The National Tennis Club had the privilege of hosting the U.S. 40’s Singles and Doubles in late April. The tournament featured a small but strong field of players from five different clubs. Only six handicap points separated the top six players in the event, which promised some intriguingly close matches. The competitors did not disappoint, with the tournament kicking off with a three-set battle between Boston’s David Tedeschi and Brian Owens from Newport. Aiken’s Geoff Ellis narrowly lost out to Westwood’s Bill Barker in another barn-burning three-setter.
No one was safe in this regard, with top seed Brook Hazelton from New York inching past Newporter Jeremy Wintersteen in the semi-final after going down one set to love. In the other semi, Aiken’s Rakesh Jasani’s never-say-die attitude saw him come back to defeat Boston’s Alex Spence 6/5 in the third after losing the set 6/1 and going down 3/1 in the second set. Brook was too strong in the final and played a very solid match against Rakesh and prevailed in straight sets.
The doubles final featured the top two seeded teams. Brook’s volleys and offense combined with Bill’s steady play and good return of serves were a tough combination. Brook and Bill also effectively switched on the hazard side with Brook defending the tambour on his return of serve games. Alex and Dave mounted a brief comeback in the second set, but the New York / Westwood pair was too strong and won in straight sets.
The standard of tennis was extremely high, inspiring the spectators to stay glued to their seats, leading to a fantastic atmosphere.
Congratulations to Brook Hazelton for the singles and doubles doubleheader and to Bill Barker for his doubles title. Thank you to all of the players from near and far for making it a memorable weekend. A well-attended tournament dinner took place on Saturday at Midtown Oyster Bar where another NTC tournament-related wedding was toasted. A big thank you to Tournament Committee members Jeremy Wintersteen and Phil Stockton and to the incredible efforts of Brad Dellenbaugh, Steve Devoe, Ellen Devoe, and Noelle Shiland for their volunteer efforts to clean, repair, and paint the court area.
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Rakesh Jasani, Tony Hollins & Brook Hazelton
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Brook Hazelton, Bill Barker, Tony Hollins, David Tedeschi & Alex Spence
