Hurdling a familiar obstacle for the first time and thrilling the hometown fans are the goals for John and John D. Peckskamp today at the National Father & Son Clay Court Tennis Championship.

        For the third consecutive year, the Cincinnati team advanced to today's quarterfinals with hard-fought and impressive victories Friday over Richard and T.J. Leake (6-1, 6-2) and Bill and Brandon Blankenbaker (3-6, 6-3, 6-3) at the Cincinnati Tennis Club.

        In a day of upsets that saw four of the eight seeded teams defeated in first-round matches (all in the upper bracket), including No.1 William and Chris Tontz, the Peckskamps were the only one of Cincinnati's six teams to reach the quarterfinals.

        After winning first-round matches, locals Tim Geraci Sr. and Tim Geraci Jr., John and Jason Yeager, and Devin and Ryan McCarthy lost in the round of 16. Bill and Jason Grannen and Donn and Josh Osswald were eliminated in first-round matches.

        “We've always wanted to win this tournament; it's been a dream of ours,” 26-year-old John D. Peckskamp said. “I'm more relaxed this year and ready to play because I've had time to prepare.”

        A teaching professional at the Cincinnati Tennis Club until graduation from the University of Cincinnati last year, Peckskamp is working for his father at Town & Country Mortgages.

        The Peckskamps will play Bob and Bart Scott of Colorado Springs, Colo., in a 9 a.m. quarterfinal. The Scotts pulled off the upset of the tournament, defeating the Tontzes 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in an opening-round match and following with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Nick and Doug Stutsman.

        In the second-round match, the Peckskamps appeared headed for the loser's bracket after dropping the first set. But a strategy change in the second set turned the match around.

        “They played outstanding tennis the first set and the father (Bill Blankenship) was volleying like a champion,” 49-year-old John Peckskamp said. “We knew (Brandon) was solid but also prone to errors. We then started hitting to him.”

        The Peckskamps broke Bill Blankenship at 3-3 in the third set and followed with a break of Brandon to end a match that lasted more than two hours.

        “We're a better team this year because Dad has the experience of playing in some international tournaments,” the younger Peckskamp said. “For the first time, I've practiced going into the tournament and I'm ready to play.”

        The Scotts showed Friday they won't be easily beaten.

        “We played the Tontzes when Bart was 15 or 16 and they beat us in La Jolla Beach (Calif.),” said Bob Scott, head men's tennis coach at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and teaching professional at the Westhampton (N.Y) Country Club. “They probably forgot us but we didn't forget them.”

        One of the hardest hitters in the tournament, Bart Scott is a 21-year-old junior at the University of New Mexico, where he played No.3 singles and No.1 doubles. This is the Scotts' first appearance in Cincinnati and their only national father-son event since 1998.

        Two quarterfinals begin at 9 a.m.; the others at 10:30. Semifinals are at 1:30 p.m. In case of rain, matches will be moved to The Indoor Tennis Club in Madeira.

Friday's results, today's schedule

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