by Josh Dodgson
The Tuxedo Club had the great pleasure of hosting The U.S. 60s & 70s Singles and Doubles Championships. The tournament was very well represented nationally, with seven out of the nine active courts in America having at least one member taking part.
For many years these have been esteemed tournaments and players arrived days before the event to familiarize themselves with the Tuxedo court. Whilst some players would argue that not enough practice had been had, the event was underway midday on Friday. The first match was between Steve Hufford (#1 seed) and Dick Tanfield (playing in both age tiers). Dick came out of the blocks very strong with countless two yard or better chases, putting Steve under immense pressure. This amounted to a 3-1 lead and the #1 seed needed to dig deep to stay in the match. Dig deep he did, with his apparent squash background allowing him to retrieve balls that seemed out of reach. After a number of long games, Steve emerged on top, taking the first set 6-3. The second set started similarly to the first as Dick found his length once more, forcing Steve to lunge further and further. Tied 3-3 in the second it was anyone’s game. This was until Steve combined his fitness and agility with more precise target hitting, securing him a 6-3 6-3 victory. Everyone in attendance agreed that this was a great way to kick off the tournament.
Saturday’s matches continued to be well supported and younger players at the club enjoyed watching and appreciating how experience really does count for a lot in this game. We saw deuce, advantage, deuce, advantage filled games throughout the day, with score lines that didn’t necessarily reflect this.
After a day’s play, it was time for Gregory Van Schaack and partner Peter Clement to take on Duncan Rutherfurd and Dick Tanfield for the Over 70s National Doubles title. After suffering a somewhat unexpected loss to the new partnership of Rob McLane and Rowan Carroll earlier that day, Greg and Peter were coming into this match very fired up. Fired up they were, cruising to a 6-1 win in the first set and demonstrating how a partnership that goes back years can make this game look effortless. They were completely in sync and seemed to be in position before the ball was even struck. As all players of this game know, this type of ease doesn’t always last. Dick and Duncan began to vary their speeds and capitalize on the few loose balls they were given, and ultimately ended up spending more time at the service end. With the score 5-3 in Duncan and Dicks favor, the well-versed partnership was certainly under pressure. Greg, unwilling to give up this set rallied his partner (excuse the pun), with a few encouraging and strategic words, and they were off and running again. With this new-found momentum they closed out the match 6-5 and a look of relief was apparent on both players’ faces. This marked the partnerships first Over 70s victory together after a long period of success in the 60s.
After a night’s rest, it was time for the first of the three remaining finals to take place. First up, The National over 60s Doubles final. The new partnership of Rowan Carroll and Rob McLane, fresh off their semifinals win the day before were up against the well-groomed partnership of Steve Hufford and Peter Vogt. The lefty-righty combo of Rowan and Rob started the match with great confidence and brought it to their opponents with full force, both literally and figuratively. Hard hitting combined with the advantage of having a forehand returning serve, and a forehand defending the grille-tambour caught the other team off guard. This allowed them to take a 3-1 lead. Steve and Peter, who had previously been lured into playing an equally hard-hitting game, were forced to change their tactics. With a mixture of keeping the ball short on the floor and tighter serves, they slowly edged their way back into the match. After a few close games to claw their way back to 3-3, both Peter and Steve began to relax, found their strokes and began playing very consistent tennis. So consistent in fact, that they won the next eleven straight games! Both the crowd and players were in shock as the chances of this happening are next to none. After this impressive performance, Peter and Steve were crowned Over 60s champions.
The second final of the day consisted of Gregory Van Schaack and Duncan Rutherfurd, battling it out for the Over 70s Singles title. After an earlier bye in the tournament, Duncan took some time to find his singles feet and Greg didn’t help with this, using his Tuxedo knowledge to set short chases and attack the “Tuxedo tambour”, known for its unforgiving angle. Before Duncan knew it he had lost the first set 6-1 and trailed by 3-1 in the second. Duncan’s years of experience and his 6 foot, 5 inch reach however allowed him to get back into the match, with some unbelievable gets. Greg only slightly phased continued to apply pressure, using every inch of the court and this proved too much for Duncan. Greg went on to win the second set 6-3 and earned his first Over 70s Singles title.
It was now time for the Over 60s Singles final, the last match of the tournament. Steve Hufford vs Rob McLane, both hoping to have their names added to the prestigious list of previous winners. Much talk was had surrounding the outcome of this match, after the newcomer Rob McLane’s convincing win over his doubles partner in the semis. The first couple of games started as expected, with both competitors proving why they had made it this far. Steve’s ability to chase down every single ball and Rob’s impressive backhand drive kept it very competitive. Although the games were tight, and every point was hard fought, Steve found himself with an impressive 6-1 lead. Rob did his best to stay in the match, but quite like his earlier doubles match, Steve continued to elevate his game throughout, making very little mistakes. This extremely consistent play led to a 6-1 6-0 win, securing Steve’s second first place medal of the tournament. This concluded the weekends play and meant that the players could now drive home, some further than others, and get some well-deserved rest. I’m sure players and spectators would agree that it was yet another great weekend spent in Tuxedo Park.
