East Hampton’s Astilean Wins Suffolk County Quarterfinal Match

Third time’s a charm for East Hampton senior Max Astilean.

After making it to the Suffolk County singles tournament quarterfinals each of the last two seasons, the senior finally got over the hump this time around with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 win over Comsewogue’s Angelo Guzman on Monday. The victory also guarantees Astilean a spot in the state tennis tournament, beginning June 2 at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing.

Clawing his way back from being down 5-3 in the first set made the win even more meaningful for the Bonackers standout, who also avenged a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Guzman during the regular season last year.

“I just thought to myself: ‘This could be my last match here, so let’s go out swinging,’” Astilean said. “That mentality helped me stay loose and play my game, and getting that first set helped me continue on to the second with a lot more confidence.”

The senior served up a monstrous ace to knot the first at 5-5, but Guzman countered with one of his own to take a 30-15 lead on his way to earning the next point. Again, Astilean’s powerful serve proved difficult for his Comsewogue challenger to counter, as he missed each of his returns to once again level things out. Astilean went up 5-0 to start tiebreak before earning the first-set win.

“That was a really good match,” East Hampton head coach Kevin McConville said. “His serve is so very important to his success. He’s got to use it to get out of trouble, and he did exactly that.”

Astilean was able to hit cruise control in the second by utilizing an all-court game he’s spent years improving.

The senior went on to face top-seeded Eddie Liao — who won the tournament last year as a freshman — in the semifinals and lost, 6-1, 6-1. He was the first to take a game from the Commack star.

“I played decent, but Eddie is such an amazing player that you have to be playing on top of your game to even have a chance,” Astilean said.

“He’s really, really impressive,” McConville added of Liao. “He does everything I want my guys to do.”

Liao and Astilean were actually the only two singles players to come to the net the entire tournament. Astilean ended up automatically finishing third with his consolation match opponent bowing out due to a medical reason. The senior said he’s already eagerly awaiting the chance to compete with some of New York’s finest.

“It’s like a ton of weight just came right off my shoulders,” Astilean said. “I’m very excited to have the opportunity to play states this year.”

Astilean’s coach was beaming with satisfaction seeing what his tennis standout has been able to achieve.

“He’s a special one to me, and I’m very, very proud of him,” McConville said. “He’s trying to be a great tennis player the hard way, which is trying to do everything well, instead of just forehands and backhands at the baseline, so you see him come to the net a lot more. It’s hard when you’re developing your all-court game with all those different weapons. That’s why when he’s on, he really can beat anybody.”