Home crowd not enough for New Trier grad at Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship

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Most of the fans at Sunday's Nielsen USTA Pro Tennis Championship were their to cheer on local hero Robert Stineman. | Dan Luedert~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: October 28, 2011 12:16PM

Robert Stineman lost in straight sets.

But he still got a standing ovation from the crowd after the match. Kids circled him for autographs afterward. Even adults asked to take pictures with Stineman.

The professional tennis world might not know who Stineman is, yet. But the crowd on Sunday at Winnetka’s Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship did. They filled both sides of the bleachers, cheered for almost every point Stineman made, and then emptied the court with their heads up. This wouldn’t be the last they’ve heard of their hometown star.

“The support that the community of Winnetka gave Robert was really truly amazing,” said Tom Stineman, Robert’s dad. “He is just a true gentleman and a true competitor. He gets up everyday, he works hard at his tennis game, and he works hard at life.”

Stineman — a recent graduate from New Trier and two-time IHSA singles champion — made his professional tennis tournament debut against Scotland-native Jamie Baker. Baker, 24, defeated Stineman, 6-2, 6-3, during the qualifying rounds but lost later to Steve Johnson.

Only four among the 32-player field who win three matches in the qualifying rounds advance to the main draw tournament.

Though Stineman dropped his first set, he quickly bounced to a 2-1 lead in the second set.

But Stineman’s inexperience at the professional level caught up to him.

“You see that magic word —experience — and you can tell that he had a bit less of that than me,” said Baker, who stayed poised and tied the set at 2-2.

Stineman’s body language showed signs of frustration. He double faulted a serve and netted shots he rarely missed during high school matches.

Under clear skies and a beaming sun, Stineman put his hand on his head, wiped the sweat off his face and muttered loudly, “How could I miss that shot?”

Eventually, Baker had Stineman at 5-2.

Fans yelled, “You got this Robert,” between games and roared when Stineman took the next set.

But that would be it for Stineman.

“I had a lot of chances, especially in that second set, to get things back to even playing field,” said Stineman, 18. “It’s a learning experience. I’m not going to dread it too much.”

Despite getting his normal hours of sleep, Stineman’s nerves didn’t dawn until he woke Sunday morning and realized this was his first challenger, one step behind an ATP event.

“I definitely was a little tight out there to start off,” Stineman said. “I thought I got used to it, and started playing really well. I think I could’ve served much better. Pretty disappointed in the way I was serving. Next time, if I serve a little better, maybe it’s a different match.”

The story was different for Baker. He arrived to Winnetka Saturday night, fresh off a semifinal loss at another ATP Challenger event in Mexico and played on little sleep. The Stineman crowd actually woke him up and experience, in the end, was key to his win, Baker said.

“I was kind of smiling at myself because the last thing you want in those situations is 500 people cheering against you,” Baker said.

“I remember what I was like when I had so few matches behind me,” Baker added. “There’s so much to learn from every single one; so much material to take in and try to get better everyday. You can’t go from here to there overnight. You got to take it step by step.”