by Tony Hollins
The National Tennis Club at the International Tennis Hall of Fame was proud to host the US 60s & 70s national championships in both singles and doubles. It was fantastic to see the depth of the fields in all four events, with players representing seven of the nine active clubs in the USA. Due to the strong turnout, the matches began on Thursday evening, with many players arriving on Monday or Tuesday to familiarize themselves with the court.
Although there were no major upsets in the early rounds, there were some wonderful matches. Chris Heffernan pushed the number three seed, Steve Hufford, to 6-5 in the second set of their US 60s Singles match. Chris displayed some incredible retrieval skills, hitting back-to-back between-the-legs shots at one stage to keep a rally going.
The star performer of the weekend was Dick Tanfield. Dick competed in the US 70s Singles, US 70s Doubles, and the US 60s Doubles. He made it to the finals of all three events. It was not only the quality of performances in the matches but the sheer lasting power that shone through for Dick. After two hard-fought doubles semi-finals, Dick managed to defeat the number one seed in the US 70s singles in a grueling three-set battle. On finals day, Dick sealed two gold medals and a silver after 4 hours of continuous court time from 10 am to 2 pm.
The US 70s Doubles finals kicked off Sunday morning with Charlie Johnstone (R&T) & Marty Hublitz (WW) taking on Dick Tanfield (RCOP) & John Schellenberg (RCOP). After losing the first set to some excellent play from Tanfield & Schellenberg, Hublitz & Johnstone upped the pace, hitting some ferocious forces and utilizing some tricky serves. The final result -Hublitz & Johnstone defeated Tanfield & Schellenberg – 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
After a sip of water, Dick took back to the court with Kenny Soffer for the US 60s Doubles final against Anders Cohen & Peter Hill. The scoreline of 6-1 6-3 to Soffer & Tanfield didn’t justify the quality of the play in this all-Philadelphia final. The extremely consistent and accurate play allowed Soffer and Tanfield to win the big points and keep the scoreboard pressure on.
Another sip of water, another final for Dick. He would face Duncan Rutherfurd of Aiken, this time in the US 70s Singles. Both players are incredibly consistent and find the spaces on the court very well. This well-matched final saw Dick take the first set 6-5 before pulling away in the second set 6-0.
Peter Hill and Kenny Soffer (another all-Philadelphia final) took to the court for the US 60s Singles to wrap up the weekend. Kenny had enjoyed the court all weekend and made almost zero unforced errors in a final that saw him crowned champion 6-2, 6-0.
Thank you to all the players who traveled from near and far to put on a fantastic display of tennis. The National Tennis Club’s excitement could be seen from the busy dedans and club room throughout the event. Thank you to the committee members who helped put on this event and the pro shop team of Emily Young and Jake Faulise, who assisted in the execution. A big thank you to the contributors to the National Tennis Club Annual Sponsorship Program, whose support ensured that we could continue providing high-quality national and internal events.
Click here for Draws
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Kenny Soffer & Peter Hill
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Dick Tanfield & Duncan Rutherfurd
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Dick Tanfield, Kenny Soffer, Peter Hill & Anders Cohen
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Marty Hublitz, Charlie Johnstone, John Schellenberg & Dick Tanfield
