Becker captures boys title

MANCHESTER – Philipp Becker fell to the ground.

Having just won the New Hampshire high school boys tennis singles tournament, Becker collapsed in elation. But he wasn’t down for long.

Becker, a German exchange student who attended Salem High School this school year, approached the net, a smile on his face and his arms stretched wide. He leaned across to embrace his opponent, Alex Burbine of Londonderry, and the two smiled as they left the court at Southern New Hampshire University together.

While the play during Friday’s championship match – which Becker won in two sets, 7-5, 6-3 – was intense, the scene afterward was that of two friends enjoying the result of another competitive match.

“We know each other well,” Becker said.

It was the third time the two have meet this season in a match of significance, having played in the regular season, the playoffs and finally the singles tournament. But Becker and Burbine have seen plenty of each other on the court over the course of this season.

After Becker won 8-3 in their regular season match, the two exchanged contact information and began practicing against each other.

“We’ve been really close,” Becker said. “He’s a nice guy. We started talking and the chemistry fit. We respect each other.”

“The first time, we got along great,” Burbine said. “I could tell, I don’t there was something, but I could tell that we were going to be friends. We kept talking and set up times to hit. He’s one of the great players in New Hampshire. I figured I might as well hit with a kid who is a lot better than me, make me better.”

Knowing that they’d likely get to play again, Burbine not only practiced with Becker, but studied his game, and for a while on Friday, it worked to his advantage.

“The first time I played him, I just couldn’t believe the topspin he produces, especially on his forehand,” Burbine said. “It comes up and hits you just behind the base line and that allows him to come in closer to the net to finish out a point easier. To counter that, what I had to do was be comfortable playing five or six feet behind the base line. That’s where his ball was going to settle down into my strike zone.”

That switch in style helped Burbine take a 3-0 lead in the first set.

“Alex gave me some trouble,” Becker said. “At the beginning, I had trouble keeping the ball in play and he did a good job of attacking. After that, I figured out that I had to play high on the backhand.”

Becker came back to take a 4-3 lead, and the two traded games until it was tied at 5 before Becker was able to take the final two games to win the first set.

“The first set, I came out hitting heavy topspin off his balls and pushing him back,” Burbine said. “He didn’t know what to do. He adjusted and started taking my balls off the rise.”

Becker took a 3-1 lead in the second set but Burbine closed the gap to 3-2. After Becker won three more in a row to make it 5-2, Burbine stayed alive by winning another game. But the Londonderry junior was unable to break serve and Becker won the second set to take the match.

“It’s amazing,” Becker said. “It’s all I wanted this season.”

For Burbine, it’s the second straight year he’s finished as the runner-up. As a freshman, he lost in the first round to Exeter’s Alex Lazerowich, who went on to win the tournament. A year ago, he fell in the final to Con-Val’s Connor Hyde.

“My third year, and some German exchange student shows up …,” Burbine joked with Becker laughing beside him. “You know, he’s a great player and a great guy. That definitely helps the loss. I like him and I know he deserves it and it means something to him. You could get some kid who comes in and it’s just another tournament. He’s wanted it, I can tell. That makes it a little easier. If I was a senior, I don’t know.”

Becker, who is from the city of Dortmund in western Germany, returns home with the hope that his strong season will catch the eye of some colleges. He also takes with him two championships, having been a part of Salem’s Division I football title last fall.

“That was a really great experience, never having played football before,” he said. “I didn’t know what a first down was. (It took) one practice.”

Becker is the first tennis player from Salem to win the boys title, and just the fourth champion from a Class L school since 1991.