Maxim Zagrebelny was lying on his back during the quarterfinals of the Class 2A boys' tennis singles state tournament. It was during a break, with the Eagan sophomore leading midway through the second set after having won the first over Orono's Conner Olsen.
Zagrebelny, who lost in the first round of the state tournament as a freshman, began suffering from a stress fracture in his lower back during section play last weekend. He felt well enough early Thursday at Baseline Tennis Center, good enough to stay ahead of Olsen with long rallies and finesse shots near the net, until a forehand attempt caused him pain. So he asked for medical attention.
"Something popped," Eagan coach Scott Nichols said. "Then the trainer came out, and something really popped."
The second time, in a good way.
Zagrebelny still felt pain for the rest of the match. But the scare ended up being nothing more. The tournament's No. 5 seed went on to defeat Olsen, the No. 4 seed, 6-4, 6-2 in perhaps Thursday's most dramatic singles competition. He will face the tournament's top seed, Ben Van der sman of East Ridge, in the semifinals on Friday.
Often, when Zagrebelny didn't execute a shot, costing himself a point, he'd talk aloud to himself before the next serve. He was pumping himself up.
"The thing about tennis is it's a quick sport," Zagrebelny said. "Everything resets many times, so many times to keep battling."
He never ceded control to Olsen in the evenly contested match. Nichols said Eagan's competitive section and Zagrebelny's exposure to the state tournament last year prevented nerves from taking over, even if the back injury slowed him.
