Senior Tennis 2009 – VolumeVolume Seven Five • Number Fourteen • Fall • 2010 THE NEW ENGLAND SENIOR TENNIS FOUNDATION BULLETIN First Year for NE Senior Slam Tournament Series a Rousing Success by Ken and Dorcas Miller The NE Senior Slams, a set of three tournaments for seniors 50 and up, was held on three different tennis surfaces, hard, clay, and grass. Two years in the making, all the hard work paid off with large draws and enthusiastic players, many of whom had not been seen in years at tournaments. For some, they were the first tournaments they had ever played. The first one was the hard court Slam held at Yale from June 10-13. This was the first Slam and there was concern about the size of the draws, given that some seniors shun hard courts. However, it was wildly successful with 109 total players and a great time was had by all who participated. See http://www.neseniortennis.org/ breakingnews.htm to access stories about all of the Slams. The Yale Slam story by Laury Hammel also includes the history. Special kudos go to TD Todd Nicholson for a very well run tournament. With this many entrants for the hard court Slam, some predicted that the Clay Slam, split between the Concord CC and Beverly G&T from August 5-8, would gain about 160 entries. We did not quite get that many but we did get 137 total players for the two venues. Some of the players interested had conflicts with USTA League playoffs, which limited the draws somewhat. The Grass Slam was held at the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHOF) in Newport, RI from September 2-6 (Labor Day weekend). We were nervous about this one since the person we originally arranged to host the tournament left ITHOF in the spring. We subsequently visited his replacement during the summer and found out that he would be at the tournament only on Thursday, as he had planned a trip before accepting the job. As the time for the tournament came, so did Hurricane Earl. The TD said on the Tuesday before the tournament to cancel it! We didn’t and Earl did not live up to its billing, but it did bring rain. After much scrambling and the Millers taking on most of the duties of TD, the Grass Slam was a success. Special kudos go to Tom Fayed, the umpire who greatly helped make the tournament run smoothly; Rich Heath, who manned the tournament desk as a volunteer; and Jim Purington from USTA/NE, who came down on Friday (the rainy day) to also help. The Grass Slam had 119 total players. All of the Slams attracted out-of-section players. The hard court Slam at Yale had eight, four from NY, two from FL, one from SC and one from Australia! The Clay Slams had five, three from FL and two from NY. Ken and Dorcas Miller, creators of the 2010 Senior Slam The Grass Slam had the most – 13. And they were more Tournaments at New Haven, Beverly, Concord and far flung (although none from out of the country); six from Newport. FL, two from MD, and one each from OH, IL, NY, NJ. and Continued on page 19 2 – Senior Tennis 2009 New England Senior Tennis Foundation, Inc. An organization established by Bernice and Irving Levine for the general purpose of promoting tennis among senior adults in New England. Administration Board Peter Allen, President Irving Levine Rich Heath, Treasurer Wade Frame Bats Wheeler, Clerk Carol Jaffe Amy Read George Ulrich Carol Lipnick Men’s 55 Singles – Winner, Wade Frame, runner-up, Mike Ken Miller Kliebhan. ( At Hartford.) Dorcas Miller To facilitate the promotion of senior tennis, the following strategies will be implemented: 1. To provide instruction for seniors interested in learning how to play the sport or improve their skills; 2. To support the publication of material to help seniors learn how to play the game, improve their skills and knowledge of the game, and un- derstand the latest health research information relating to the sport of tennis; 3. To distribute a newsletter on a regular basis that freely discusses issues in the sport of ten- nis and at the same time reports the results of tournaments and other competitions and news L-r: Finalist Polly Edwards with NESTF Board member of interest to seniors; and winner Carol Lipnick. (At Yale Univ. Hardcourt Slam.) 4. To run tournaments and other compe- titions for seniors innovatively and in such a way Senior Tennis Newsletter editor as to help participants fully enjoy the sport; Dick Ernst of Cranston, R.I. The 5. To develop and support interstate, inter- sectional and international competitions for Barrington High School boys ten- seniors; nis coach and a ranking senior 6. To respond to changing needs and interests circuit player. Seniors who are of senior tennis players; not on our mailing list please 7. To recognize and respond to opportunities to provide leadership within a larger context call the NESTF office at 508-674- for the development of tennis (i.e., to support 8459. or oppose actions by tennis groups that either further or diminish the growth and support of the sport); Send stories, pictures and articles to: 8. To provide where possible and to support Dick Ernst facilities for senior players at either a reduced 71 Philmont Ave., Cranston, RI 02910 rate or at no cost to them; 401-785-0532; or [email protected] 9. To create and support a governance struc- ture that ensures continuity to the Foundation Advertising in this publication is available at 1 and support for its goals and strategies. $500/page and $300/ /2 page. N.E.S.T.F. website www.neseniortennis.org Senior Tennis 2009 – Editor’s Corner... with Dick Ernst Robbins Tien Wins Two Grand Slams The green clay of the Concord Country Club was the battleground for the inaugural Men’s 50 Clay Court Slam. Participation was the highest for any New England Men’s 50 event of the year, with over 20 entries. Being creatures of habit, most players thought the event was still the sectional as well as the Senior Slam. In any case, whether Slam or sectional, Nigel Bentley and his assistant Charlie ran one of the best, if not THE best, New England senior event on the calendar. Hats off to both of them. Action commenced Friday night, but things heated up on Saturday with a number of very competitive early-round matches. While top seeded Jeff Gola cruised through to the semis, 2nd seed Robbins Tien had his hands full in his round-of-16 match with unseeded John Geilfuss, saving a couple of set points in the second set before winning 6-2, 7-5. (Geilfuss went on to win the consolation draw handily.) Third seed Harlan Stone, winner of the Hard Court Slam in June at Yale, had a round-of-16 dogfight with Neil Shadek, before prevailing in three sets. Other noteworthy matches were Stewart Hudson upsetting Jan Dembinski, and David Cox (more on him later) knocking out fourth seed and fellow Granite State resident, Barry Lemire, after Lemire pulled a muscle just as Cox tied it one set all. The best quarterfinal match saw fiery Tony Ditullio upset Stone, 5- 7, 7-5 (ret.), when Harlan cramped up. There was doubles action, too, with second-seeded Jonathan Bates and Harlan Newport Grasscourt Slams: l-r: D. Robbins Tien, Men’s Singles Stone going smoothly through to the finals. 50 winner, and finalist John Geilfuss. The unseeded team of Jeff Gola and Robbins Tien pulled a mild upset, ousting the top seeded team of Mike Kleibhan and Jack Daley, 7-6, 6-2, in the semis. The semifinals on Sunday saw the best match of the tournament. Robbins Tien faced off against unseeded David Cox, playing his first year in the half-century club. The first set looked like it would be routine when Tien had 40-15 at 5-4, but Cox fought off a total of four set points before breaking Tien to level the match. “I got tentative when I had those set points,” Tien said later. Both held serve to get to the tiebreaker which Tien won, 7-4. The second set was again a see-saw affair filled with long, grinding points with both players holding serve until Tien broke Cox to go up 5-4, with a chance to serve for the match. “I really thought I had him then,” Tien recalled. Cox had other ideas and broke back at love. Again, they went to another tiebreaker with the match passing the three hour mark, and Cox putting on his sixth or seventh T-shirt. “I don’t like the Dri-Fit stuff,” Cox later explained. In this tiebreaker, Cox zoned, winning it, 7-2, after hitting winner after winner. After a 10-minute break, they moved over to the newly swept court where Jeff Gola had recently put away Tony Ditullio, 6-2, 7-5, in the other semi, and where the gathering crowd could get a better view. Cox wasted no time in taking a 4-0 lead, and it looked like the match was no longer competitive. According to Tien, “I actually felt pretty relaxed, though I wouldn’t say I liked my chances to win at that point. I came out kind of flat at the start of the third set and he took full advantage. But I told myself just to play one game at a time and make him start thinking.