The Stratford Tennis Club continued its championship tournaments this week with the ‘A’ and ‘B’ singles events. With approximately 70 spectators looking on, the Club’s best battled for the 2015 titles.
The ‘A’ finals in both the Men’s and Ladies events was the past vs the future to see who is the present as experienced finalists took on young first timers.
The Men’s ‘A’ final was the most anticipated match of the year. Defending champion Bob Tamblyn would face teenager Grant McPherson. Tamblyn is the most decorated champion in the modern history of the Club. Tamblyn took the court with 10 Men’s ‘A’ singles titles already to his credit, including 4 in the last 6 years. McPherson has been the player of the year at the Club. McPherson won the Super Set singles event earlier in the season as well as a gold medal in the Ontario High School tournament (non-ranked divicion) and his first OTA sanctioned event. Both players cruised through the draw to reach the final.
The match began as expected with McPherson’s powerful ground strokes and attacking strategy battling Tamblyn’s incredible foot work and accurate counter punching. Tamblyn was handling McPherson’s big serve not giving the challenger any easy points. The long, tough rallies featured some great shot making thrilling the large crowd. With his power not paying its usual dividends McPherson added some incredible drop shots and drop volleys. The touch shots were enough for McPherson to take the first set by a 6-4 score.
Like a true champion Tamblyn dug in. The second set began with Tamblyn racing out to a 5-1 lead due to his steady and accurate ground strokes as well as his own effective net play. McPherson wouldn’t concede the set and went on a run of his own. After rallying to tie the set at 5 games each McPherson broke Tamblyn’s serve to give him the opportunity to serve for the championship. Tamblyn dug deep and was able to break right back sending the set to a tie-breaker.
Punctuated by a second serve ace that must have been the hardest hit shot of the night McPherson scored a 7-4 victory in the tie-breaker giving the 17 year old his first Men’s ‘A’ singles championship. The 6-4 7-6 victory made McPherson the 13th different man to win the ‘A’ singles title in the 47 years of the Club.
The Ladies ‘A’ singles final saw multi-time finalist Marta Andrekovic take on 14 year old Nicolle Crowley. Andrekovic was appearing in her third straight Ladies ‘A’ singles final. Though she had yet to win the title Andrekovic has been one of the top lady players in the Club for several years. Crowley came into her first ‘A’ final after winning the previous two Ladies ‘B’ titles.
The match began with many great rallies and long games. Andrekovic’s experience seemed to pay off as she was able to take those close games and scored a 6-1 victory in the set. Crowley’s powerful first serve , as well as her effective spin second serve, gave Andrekovic some trouble but when the rallies started it was Andrekovic who made the teenager do most of the running. The nicely hit ground strokes provided an entertaining match for the spectators. Andekovic was able to stay ahead in the second set and finally put the match away with a 6-3 second set win. The 6-1 6-3 victory gave Andrekovic a well deserved first Ladies ‘A’ singles title.
The Men’s ‘B’ singles final was a battle between two of the most improved players in the Club. Lefty Chris Smith would take on James Wilson for the title. Both players had survived tough semifinal matches. On Monday Wilson had outlasted Graham Heaton taking his semi 6-4 in the third set. Tuesday night saw Smith drop the first set to Brent Hiller before taking the second set in a tie-breaker and then scoring a 6-3 win in the deciding third set. This was the first singles final for both players.
The championship match began with teenager Wilson showing off his court coverage, chasing down every ball and controlling the set. Wilson seemed to be cruising as he scored a 6-1 first set victory. Smith then upped his game , adding some power to his shots and using his sweet lefty serve to his advantage. Smith was able to edge Wilson in a tie-breaker (7 points to 4) to take the second set and send the match to a third and deciding set. The third set saw Smith run out of gas. With his shots losing some of their steam Wilson was able to handle everything thrown at him. Wilson didn’t let up and took over the match. Scoring a 6-0 victory in the third set Wilson claimed the Men’s ‘B’ singles championship. This is Wilson’s first singles title at the Club and caps a very impressive season for the youngster.
The Ladies ‘B’ singles final was another match up of an experienced player against a first time finalist. Nancy Rheaume, who won the Ladies ‘B’ singles title in 2004, would face Julie Drake who was in her first final in only her second time play in a tournament at the Club.
The match began with Rheaume’s experience showing as she took the first 4 games. Once Drake’s calmed her nerves she got back into the match by winning the next 3 games. Drake’s powerful forehand was giving Rheaume problems so being a crafty veteran Rheaume started picking on Drake’s backhand. By nullifying Drake’s power Rheaume was able to use her superior court coverage to control the rallies. Rheaume used her foot speed and experience to score a 6-3 6-1 victory claiming the 2015 Ladies ‘B’ singles championship.
Interestingly, all 4 singles champions had lost a previous final in the 2015 Championships. McPherson had lost the Men’s ‘A’ Doubles, Andrekovic fell in the ‘A’ Mixed Doubles championship match, Wilson had lost the Men’s ‘B’ Doubles final, and Rheaume was a runner up in the Ladies ‘A’ Doubles. All were able to score victories in the singles events completing a successful tournament season. The cool,damp night saw some great tennis and was a wonderful cap to the Club Championship ‘open’ events. The Championship finishes this weekend with the junior final matches.
Bill White
(l to r) Chris Smith (men’s ‘B’ finalist), James Wilson (men’s ‘B’ champion), Grant McPherson (men’s ‘A’ champion), Bob Tamblyn (men’s ‘A’ finalist)
(l to r) Nicolle Crowley (ladies ‘A’ finalist), Marta Andrekovic (ladies ‘A’ champion), Nancy Rheaume (ladies ‘B’ champion), Julie Drake (ladies ‘B’ finalist)