Tucsonan Gregory Anderson had lost only one of his previous 18 matches before falling in the boys 12-and-under championship match of the Copper Bowl on Wednesday at Hilton El Conquistador Resort.

GREG BRYAN / arizona daily star

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Gregory Anderson enjoyed a highly successful three-week run through junior tennis tournaments, racking up 17 victories to one loss.

But in Wednesday's Copper Bowl championship match, the 12-year-old from Tucson met a bigger, stronger opponent in Zandrix Acob of Hilo, Hawaii.

Acob, seeded sixth, hit hard groundstrokes and occasionally approached the net to beat the second-seeded Anderson 6-1, 6-0 for the boys 12-and-under singles title at the Hilton El Conquistador Resort.

While compiling his 17-2 mark over three tournaments, Anderson also picked up a title at the California Bowl and a seventh-place finish at last week's winter nationals in Tucson.

Ranked 18th nationally among 12-year-olds, he trains in Scottsdale five days a week.

"I've got to stay with my game plan and play my game," Anderson said about what he learned after trying to match Acob's hard-hitting game despite their size difference. Anderson is 4 feet 8 inches, while Acob is around 5-4.

"His biggest thing was he let the match get away from him," said Anderson's coach, Joey Blake. "The kid started strong and hit some very, very good shots.

"Gregory didn't change his game enough to try different things. He actually tried to beat the kid at his own game. The kid's too good of a player and too big."

Acob, 12, was playing in his first Copper Bowl tournament after placing fifth at the winter nationals. He said he ventured to Tucson to gain experience in bigger tournaments because events in Hawaii usually consist of two rounds. He was one of five players from Hawaii to participate in the Copper Bowl.

"We don't have any academies there," he said. "Hardly anybody plays tennis over there."

Acob has been playing tennis since he was 4 after trying baseball, which he did not enjoy.

"I found tennis and thought this is pretty fun," he said. "I started winning tournaments and trophies."

En route to winning the Copper Bowl, Acob upset top-seeded Henrik Wiersholm of Kirkland, Wash., 6-1, 3-6, 10-3 in the semifinals on Tuesday.

"I could have gotten straight sets," Acob said. "In the second set, I wasn't focused, not like today.

"My game was on. I was more focused today."

Anderson was the lone Southern Arizona player to advance to the final rounds of singles championships of the 19th Copper Bowl, which drew more than 1,000 players for the age groups of 12-, 14-, 16- and 18-and-under in boys and girls.

Anderson will play next in the Phoenix Junior Championships, the National Open and the Super Nationals.

Blake said Anderson has made great progress in the past six months in aspects of his game such as footwork and adjusting game strategy.

"His mentality on the court has improved tremendously," Blake said. "He used to get very frustrated, to the point where it could cost him a match. At 12 to turn that around, that's a great thing for him to do."