Substance over style

By Dave Denicke

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Frustrated at the result of the point, a player angrily swings
at the air with his racquet, venting his frustration. He yells at
himself in disbelief that he is losing the match.

On the other side of the net, UCLA senior co-captain Brandon
Kramer silently goes about his business, unaffected.

Kramer hustles down loose balls, wearing down opponents one shot
at a time. He changes strategy like a dirty pair of socks,
constantly mixing up his style of play.

This bothers opponents, to say the least.

“When you play Brandon Kramer, it’s a pain in the
ass,” teammate Chris Sands said. “To beat him,
you’re going to have to go out there and scrap. He never
gives up a match and throws in the towel. Even when guys are
winning, they know they’re going to have to work twice as
hard just to pull it out.”

But for all the small annoyances that Kramer causes for
opponents, there was an ever more frustrating finish to his own
college career.

Two days before entering the NCAA regional tournament, Kramer
slipped and fell in practice. His right wrist popped, and his
season fizzled to an untimely end. But despite having every reason
in the world to be bitter, Kramer took the setback in stride, going
to Athens, Ga. (site of the NCAA championships) to cheer on his
teammates.

“It definitely hurt, not only when I did it, but also when
we lost,” Kramer said. “It was pretty difficult to
watch us lose, but sometimes you’ve just got to roll with the
punches.”

But looking past obstacles is nothing new for Kramer. Last year,
he was slotted at No. 5 singles, where he ravaged the opposition,
but did not get promoted.

“The toughest decision I’ve had to do in coaching in
the past seven years was putting him where I put him in the lineup
last year,” head coach Billy Martin said. “It
guaranteed he wouldn’t make the NCAA championships, but it
was the best thing for the team.”

While Kramer’s competitive zeal made Martin’s job
difficult, it also made it easier, so to speak.

“There was never a doubt that he would fight for UCLA and
fight for his team, no matter where he was in the lineup,”
Martin said.

That year, UCLA reached the NCAA finals and was a strong
favorite against Georgia. And although Kramer won his match in
straight sets, the team lost 4-3.

“It was unfortunate, but it was a real motivation for this
year. Being that close makes you want to win it even more,”
he said.

This year, Kramer elevated himself to No. 2 singles for the
majority of the season. Sands pointed toward Kramer’s play in
satellite tournaments last summer as a main reason for
Kramer’s promotion to the Stadium courts.

“I think it was playing on the satellite tour, and
believing that he could do it,” Sands said. “He proved
himself last year, but it was the experience he received between
last year and this year that gave him the confidence.”

Once he earned his spot in the lineup this year, Kramer made the
most of his opportunity. “From day one when he got that spot,
he produced and earned that spot, probably better than I thought he
would,” Martin said.

It makes sense that Kramer kept pushing to get better. People
that know him describe him as a fiery competitor ““ even
Kramer himself.

“It’s hard for me to admit that someone’s
better than me at anything because I’m so competitive,”
he said.

And in his time at UCLA, he has improved his game
considerably.

“He came in here with a horrible serve, one of the worst
I’ve seen here at UCLA in 17 years,” Martin said.
“It took him five years, but he came along and now has a
pretty good serve.”

But although Kramer might not have a tailor-made tennis game,
his desire to win and his willingness to put substance ahead of
style allows him to win many matches.

“There’s a lot of players that would rather lose
looking good than win looking bad,” Martin said.
“Brandon is the epitome of doing whatever it takes to win and
knowing what he can do with his game. He never overplays his
game.”

But Kramer doesn’t mind the tag of winning ugly.

“For me, it’s all about finding a way to win,”
he said. “A win is a win.”

Kramer needed his competitive drive growing up to play in
tournaments. His hometown, Reno, Nev., is not exactly a hotbed for
tennis tournaments, so that meant many long weekends for Kramer and
his family.

“It was pretty tough. The closest tournament was a
three-hour drive away,” Kramer said. “We had a
Volkswagen camper that we’d sleep in at a campsite or
sometimes at the tournament site. I experienced a different side of
traveling that other people didn’t.”

Now after five years of college tennis, Kramer is leaving
Westwood for life on the road. Once his wrist heals, he intends to
compete in satellite tournaments. The road will not be easy for
Kramer, who lacks the knockout punch of a blistering serve or a
devastating forehand. But his strength as a player comes from his
mental fortitude.

And while Kramer might induce tantrums from other players, his
quiet confidence keeps him in control on and off the court.