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 When
Melissa Gurney was eight, she played a tennis match against seven-year-old Stephanie Rehe
on a public court in Redlands (near San Bernardino).
A rivalry developed between the two tennis prodigies who would play
each other nearly 30 times over the next nine years in junior tournaments.
Rehe earned titles in the 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s, often playing Gurney
in the finals.
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| Stephanie Rehe
(right) and Melissa Gurney |
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The first professional match between
these two longtime rivals came in the 1986 finals of the $75,000
Virginia Slims of San Diego. The 17-year-old Gurney scored a 6-2,
6-4 over Rehe, the tournament's second seed, before 1,512 at the
Hilton Beach and Tennis Resort.
After losing the first set, Rehe fell behind 4-0 in the second before staging
a rally to knot the score at 4-4. However, Rehe committed three backhand errors to lose
serve and fall behind 4-5.
Earlier in the week, Gurney suffered a back strain in practice, but she showed no ill effects
in the final as she served out the match.
Gurney, who came into the event ranked 73 in the world, took advantage of eight service
breaks and Rehe's 46 unforced errors. She received $13,000 for her victory.
The fourth-seeded team of Beth Herr and Alycia Moulton defeated the top-seeded duo of Rosalyn
Fairbank and Elise Burgin, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
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