Tuesday, July 16, 2002
16 left to vie for men's tennis title
No. 2 Dektas team falls in doubles upset
By Dave Schutte
Enquirer contributor
A new champion is waiting to claim the Thomas E. Price Metropolitan Tennis Championship.
Kara Molony-Hussey returns a shot during a doubles match win with sister Lyndsey Molony Monday night.
(Greg Ruffing photo)
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The round of 16 begins tonight at Lunken Playfield. Craig Boynton, the director of Racquet Sports at Five Seasons and a three-time Met champion, assessed the matches for The Cincinnati Enquirer.
“At this point, everyone is looking to step it up a level,” Boynton said. “The competition gets tougher from here on out.”
Here's a look at Boynton's assessment.
• Rey Puentes (1) vs. Eric Toth (11): “Rey, being the first seed, is the heavy favorite,” Boynton said. “Eric can pull off the upset, but he'll have to play a perfect match.”
• Jason Zimmermann (2) vs. Darren Giuggio (14): “These two are the most relaxed players, almost casual,” Boynton said. “This match purely boils down to Jason's execution.
• Isaac Yarrell (3) vs. Todd Rich (15): “This is a contrast of styles,” Boynton said. “Isaac is an aggressive big hitter and Todd is very steady. The key for Isaac is to keep down unforced errors, while Todd's strategy should be to keep the ball deep. The longer the point goes is to his advantage.”
• Amin Nabli (4) vs. John Williams: “Amin clearly has too much firepower,” Boynton said. “John is very steady and a strong competitor, but Amin's serve and forehand will be the difference.”
• Matt Poulos (5) vs. Todd Getz: “This has the possibility of being the longest match,” Boynton said. “Both players are steady and they win on shot positioning as opposed to power.”
• Matt Pledger (7) vs. Leighton Jones: “Leighton has a big serve and a good slice backhand,” Boynton said. “But Matt is just too solid all the way around.
• Matt Dektas (8) vs. Marshall Kuresman (12): “Matt's starting to come into his own in the mental aspect of tennis,” Boynton said. “Both are very solid off the ground. The difference will be Matt's serve and forehand.”
• Warren Chamakoon (10) vs. Rob Bakker: “Out of all the round of 16 matches, this one is the most intriguing,” Boynton said. “Both are newcomers, so little is known. What we do know is that Bakker has a great drop shot and Warren is extremely fast. I look for this to go three sets.”
WOMEN'S QUARTERS: There are also eight round of 16 women's matches.
The top match features No. 3-seeded Lyndsey Molony against University of Cincinnati teammate Jennifer Capuzzi.
DOUBLES: There was one upset in the men's quarterfinals doubles competition, with No. 5 seeds Brucer Conners and Matt Pledger defeating No. 2 seeds Mike and Matt Dektas 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 in a three-hour match.
The men's and women's doubles semifinals will be Wednesday, and the winners advance to Friday's championship match.
MONDAY'S RESULTS
Men's Doubles Quarterfinals
Wolf-Kronauge (1) d. Smith-Yarrell (11) 6-1, 6-4; Halim-Nabli (4) d. Chamakoon-Getz (6) 6-4, 6-3; Conners-Pledger (5) d. Dektas-Dektas (2) 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5); McCarthy-Zimmermann (3) d. Bakker-Bates (7) 6-4, 7-5.
Women's Doubles
Round of 16
Bothen-Underwood d. Wise-Hicks 6-3, 5-7, 6-2; Tanner-Schuerman d. Moffat-Santoro 6-0, 6-0.
Quarterfinals
L. Molony-Molony-Hussey (1) d. Dausch-Jones 6-1, 6-0; Hairston-Capuzzi (2) d. Regenold-Volle (default); Italia-Jones (3) d. Hite-Roan 7-5, 6-1; Bothen-Underwood (4) d. Tanner-Schuerman 7-5, 6-2.
SCHEDULE
Tuesday
Men's Singles
5:30 p.m.: Puentes (1) vs. Toth (11); Dektas (8) vs. Kuresman (12); Getz vs. Poulos (5); Williams vs. Nabli (4).
6:30 p.m.: Bakker vs. Chamakoon (10).
7 p.m.: Yarrell (3) vs. Rich (14); Jones vs. Pledger (7).
7:30 p.m.: Zimmermann (2) vs. Giuggio (14).
Women's Singles
5:30 p.m.: M. Molony vs. Roan; Capuzzi vs. L. Molony (3); Baker vs. Jones; McPeak vs. Hairston (2).
6:30 p.m.: Santoro vs. Crace.
7 p.m.: Eiseman vs. Brannon.
7:30 p.m.: Molony-Hussey (1) vs. Hicks; Italia (4) vs. Fischer.
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16 left to vie for men's tennis title
