By Paul-Johan Jean
The T&R was pleased to host this year’s edition of the U.S. 50s, with players from Aiken, Boston, Chicago, Newport, New York, and Philadelphia in attendance.
On the singles sheet, host club members graciously warmed up the pre-tournament favorites, with PJ Jean going down to Jeremy Wintersteen, 2 and 1, and Marc Ackerman falling to Guy Devereux, 2 and 0. Neither match was much closer than the scores suggest, except for a fleeting sense of hope at 2-all in the first in both matches. Both Jeremy and Guy would later find good use for the energy they each saved here.
Vaughan Massie and Andrew Fritz, on the other hand, played a tight first set, with Andrew coming from down 5-1 to get to 5-4. Vaughan was able to gather himself, however, and thereafter he ran the table, taking it 4 and 0.
In further contrast to the extreme ends of the draw, Chris Arriz vs. James Zug was much closer than one can tell from the score. Chris repeatedly had the timeliest good shots, though, and won it in three sets: 2, (5), and 3.
In the semis, both Wintersteen and Devereux were too much to handle for their opponents, with Jeremy over Chris Arriz, 0 and 1, and Guy over Vaughan Massie, 2 and 2.
Meanwhile, on the doubles side, Wintersteen and Massie cruised over Zug and Ackerman, 1 and 1, while Devereux and Arriz, nearly (nearly!) taken to three sets by Friz and Jean, prevailed 2 and 5.
In the back draw final, Zug edged a surging Jean 10-8.
In an exciting doubles final (but one which turned out to be a warm-up skirmish for the war to follow), Wintersteen and Massie were sharp in the first set against Devereux and Arriz, taking it 6/2. The second set seemed to be going the same way as the first, until Devereux and Arriz dug in and counterpunched to 3-all, then 4-all, then 5-all. They finally took the second set 6/5, after having fended off four match points. Perhaps feeling a slight tailwind, they then jumped to a 4-2 lead in the third. Wintersteen and Massie, however, suddenly regained their first-set form, and went straight through to win it 2, (5), and 4.
With 20 or so inches of snow forecast in Boston starting Sunday evening, both finals had been moved up to earlier in the day, and Wintersteen and Devereux stayed on court after their at-times-ferocious doubles battle to sort out the singles title. As in the prior match, Jeremy was sharp at the start, serving tightly, and taking the first set 6/2. And, once again, he carried momentum into the second, this time taking it all the way to 5-1. Yet also as in the prior match, Guy bore down behind his wicked serves and heavy backhand. 2-5. Now 3-5. Now 4-5. Both players showing the effects of the earlier match. Selectively chasing down balls. Grinding. 5-5. 30-all. Deuce. Advantage, Guy. Guy then beat a chase better-than-4 and won the second set. Now Guy rolled into the third, quickly up 4-1. Then came back-to-back colossal games, each going 16 points and each with Guy at advantage once and Jeremy at advantage four times before winning them both. 3-4. Both players were hobbled and digging very deep. Guy recovered to make it 5-3 after another close, four-deuce game. Back to Jeremy in a single-deuce game, 4-5. Then four straight points for Jeremy to go 5-5. The last effort by two exhausted, determined men landed at deuce. Then, just like that, advantage, game, set and match to Jeremy, and everyone off to figure out how to get home.
Many thanks to Tony Hollins and Neil Smith for their diligent marking and organization. And thanks to all for making the trip to Boston.
