By Andy Hemmer
Enquirer Contributor

Brett Morse-Karzen missed the shot, cursed, screamed at himself, grimaced and executed a furious half-spin, shaking his hands and tennis racquet like maracas.

"Sorry, Dad," was his apology.

Fierce competitiveness tempered by good manners was the order of the day when playing with Pops. That combination ultimately earned Morse-Karzen and his father, Jerry, a 7-5, 6-2 victory over the top-seeded Hoevelers from California in the 54th National Father & Son Clay Court Championship. The tournament was played at the Cincinnati Tennis Club in East Walnut Hills.

The win was the second in the last three years for the Morse-Karzens and the third for Jerry, who won the national tournament in 1982 with his late father, Dick Karzen.

The Hoevelers, winners in 1994, 1998 and 1999, were stymied in their bid for a fourth crown by a fifth-seeded team.

"They played superb and intelligent," said Charles Hoeveler, the elder. "They're great sportsmen and players."

Jerry, a 50-year-old former pro who owns and operates a tennis club near Chicago, said he's competed at Wimbledon and in the French Open. Neither compare with the "pure competition" experienced at a father-son tournament, he said.

"This means more. The intensity is more. And to share it with your son is just incredible," said Jerry.

Not one of the seven local teams who entered the tourney Friday survived the opening cut.