by Trevor Jones
This year’s Handicap Doubles tournament was another smashing success. In a completely sold out draw, the club saw four solid teams rise to the top of their respective brackets. Players representing many of the U.S. clubs and a few from the U.K. took part in the weekend-long event. It took 68 matches to determine the eventual winners.
Thanks to the handicap system, there were many close matches, with many being decided by points, as the number of games was deadlocked. Pairs received points for the number of games they won with wins being favorable. Many duos had tough matches, some wins, and some losses, that encouraged them to beat their opponent as mercilessly as possible to ensure their survival.
The finals started off with a tight match in the D category, where Kathy Minevitz and her partner Sewall Hodges, playing off-handed, took on Will Thieme and Arianae Tsavaris from Philadelphia. The match was tight; Thieme used his hard hitting ability to seemingly overpower Minevitz/Hodges, but Sewall, with his deep knowledge of the game, was quite tactful in his play and forced the Philadelphians into uncomfortable situations. Tsavaris’ serve did not fail, and Minevitz struggled to come up with an answer. In the end, Tsavaris and Thieme took the championship in a tightly contested eight games to six.
Rounding out the C bracket was an all-Boston showdown with Chris Tomasevich and Brayden Minahan taking on fellow T&R members Danny Ladd and Drew Oliveria. Oliveria, coming off a win in the B division last year, used his intelligence of the game to, over the course of the tournament, place balls exactly where he wanted them. On finals day, though, his ability seemed to fail him, and his partner could also not come up with an answer for the athleticism shown by Minahan/Tomasevich. Hustling down balls, hitting the dedans, and refusing to let a chase take them off of the serving side, the duo made quick work of their final match, and won by a resounding ten games to one.
The B division saw another pair of Bostonians, George Ughetta and Andrew Peabody, take on Newport’s own Doug Shear and James Chamberlain. Demonstrating their team chemistry all weekend-long, Shear and Chamberlain made it clear why they deserved to be in the final. However, even with the fifteen points they were receiving each game, they were no match for the pair from up north. Ughetta and Peabody could do no wrong; their raw athletic ability had them running down deep chases to keep the serving end while their court tennis prowess allowed them to hit grilles and winning galleries with pinpoint accuracy. Before the 40 minutes on the clock ran out, the T&R members won ten games to two.
Finally, the A category saw lots of great tennis over the weekend. Making it out by the skin of their teeth, tournament sponsor Kip Curren and partner Pat Winthrop, the U.S. leading amateur, beat Tom Rowe and his partner Oliver Buckley from the U.K. in the semifinal match. However, due to injury, the Curren/Winthrop pairing was forced to concede the final match and finish as runners-up. The match that would have decided who the other finalists would be, then, took on more importance as one pairing would end up overall winners, and the others would go home without a trophy or finalist status. Perennial contenders Tom and Eliot Van Buskirk, a brotherly pairing from Newport, took on Boston’s Tom Pickin and Ben Hudson. The match began in a crooked fashion, with Pickin/Hudson racing out to four games to one lead. However, the Van Buskirk boys were able to flip the switch and turn it on when they needed it, winning the following nine games. Tom’s lawn tennis background showed in his volleys and hustle to balls while Eliot’s own squash abilities were quite noticeable as he was able to dig out tough balls deep in the corners. But the thing that really sealed the deal for the racquet-sport-lovers was their ingrained chemistry. When one would sprint farther to one side to cover a would-be dedans shot, the other would run up and get his brother out of trouble on the ensuing ball. It was almost as if they were wearing a giant elastic band, as their movement was so much in sync. After a rocky start, the Van Buskirks clearly demonstrated why they deserved to win, making it a ten to four scoreline.
Held after the World Masters and U.S. Pro Singles tournaments, the Handicap Doubles was the third of four major tournaments hosted by the National Tennis Club at the International Tennis Hall of Fame throughout the summer, the last being the Pell Cup. A cocktail party was held at the club on Thursday evening as spectators got to enjoy two top-flight tennis matches as they made merry. Saturday night saw the players trade their whites for coats and ties and dresses to enjoy a dinner party at the New York Yacht Club at Harbour Court. An excellent buffet and a humorous comedian insured a lively evening.
A big thanks must first and foremost go to tournament sponsor Kip Curren. This year’s event was Kip’s 24th and final iteration sponsoring the tournament, and its continued success is due to him. Over the years, Kip has worked hard – along with senior professional Nick Howell and tournament committee member Joe Tomaino – to make this tournament one of the highlights on the tennis calendar. To Kip, thank you for your years of support; to Joe Tomaino and Nick Howell, thank you for all the hard work you put in, rounding out the committee. Thanks must also go out to the United States Court Tennis Association for their support of the tournament. Finally, the many generous donors and supporters of the tournament who continue to make an event worth coming to — thank you.
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