Nine-year-old wins 12-under tennis tournament

It was no surprise that Anastasia Nefedova left Dothan as the winner of the Southern Open 12-under championships. After all, the Palm Harbor, Fla., native was the top seed.

But, she was only nine years old and easily handled several older opponents, most three years older, until running into trouble with third-seeded Katherine Butler of Charlotte, N.C. Butler won the first set in a tiebreaker, but Nefedova won 6-2 and 6-3 to close out the match at Westgate Tennis Center.

“I fight,” Nefedova said. “I pulled myself together and started winning.”

The match took two hours and 34 minutes. Nefedova hadn’t lost a set in the tournament until she lost the first one against Butler, where Butler came back from a 4-1 deficit to win that set.

“(Butler) played tougher and made less mistakes,” Nefedova said.

Butler had beaten Dothan’s Summer Collins in the semifinals.

Nefedova said she routinely plays against older players. Her father, Eugene, said her national ranking in the 12-under division is 38, though it could rise into the top 20 after this win.

Mautner wins boys title: Kyle Mautner will take the boys championship on the long road back to Greenwich, Conn.

The left-hander came into the tournament unseeded, but knocked off fourth-seeded Andy Martinez of Atlanta 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday.

Mautner beat top-seeded Parker Marshall in the quarterfinals and No. 3 Ezequiel Cerrini in the semifinals. He was never challenged in the tournament, winning every set.

“I just started playing a lot of tournaments in March, so I haven’t gotten my ranking down nationally,” Mautner said. “I just came in here. No one knew me, and I just won it.”

Unlike most Dothan residents, Mautner enjoyed the heat and humidity. He took advantage of Martinez’s frustrations.

“I just had to grind the kid down,” Mautner said. “I kept the ball in play and moved him around. I started hitting the ball, keeping it consistent and waiting for him to break down.”