BY EDWARD de la FUENTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Tim Mayotte, left, shows a linesman how to call the ball out during his championship match against Tom Gullickson.
(Ernest Coleman photo)
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MASON -- As the youngest player in the 12-man field at the Great American Insurance Seniors Championship, Tim Mayotte didn't pay much respect to his elders Saturday at the ATP Tennis Center.
In his second tournament appearance, Mayotte, 38, Tom Gullikson in the singles championship, 6-4, 7-5.
"I've been getting a lot of business in the locker room for being the youngest guy here," Mayotte said in accepting the winner's trophy and $6,500 prize. "Well, I live in New York, and I went into Times Square and picked up a fake ID. I'm actually 33."
Mayotte, who kept the crowd entertained most of the night with various body gestures after winning points, punctuated his singles victory in the final game with an over-the-shoulder passing shot past a stunned Gullikson to go ahead 15-0. Facing triple match point, Gullikson sent Mayotte's final serve of the match long.
Tom Gullickson hit a return.
(Ernest Coleman photo)
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Gullikson, 46, fell in the singles final for the second time in as many years -- he lost in straight sets to Brian Gottfried last year.
Mayotte won the first set mainly by perfecting the art of the serve-and-volley. Unable to overpower Gullikson with his serves, as he had his singles and doubles opponents over the last two days, Mayotte instead used a variety of passing shots, lobs and smashes to keep Gullikson off-balance.
The result was longer rallies, and in the end Mayotte outlasted Gullikson rather than overpowered him.
Case in point: The second game of the match, which featured five deuces. Gullikson grabbed the advantage in each of the first four deuces, but Mayotte battled back to force a tie again before finally winning the game with a lob over the head of Gullikson.
"He's a solid player," Mayotte said of Gullikson. "He was getting some shots in there also. It was just like the old days, except we were just a notch slower."
The second set was much of the same -- each player waiting for the other to crack. With Gullikson ahead 3-2 in the second set, he forged ahead of Mayotte 40-15 after two double-faults and an unforced error by Mayotte.
But Mayotte fought back to deuce again, and two shots into the net by Gullikson allowed Mayotte to hold serve.
Each competitor held serve throughout the second set until Mayotte broke Gullikson to move ahead 6-5, setting Mayotte up for the straight-set victory.
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