Wissahickon’s Tran, Makwana capture SOL American Doubles title

UPPER DUBLIN >> Wissahickon’s Andrew Tran and Vidit Makwana have rapidly developed a closeness on the court.

“It’s a lot more fun, a lot more camaraderie there,” Tran said of playing doubles for the first time. “It’s fun to just be out there with a friend, just working together.”

“They’re both smart,” Trojans coach Mark Daniels said of the duo. “They never give up. They’re just tenacious as far as mental toughness. They’re gonna fight until the last point no matter what. And that makes a difference.”

Tran and Makwana rallied back from a first-set loss to prevail 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 against top-seeded Andrew Duan and Chris Choo of Upper Dublin on Saturday, as Tran and Makwana — known around the way as “gentlemen scholars” — captured the Suburban One League American Conference title.

“It’s a big one,” Makwana said of the finals victory, held at the Upper Dublin Sports Center. “It was tough. (Duan and Choo) had done really well in the previous rounds and were the No. 1 seed.”

Duan and Choo advanced into the finals by virtue of a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Abington’s Alex Yarnoff and Sam Sharp in the semis. Meanwhile, Tran and Makwana, seeded third, were busy battling past second-seeded Isaac Rockower and Alex Rockower of Abington 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in a thriller.

Duan and Choo controlled things early in the final until Tran, also the SOL American Singles Champion, turned it on in the second set.

“Andrew really rose to the occasion towards the end of the second set,” Daniels said. “He hit two or three phenomenal shots and it just turned the tide.”

Tran and Makwana were at their best from there on.

“We just got the momentum back,” Makwana said. “(Upper Dublin) had it in the first set and then we took it in the second set. The first game of the third set really pushed us over the edge.”

And they may just be getting started.

Said Tran: “Hopefully, we can make a good run at districts.

“Coming into this doubles tournament, I didn’t really know what to expect,” he said. “This is my first time playing doubles so I just wanted to have a good experience with Vidit. We’re both seniors so this is our last chance.”

A tight tandem on the court, Tran will head to Johns Hopkins University next year while Makwana is about 30 minutes away at The University of Maryland.