Tim Martinez: Brothers take adversarial roles on tennis court

And that’s what the story of brothers Andre and David Mertvyy offered.

“I’ve been doing this 26 years, and this is a first for me,” Hudson’s Bay tennis coach Charles Hahn said. “It’s pretty cool.”

Last Wednesday, Andre and David were out on the courts at the Vancouver Tennis Center for a non-league tennis match between Columbia River and Hudson’s Bay.

Nothing out of the ordinary there, except when you add this nugget: Andre and David were on opposite sides of the net.

You see, Andre is a senior at Columbia River High School, while David is a junior at Hudson’s Bay High School.

Four years ago, Andre made the decision to attend River to be part of its International Baccalaureate program.

“The IB program was definitely something I wanted to pursue, the rigorous courses, the college credit was definitely something I wanted to try out,” he said.

As for David? “I’m still at Bay, just taking (Advanced Placement) classes,” he said, in a feigned sheepish voice.

While both are standouts in the classroom, they are not the stars on the court like their older brother Alex, a district champion last year for Bay.

Tennis is more of a pastime than a passion for the younger Mertvyy brothers.

For Andre, this was his first season playing high school tennis. “Tennis is something I do on the side, something fun to do,” he said.

David played on the tennis team at Bay with his brother Alex as a freshman. He stepped away last year before making a decision to return for his junior season. Hahn called him one of the program’s most improved players.

Last Wednesday’s match started out evenly. Andre was making conservative shots, simply aiming to keep the ball in play. David was a bit more aggressive, attempting to shoot winners past his brother.

But when David’s shots started to land wide or long, frustration began to set in — the kind of frustration that can only come from losing to your brother.