For most of their lives, Matt FitzMaurice and Nick Kshatri have been inseparable. Brought together by their love of tennis when they were playing in under 10 tournaments, the two quickly formed a bond and within a few years were playing as doubles partners.

Where they are separated is in school. FitzMaurice attends Emmaus High School and Kshatri is at Parkland. Both schools have strong tennis programs and both players are the number-one singles players for their respective schools. That situation blends their friendship into a rivalry on the court when the two doubles partners are on opposite sides of the net battling against one another.

Their most recent showdown came when the two teams met last week at Emmaus, with FitzMaurice taking a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Kshatri. It was the only match that Emmaus would win on the day as Parkland picked up yet another win over a conference opponent, leaving them undefeated in conference play since the 2004 season.

A more memorable meeting between the two was in last year’s district finals when FitzMaurice downed Kshatri to advance to states. Neither player has a running total of wins and losses between one another, but both have the count right around the same.

“He didn’t really start beating me until a couple years ago,” said Kshatri. “In the beginning, it was more clear, but now, you just never know what’s going to happen.”

“I can tell you that he’s got a lot more on me than I’ve got on him,” FitzMaurice said with a laugh. “Other than that, I just go out and play that specific day and whatever happens, happens.”

The respect between the two is mutual and very strong. In their most recent match, FitzMaurice appeared to have suffered an injury and it was Kshatri who suggested he take time to recoup and make sure he was okay. It turned out to be nothing, but it was clear that the concern for his friend definitely outweighed anything that was going on in the match.

“I hold Nick in really high respect and on the court, I know the type of person that he is,” said Kshatri. “He’s a class act and he’s the kind of kid you want to go out and play your best with. We’re too good of friends to ever have something like a tennis match come between us. I respect him on and off the court, so once we step on the court, it’s really just fun to see who is on top that day.”

The two appear headed for showdowns in both the EPC Tournament, which was postponed by rain this past Saturday and will continue on May 2nd, with Kshatri seeded first and FitzMaurice second. There is another likely showdown in districts, where FitzMaurice is the number-one seed and ready to defend his title against second-seeded Kshatri. The two have accepted the fact that they’ll wind up playing each other in some big matches and simply just work their way through the draw until they find themselves facing each other.

“It’s just a number really,” said FitzMaurice. “And we’re on opposite sides of the draw, so the only time we would meet each other is finals, so being two or one doesn’t really matter. As a senior, being in the top two is all I could really ask for.”

The two friends are soon going to have a bigger geographical separation when FitzMaurice heads for Loyola University of Maryland and Kshatri goes to the University of Pittsburgh, where both will continue their tennis careers.

“I don’t laugh harder with anyone than I do with Nick,” said FitzMaurice. “I’m going to miss that so much, just being able to go over to his house and have him come over to my house and hit on the weekends and just do the best friend thing. Over the breaks and in summer, we’ll be together, for sure.”