Matters became clear Tuesday in the boys tennis match between No. 2 Class 2A Wayzata and No. 1 2A Edina.
1. Matthew Fullerton of Edina and Collin Beduhn of Wayzata are the two best players in the state.
2. Thank goodness for tiebreakers.
Fullerton and Beduhn, both seniors, met in a match that mattered Tuesday for the first time since their epic Class 2A singles state championship match last June. Fullerton won that one, pulling out a 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 victory after more than four hours.
They squared off at No. 1 singles Tuesday at Edina's home courts at Creek Valley Elementary under bright sunshine and the low temperatures so prevalent this spring.
This time the mighty serve of 6-7 Beduhn, clocked as high as 134 mph in the past, proved to be the difference. Beduhn leaned on that power, winning his serve in all but one set and racking up 20 aces en route to a 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 victory.
Wayzata won the team competition 6-1, taking three of the four singles matches and sweeping the doubles.
Beduhn and Fullerton, close friends who practice against each other frequently and who both will play at Wisconsin next year, represent arguably the best rivalry in high school tennis of the past two decades.
"You have to go way back," longtime Edina coach Gary Aasen said. "Justin Gaard and D.J. Gaetz [in 2000 and 2001] even though they didn't play each other that many times. It helps that it's two rival teams."
The first turning point of the match came late in the first set. Both players had held serve, building a 4-4 score, when Beduhn dug in and generated four break points. Fullerton survived the first three, but Beduhn won the fourth to take a 5-4 lead. He served out the next game with two aces.
The second set was much the same, with both players holding serve early. Fullerton, changing strategies and pace, won the final three games and the set.
The match was decided with a 10-point tiebreaker, Beduhn closing out a match that could easily have run longer than three hours had they played a full third set.
That Beduhn would play at all Tuesday was in question. He was sick Monday and didn't play in Wayzata's match against Mounds View.
"Today I felt great and came to compete," he said. "I would have had to be pretty sick to miss this one. I had it circled on my calendar."
Beduhn said he was pleased to get a little payback against his friend for last year's state tournament result.
"This was was pretty big," Beduhn said. "Matt chopped me down at state last year, so to get a little revenge, it's pretty nice."
