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Scroll below for results/pictures/courtside interviews !
A message from High Priestess Milly Back
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Ulster Open Promo
Scroll below for results/pictures/courtside interviews
A special message from the tournament directors
Results for Sunday 7/21/13
Summary:Holzmann defeats Ramaswami in 3 set thriller !
Laurie Hedlund wins women's senior singles in 3
hour match!
Wayne Schaeffer retains senior men's title !
The final day's play was worth the price of admission with multiple matches that went the distance. In the morning Wayne Schaeffer won the men's senior singles title for the umpteenth time.In an adjacent court,Laurie Hedlund defeated Elisa Staub in an extended match. The women's singles was won easily by repeat champion Olga Ostrevetsky who also paired with John Zerbo to defeat Millie Back and Ravi Ramaswami in 3 sets.
The men's final was exhausting to play,exhausting to watch but received favorable ratings from the spectators. Holzmann took the first set 6-4 but Ramaswami came back and won the second 6-2. In a set filled with service breaks,the third set was very close. Ramaswami fought off 2 match points at 4-5 to level the score to 5-5. Holzmann then held serve and broke Ravi in a close game to take the title.
Senior Men's Singles Final:
Wayne Schaeffer*(1) d Scott Taylor*(2)
Senior Women's Final:
Laurie Hedlund (2) d Elisa Staub (1) 3-6,7-5,10-5
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| Laurie and Elisa |
B Men's Singles Consolation Final:
Mike Hommel d Tomasz Andruczyk
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| Mike (above) and Tomasz (below) |
Women's Open Final:
Olga Ostravetsky(1) d Suzanne Mc Auliffe (2)
Open Men's Singles Final:
Shawn Holzmann (3) d Ravi Ramaswami* (4)
6-4,2-6,7-5
Open Mixed Doubles Final:
Olga Ostravetsky/John Zerbo (2) d
Milly Back*/Ravi Ramaswami *(1) 6-2,4-6,6-3
* Denotes Circle of Life League Players
THANKS FOR SUPPORTING THE TOURNAMENT !!
(Circle of Life League resumes on Monday 7/22/13 !!) Remember, there is no finish line...!!
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Results for Saturday 7/20/13
Summary :
#1 seeds win senior doubles !
Marathon B Men's and Women's Finals !!
The weather people were wrong-it did not start cooling off today. In fact the humidity was worse and Rick Lange (1) and Jacob Feinberg(2) bore the brunt of it as they were locked in a marathon 3 setter. Feinberg had won another marathon last night in a match that went till 9 pm. So either he was used to it or very tired ! Ultimately,Feinberg came from behind to beat Lange.
The Senior Men's doubles final pitted the top 2 seeds Tom Turco/Ravi Ramaswami(1) and
Ed Rogers/Scott Taylor(2). After a tight first set,the top seeds were able to win the second in a shorter time and head for the shade to watch Lange and Feinberg who had started their match even before the doubles had begun !
In the afternoon,3rd seeds Andrew Constant and Shawn Holzmann beat 2nd seeds Vern Chrisjohn and Vic Ricci in the Men's Open Doubles.
The match of the evening was a hot tussle between top seed Lisa Cutten and Lauren Marz in the B Division Women's Final. This went 3 sets with Lisa coming out on top.
Matches for Saturday 7/20/13
Senior Men's Doubles Finals
1.Tom Turco/Ravi Ramaswami (1) d Scott Taylor/Ed Rogers (2) 7-5,6-1
B Men's Singles Finals
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| Rick Lange served well to take the first set |
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| Jacob Feinberg came back to win after a marathon semi finals the previous night |
Women's B Singles Finals
5. Lisa Cutten (1) d Lauren Marz 6-7,6-2,6-4
Open Men's Doubles Finals
6.Andrew Constant/Shawn Holzmann(3) d Vern Chrisjohn/Vic Ricci (2) 6-3,6-2
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Results for Thursday 7/19/13:
Summary : Top doubles seeds ousted !
Andrew Constant got some redemption after his singles loss as he and partner ( and ironically, his victorious opponent from yesterday),Shawn Holzmann beat the #1 doubles seeds Tom Turco and Scott Taylor in 3 sets.Hitting his trademark forehands,Andrew hit several winners.Despite Scott's good net play and Tom's doubles experience-which made the first set go to a tie-breaker and winning the second-the duo could not prevail.
In other matches the B players had grueling sessions.Fortunately the weather was cooling down but like yesterday the tennis courts were sizzling.
In the B Women's semi final, Donna Viertel squandered a 4-1 lead and lost the first set in a tie-break and the match.
In the marquee match of the day played for almost 3 hours,2nd seed Jacob Feinberg ousted 3rd seed Chris Drazek.
After an hour the first set got over and Feinberg went ahead in the second set 5-1 but Chris charged back evening it out at 5-5. Feinberg was able to sneak out another couple of games and win the second hour long set 7-5 bringing it to a super tie breaker. They had wanted to play a third set but they finished the second set at around 8:30pm and light was fading. They played point for point in the super tie break in near darkness ending at 8:50pm.Feinberg was able to hold on to a small lead and finish it out 10-8 for a final score of 3-6, 7-5, (10-8 STB). Now that qualifies for the match of the tournament !!
Wait a minute ! This just in !! In the compass draw round between Bill Roberts and Paul Mushlit, the match was 3 hours and 10 minutes with deuces in almost every game ! In this weather this is equivalent to a 5 hour match and if you consider Bill's age it is at least a 6 hour+ match!! (Eat your hearts out Nadal and Federer !). OK this was the match of the tournament !
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| Paul Mushlit (L) and Bill Roberts after their 'match of the tournament' |
Results:
Open Doubles semi final: Shawn Holzman/Andrew Constant (3) d Scott Taylor/Tom Turco (1)
7-6,4-6,6-0
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| Holzmann's aggressive style helped win a few key points |
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| Andrew received a lot of balls to his forehand-his strength |
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| Scott was brilliant at the net |
B Women's Singles semi final:
Lauren Marz d Donna Viertel (2) 7-6,6-3
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| Lauren Marz survived a 3 setter in the quarter final and looked forward to a cooler day ! |
UCCC 5 pm :
B Men's singles semi-finals:
Jacob Feinberg (2) d Chris Drazek(3) 3-6, 7-5, 10-8 (STB)
B Men's singles Compass Draw:
Paul Mushlit d Bill Roberts 4-6,6-2,6-2
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Results for Thursday 7/18/13:
Summary: Feeling hot hot hot !!
You have to hand it to Melissa Bamford and Lisa Carbone ( B Division singles). Melissa had played a 3 setter yesterday in intense heat and dared to play again today in her consolation finals against a fit and athletic Lisa Carbone. These ladies played as the barometer and the thermometer rose making this the hottest day yet this year. While all the TV weather people warned the naive public to stay indoors and stay cool,these two ladies did Heat Seeker President Milly Back proud by playing their consolation finals in the blazing sun. Lisa Carbone became the first person felled by the heat in this year's Ulster Open as she had to default after the first set. Heat exhaustion can do that. Nice job ,ladies !
Of course the 'macho' men played in the evening when the temperature got cooler. But things just got hotter on court.
Andrew Constant,the # 1 seed got eliminated by the # 3 seed and his fellow Rhinebeck Tennis Club pro,Shawn Holzmann in straight sets. "I had my chances",said Andrew,"but I could not capitalize on them".
In the other semi-finals, # 2 seed Greg Tellier -who is the hardest hitter of the tennis ball this side of the border- lost narrowly to # 4 seed Ravi Ramaswami. Ravi credited his coach,John Kasten for his win and inspiration from local tennis legend,Andy Stoll.
Ravi also entered the record books by having the dubious distinction of being the oldest player in the history of this 54 year old tournament to enter the finals of the Open Men Singles.
In the senior singles, # 1 seed Wayne Schaeffer won over John Shelton while # 2 seed Scott Taylor,who took time off from his extraordinary run as co-tournament director(along with Tom Turco) beat Ed Rogers in the 3rd set super tie-break.
Later in the evening,Vern Chrisjohn and Vic Ricci played a close match with Matt Canzonetti and Chris Metze squeaking out a 7-5 win in the third set.
The courts were still sizzling as night fell.
Recap of results:
Semi Finals
Open Men's Singles:
1. Shawn Holzman (3) d Andrew Constant (1) 6-3,6-2
2. Ravi Ramaswami (4) d Greg Tellier (2) 7-5,6-4
Senior Men's Singles:
1. Wayne Schaeffer (1) d John Shelton
2. Scott Taylor (2) d Ed Rogers
Open Men's Doubles Semi finals:
Vern Chrisjohn/Vic Ricci d. Matt Canzonetti/Chris Metze
6-5, 2-6, 7-5
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Men's semi finals promo
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Results for Wednesday 7/18/13:
Summary: B level matches heat up court !
Never mind the heat advisory or the 90+ ambient temperature translating to almost 100 degrees court temperature. The real heat was generated by the B division matches. Playing under gruelling conditions and and playing long rallies, Melissa Bamford and Lauren Marz were locked in a long battle with Melissa winning the first set 6-4 and then Lauren coming back strongly at the end of the 2nd set and winning 7-5. With darkness looming, Marz edged ahead and won the deciding set 6-3 after almost 3 hours in the blazing heat.
At an adjacent,equally warm court,2nd seeded Jacob Feinberg was challenged by Paul Mushlit and won the extended battle.
The match between Chris Drazek (3) and Mike Hommel featured great shot making,aggressive serving and net play. After winning the first set,Drazek came back from 2-5 down to wrap the match up.
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| Chris Drazek came up with hard serves at crunch time |
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| Mike Hommel hit several service return winners |
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| Drazek (L) and Hommel shake hands after the match |
B Singles (Quarter finals)
1. Lauren Marz d Melissa Bamford 2-6,7-5,6-3
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| Melissa Bamford won the first set but lost steam after losing the long second set |
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| Lauren Marz served well to take the 2nd set |
2. Chris Drazek(3) d Mike Hommel 6-2, 7-5
3.Jacob Feinberg (2) d Paul Mushlit 6-2,6-3
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| Paul Mushlit waiting to return serve |
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| Jacob Feinberg serving for the match |
B Consolation
John Zerbo w/o Bruce McPherson
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Results for Tuesday 7/16/13 :
Summary: Doubles and B Division action on a HHH day !
On a hazy,hot and humid day there was doubles action and some B division singles matches that were able to take place.
The marquee match of the day was the Senior Men's Doubles Semi finals pitting top seeds Tom Turco/Ravi Ramaswami vs Lou Duke/Vern Chrisjohn. The match ended in a super tie break 10-6 in favor of the #1 seeds and showed some pathetic display of muffed overhead smashes by Ravi ( ironically,his first serve percentage was 90%) and some brilliant net play and reflex volleying by Turco,Chrisjohn and Duke.
2nd seeds in the Open Mixed Doubles Olga Ostvesky/John Zerbo reached the finals.
In B singles action,Chris Drazek beat a tired and heat exhausted John Zerbo to enter the quarter finals. Tomasz Andruczyk beat Bill Roberts in B Consolation singles.
1.Tom Turco/ Ravi Ramaswami(1)d Lou Duke/Vern Chrisjohn
6-4,3-6,10-6
2.Tomasz Andruczyk d Bill Roberts (B Consolation)
3. Chris Drazek d John Zerbo 6-2,7-5
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| Chris Drazek outlasted his opponent in the brutal heat |
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Greg Tellier (2) aka The Terminator talks about his match and his next round
Tuesday 7/16/13 :
Senior Men's Doubles: (5.30 pm Forsyth)
Tom Turco/Ravi Ramaswami (1) vs Vern Chrisjohn/Lou Duke
Results for Sunday 7/14/13:
Summary: Seeds advance again !
All the top 4 seeds advanced in straight sets-except it took 2nd seed Greg Tellier 3 sets to realize that one of the principles of The Terminator is not to get terminated.In an unnecessarily long and drawn out match, Greg came back from one set down to win 4-6,6-3,6-1, over 5th seed Randy Eskanzi
( who,by the way, has also been ranked #4 in the East in the Men's 45 age bracket). In other matches, it took 10 games for top seed Andrew Constant to figure out that the only way to beat the persistent retrieving game of marathon runner Steve Hack ( who is also- to make things more difficult- a lefty) is to attack the net. ( In Steve's defense,his son/coach 12 year old Bradley was away winning a baseball game for his team and therefore was unavailable to help Steve,in the manner Lendl helped Andy Murray win Wimbledon).
In other matches,3rd seed Shawn Holzman beat a tired Mike Hommel,who was still reeling from his humdinger of a match from yesterday and Ravi Ramaswami won his quarter final match against Jihyuk Han.
Both top seeds Wayne Schaeffer (1) and Scott Taylor (2) won their matches and headed to the semi finals of the Senior Men's.
At UCCC, the battle of the Lisas was very competitive with Lisa Cutten eking out a 6-3,7-5 win over Lisa Carbone in the Women's B Division while in Men's B, top seed Rick Lange beat Bill Roberts in straight sets.
And of course the match of the day was the senior mixed doubles between Amy Keller/Bob Guidubaldi and Teri Jordan/Nick Malvai which Amy and Bob won 7-5,7-6 (4). Now that is a match where everyone is a winner !!
Senior Men's
1.Wayne Schaeffer(1) d John Dorfner 6-1,6-0
2. Taylor(2) d Charles Washburton 6-4,6-3
Open Men's quarter finals:
1.Andrew Constant (1) d Steve Hack 7-5,6-2
Post match interview with Andrew Constant
2. Greg Tellier(2) d Randy Eskanzi (5) 4-6,6-3,6-1
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| Eskanzi's unorthodox style and his ability to get the ball back prolonged Tellier's agony |
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| Tellier started going back to basics like getting the first serve in and focusing on the ball(below) |
3.Shawn Holzman (3) d Mike Hommel 6-0,6-1
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| Mike Hommel |
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| Shawn Holzman |
4. Ravi Ramaswami (4) d Jihyuk Han 6-0,6-1
Post match interviews with Jihyuk Han/Ravi Ramaswami
Women's B Singles:
Lisa Cutten d Lisa Carbone 6-3,7-5
Men's B Singles:
Rick Lange (1) d Bill Roberts6-1,6-0
Semi finals: Rick Lange d William Coy 6-1,6-1
Men's Senior Doubles semi finals
Ed Rogers/Scott Taylor(3) d Matt Canzonetti/James Steinberg (2) 7-6 (5),6-2
Matt and James discuss their new tennis facility opening October 6,2013.
(due to technical issues the ending cuts off abruptly but all the useful information is still included !)
Senior Women's singles semi finals:
Elisa Staub (1) d Donna Viertel 6-0,6-1
Century Doubles semi finals
1.Rogers/Turco(1) d Maynard/Napora 6-1,6-0
2.Shelton /Amell vs Witty/Lotito d Shelton Amell 7-6(2), 6-2
Senior Mixed Doubles
Bob Guidubaldi/Amy Keller d Nick Malvai/Teri Jordan
7-5, 7-6 (7-4)
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Results for Saturday 7/13/13
Summary: Seeds advance !
A drizzly morning with interruption of play and re-location of matches was the norm for today. Play started at MJM without delay while Forsyth Park despite the new drainage system was wet and slippery. The drizzle started within an hour of commencement of play at MJM while heavier rain at Forsyth Park required players to continue their matches at MJM.
Open Singles Seeds # 1,2,3 and 4 advanced to the quarter finals with relatively easy wins.
The match which was expected to generate the most fireworks (Greg Tellier vs Vern Chrisjohn) was overshadowed by a tug-of-war 3 set battle between M.Deyo and Mike Hommel. Endless rallies and exhausting points entertained the standing room crowd at MJM.
Meanwhile on a remote court in Highland, where the match was moved due to rain at UCCC,
William Coy clawed his way back from near defeat to upset 3rd seeded Tomasz Andruczyk 3-6,7-6(3),6-4 in the B division Men's singles.
The 3rd seeds in Men's doubles,Andrew Constant and Shawn Holzman,both teaching pros at the Rhinebeck Tennis Club,had to do clawing of their own as they met stiff resistance from the duo of Charles Warburton and Brian Lasusa. The pros prevailed 7-6(6),7-5.
Men's Open Singles:
1.Andrew Constant(1) d Rob Sohm 6-1,6-2
Post match interview with Andrew Constant
2.Steve Hack d Dan Poll 6-1,6-1
Post match interview with Steve Hack
3. Mike Hommel d Matt Deyo 6-0,4-6,6-4
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| Deyo(above) and Hommel (below) battled through drizzle and humidity |
Senior Men's Singles:
4. Scott Taylor(2) leads Charles Warburton 6-4 (rain delay)
Men's Open Singles:
6.Shawn Holzman(3) d Alec Cohen 6-2,6-1
Men's Open Doubles Quarter Finals:
7.Andrew Constant/Shawn Holzman(3) d Warburton/Lasusa 7-6(6),7-5
8. Metze/Canzonetti(4) d Han/Tegeler 6-4,6-3
9.Chrisjohn/Ricci(2) d Cohen/Cohen 6-2,6-1
MJM :
Men's Open Singles:
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| Ravi Ramaswami and Chris Drazek |
Chris Drazek interviews Ravi Ramaswami
2.Randy Eskanazi(5) d Darren Pikul 6-2,6-1
3.Greg Tellier(2) d Vern Chrisjohn 6-3,6-2
Post match with Greg 'The Terminator' Tellier
4. Jihyuk Han d John Dorfner 6-1,6-1
Post match conversation with Jihyuk and John
UCCC
Men's B Singles:
1. William Coy d Thomas Andruczyk(3) 3-6,7-6(3),6-4
2. Rick Lange(1) vs Bill Roberts (rain delay)
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Results for Friday 7/12/13
Player Interview: David White aka The Terminator Part 2
David White, playing in 2 doubles events in the 2013 Ulster Tennis Tournament, is known as
The Terminator Part 2 because of his hard forehands and attacking style of play- similar to the original Terminator, men's singles 2nd seed, Greg Tellier.
Summary for 7/12/13: The senior mixed doubles champions were crowned as Bob Witty and Sue McAuliffe took the title. The doubles team of David White and Rick Lange battled hard and long but ultimately could not upset the seeded teams and were eliminated from the tournament in both the open doubles and the senior doubles. Meanwhile the top seeds in these 2 events,Tom Turco/Scott Taylor and Ed Rogers and Scott Taylor advanced to the semifinals.
Forsyth Park:
Senior Mixed Doubles:
McAuliffe/Witty d Bob/Amy Keller
McAuliffe /Witty d Teri Jordan/Nick Malvai
The first champions of the 2013 Ulster Open were crowned when Sue McAuliffe and Bob Witty took the Senior Mixed Doubles title in a round robin format.
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| Sue McAuliffe(above) and partner Bob Witty won the Senior Mixed Doubles title |
James Steinberg/Karen Schneider d Teri Jordan/Nick Malvai 6-0,6-0
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| Teri Jordan(above) and Nick Malvai |
2.Jihyuk Han/Don Tegeler lost toVern Chrisjohn/Lou Duke(4)
1-6, 0-6
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| Vern (in green) and Lou Duke won the first set easily with their experience |
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| Jihyuk Han focuses on his topspin return of serve |
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| Don Tegeler's low returns confounded Chrisjohn and Duke |
Senior Men Doubles
3.Dave White/Rick Lange lost to Ed Rogers/Scott Taylor 6-7 ,3-6
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| Scott Taylor serving for the set |
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| Ed Rogers complemented his partner at the net and put away a lot of tough backhand overheads |
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| Rick Lange (above) and David White(below) put up a good fight in both their events |
Men's Singles
4. John Dorfner d Justin Horvers 6-1,7-5
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| Justin Horvers slams a forehand in his match against John Dorfner |
Men's Open Doubles :
5. Taylor/Turco(1) d Lange/White 6-3,7-6(8)
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Ulster County Open Court Report 7/11/13
Opening day had a slew of first round matches including singles and doubles action.
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| The standing room only crowd at Forsyth Park watching opening day's play |
1. Alec Cohen/ Gary Cohen d Ross Miller/D.Pikul 6-2,6-1
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| The team of Miller/Pikul tried valiantly but...... |
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| ...but the father-son duo of Alec (above) and Gary Cohen dominated play |
Post match interview with the Cohens
2. David White/Rick Lange d Ed/Justin Horvers 6-1,6-3
Pre-match interview with the Horvers
3.Charles Warburton/Brian Lasusa d John Zerbo/Anthony Sicari 6-1,6-2
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| Anthony Sicari serving |
Post match interview with Warburton/Lasusa
4. Vern Chrisjohn d Franz Kaisik 6-4,5-7,6-4
This very closely fought match, peppered with errors and occasional brilliance, dominated the first day's play at the Ulster Open. Chrisjohn's blistering strokes and serves were countered by Kaisik's foot speed and topspin groundies.Ultimately, this comedy of errors ended in favor of Chrisjohn,when he started successfully executing the shots he is known for.
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| Franz Kaisik (L) and Vern Chrisjohn |
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| When he found his range,Vern Chrisjohn's first serve won him several free points |
5.Ed Rogers d Tomasz Andruczyk 6-1,6-0
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| Ed Rogers |
6. John Shelton d Bill Roberts 6-1,6-4
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| Bill Roberts |
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Player Interview: Greg Tellier aka The Terminator
(The Terminator-last year's open singles runner up- will be in action at the 2013 Ulster Open).
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Player Profile: Milly Back
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| High Priestess Milly Back |
She will be seen hitting her lefty hook serves and top spin groundies at the 2013 Ulster County Open in the Open Mixed Doubles event where she is seeded #1.
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Lisa Carbone, playing in the new B division category in the Ulster County Tennis Tournament ,shares her thoughts.
Player Profile: Steve Hack
Steve Hack began his preparation for the Ulster County Tennis Tournament by beating the (former) #1 seed of the Circle of Life Tennis League and the (future) # 4 seed in the upcoming tournament. Here is what he had to say :
