By Tom Groeschen
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Isaac Yarrel is the 4 seed in the Met tennis tournament at Lunken Field. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

Jeff Wolf could quit now and be remembered as the greatest player in the history of the Thomas E. Price Cincinnati Metropolitan tennis championships.

But there was Wolf again Sunday, returning to Lunken Playfield in trying to add to his Met record of 13 men's doubles titles. Wolf also holds the Met record for men's singles titles, but he has not played singles since winning a record sixth championship in 2001.

"At some point I'll maybe play singles again, but my motivation isn't there right now," Wolf said. "But I've got an agreement with Dan (Kronauge) to play doubles."

Wolf and Kronauge, the No. 1 doubles seed, beat T.J. Scheve and Wade Ward 6-1, 6-1 in their first match of the tournament. Wolf and Kronauge have won four Met doubles titles, including the last three in a row.

The left-handed Wolf, 37, is a former St. Xavier High School star. Wolf's sixth Met title broke the record for singles championships shared by his older brother, Marty.

"The motivation to win a seventh (title) isn't as great as it was to win the sixth," Jeff said. "Right now I've made more of a commitment to my family and my job."

Wolf is married (Brooke) with two young children. He works as a sales associate for The Everest, a commercial realtor.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Mike and Linda Dektas watched three of their children play in the Met on Sunday, with Linda getting it all on her camcorder.

"In 20 years, I think this is the first time we've had them all three on the same court," Linda said. "Usually one's playing one city, one's in another city and the third one is somewhere else."

Matt Dektas (age 27) and Mike Dektas Jr. (25) both are former St. Xavier High School players seeded Nos. 6 and 16, respectively, in the men's draw. On the women's side, Jennifer Dektas (age 19) is a former Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy player now at George Mason University. The three Dektas siblings all won Sunday.

FIRST UPSET: Doug Matthews, a junior-to-be at Kings High School, scored the first upset of the men's singles draw. The unseeded Matthews ousted No. 11 seed Todd Rich 6-3, 6-1.

Matthews, 16, is the second-youngest player in the 114-man Met field. Entrants must be at least 15 years old.

Matthews plays No. 1 seed Cedric Kauffmann in the Round of 16.

"That's the guy who had match-point on Pete Sampras," Matthews said. "It'll tell me how much better I need to get."

SORRY, SIR: The top-seeded Kauffmann, who took Sampras to five sets in the 2001 French Open, beat his boss Sunday.

Brian Nester, Kenwood Country Club head pro, was handed a 6-1, 6-1 lesson by Kauffmann in the Round of 32. Someone later asked Nester if Kauffmann worked for him.

"He did before this match," Nester said, smiling.

Kauffmann, 27, works as assistant pro to Nester at Kenwood.

WOMEN BEGIN: Women's singles play began Sunday, with no seeds in action.

The Nos. 1-2 women's seeds, Tanya Luzhanka and Kara Molony-Hussey, will play their first matches Thursday.

UP NEXT: There are no singles matches at the Met today, but there will be men's and women's doubles matches beginning at 6 p.m.

Singles matches resume at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.