but Querrey's boyish charm, and 130 mph serve, quickly won over the spectators.

If there was anyone not sold on him by then, when Querrey stuck around an hour or so afterward to sign autographs for the youngsters, he reeled in those as well.

That same year, Scott Lipsky and David Martin won the doubles championship. That was not as big of a surprise because the pair are the winningest doubles tandem in Challenger history.

Less expected for Lipsky and Martin, however, was a huge win over the world's best doubles team — Bob and Mike Bryan — in the SAP Open in San Jose in February.

Lipsky and Martin looked to defend their Yuba City title last June, but lost to Warburg and Harel Levy.

So what does any of this have to do with King doing back flips?

It is simple.

It is a big, "I told you so."

From the very first year King brought the Futures Tour event to Yuba City, the tennis director at the health club has been preaching one message to anyone who would listen.

That message was that some of the players fans would see on the hardcourts of the racquet club will someday be winning tournaments in the big arenas of tennis.

It is a message he counts on when he goes out into the community to raise the more than $100,000 each year to put on the Challenger event.

It is his ultimate sales pitch, and King is delivering it with a smile now.

The only question for local fans is, who will be the next Querrey playing at the Yuba City Challenger?