"In terms of how they match up. Don, in order to stay even, would really have to play over his head." Benjamin said. "There doesn't seem to me to be anything he can do to burn Jay. If Don plays the greatest match of his life and Jay's really off, you know, anything's possible, but I'd have to say at this point that Don's not in the same league."

Showdown

And so Pompan the miracle-sophomore will probably have his mortality reinforced today, and his 14-match winning streak ended.

Still, you never know just how good he could get in the years to come. Jimmy Connors doesn't have to worry--no matter what. Pompan won't get that good, and besides, he wants to be a doctor and not a tennis player.

In his relatively limited goals, though. Pompan could soar. He wants a shot at being a college All-American, he wants Harvard's improving program to become a national power ("If that means playing third and recruiting some good players, that's okay with me"), and he wants to try a year or more playing pro. And if he is able to develop one big weapon or raise his overall play a level or two, he could do quite well.

"All year, I concentrate on schoolwork, and then I go home and play these guys I've been reading about at the end of the summer and do well against them," Pompan said in his quick-paced voice.

"I'm going to take a year off before grad school and see how good I can be. I'll play at least a year on the pro tour just to see how far I can go--so all my life I don't say I could have been good, who was that guy who said it. I could have been a contendah?"

Pompan paused a second, then finished his non-stop stream of monologue. "I just hope," he said, "that the bubble doesn't burst before I get there."

Probably not. Don Bubbles just don't burst for guys who treat their whole life as if it's reading period.