Recap: Houston Futures, iTennis Men's open, 1st Kuwait Futures
After the SoCal swing I had a week of training before
heading off to Houston to play a $25K Futures. The Houston tournament is held
at the University of Rice and they have a great facility with over 20 outdoor
courts. The weather was very hot and humid during that week. Based off my
ranking I was close to getting in directly to the main draw but I just missed
out. I ended up being the #3 seed in Qualifying and played my first match on
Saturday.
I played my first round match against Jacob Eskeland from
Norway. He is a sophomore at Rice University so he was playing on his home courts. He was
an aggressive baseliner who liked his forehand from the middle of the court.
He had a good serve and he also returned pretty well. He broke me in the fourth
game to go up a break 3-1 in the 1st set. I had two break point
chances to get it back on serve but he ended up holding for 4-1. We both held
in our next service game and I found myself down 2-5. I saved two break points (also
set points) in the next game to make it 3-5. Then I played a great return game
to break my opponent at love to cut his lead to 4-5. I then found myself facing
two more set points in the next game. I saved both of them but then my
opponent won the next two points. I ended up losing a tough first set 4-6. We both
battled to hold in the first two games of the second set. At 1-1, I broke him
to go up a break 2-1. I started to find more of a rhythm on my serve. The next
few games went to the server. At 3-2, there was a long 15 minute marathon game on
my serve where I saved multiple break points and also had a lot of game points.
My opponent finally broke back to even the set at 3-all. This game was a big
momentum swing. At 3-4, he played another good game and broke me again. He
served out the match in the next game and I lost a hard-fought two-hour match
4-6, 3-6. This wasn’t my best match but I have to give my opponent credit for
playing some solid tennis. I didn’t feel match-tough as this was my first
tournament singles match in three weeks.
In the doubles I teamed up with Charlie Emhardt, who played
college tennis at Valparaiso. This was our first time playing together. We drew
the #1 seeds from Brazil, Caio Silva and Thales Turini. They are both ranked in
the top 300 in doubles. My partner and I got off to a great start by breaking
them to jump out to an early 3-0 lead. Both teams held their next service game which gave us a 4-1 advantage. We
got broken on a No-Ad point in the next game. Our opponents held for 4-all. At 4-all
we got a good hold to take a 5-4 lead. Both teams held the next few service games
to send it to a 1st set tiebreak. Our opponents got the mini-break to go up 4-1 in the tiebreak after they hit a good return. We split our service
points to make it 2-5. We then got one of the points on their serve to make it
3-6. But they hit a return winner on set point and we lost a close 1st
set 7-6(3). In the 1st game of the 2nd set we had 0-40 on
their serve but were unable to convert. They held to go up 1-0. Both teams held their next service game. They again came
up clutch by breaking us on the No-Ad point to take a 3-1 lead. We had one more
break point at 2-4 but they saved it. They went on to break us again when we were
serving to stay in the match. We lost a close one 6-7(3), 2-6. This was a
solid team, but they didn’t have any major weapons. They played the big points
better than us and that was the difference in this match.
After coming back home from Houston I decided to enter a Men’s
Open tournament to get a few singles matches. I played in the iTennis Fall
Adult Open which was held in West Hollywood, California. I played my first match against
Cruz Thayne, who played at a junior college. He was a consistent baseliner who
was pretty good at defending, however he didn’t really have any weapons to hurt
me. It rained all day so to make sure they got the matches in, we played No-Ad
scoring for the 1st round. I got off to a fast start by breaking my
opponent in his first service game and jumping out to a 3-0 lead. I was playing
aggressive tennis by looking to take the ball early and finish points at the
net. I continued to hold fairly easily and pushed my lead to 5-2. I closed out
the first set 6-3. This wasn’t my best tennis as I was making a few too many
unforced errors and wasn’t returning that well. I also got an early break in
the 2nd set by breaking my opponent to go up 3-1. From that point I
started to play better and make less unforced errors. I got another break to go
up 5-1, before serving out the match. I won my first round 6-3, 6-1.
The next day in the semifinals I faced off against Dylan
Taylor, who is a good junior from Huntington Beach. He is a lefty with a good
serve and aggressive groundstrokes. I returned first in the match and played a
solid return game to break him. I followed that up
with a hold for 2-0. My opponent held to make it 2-1 and then I held in the
next game to take a 3-1 lead. I was serving well and playing aggressive and
taking it to my opponent. I broke him again in the next game to go up 4-1. I closed out
the 1st set with another break to take the first set 6-1. We both
held to open the 2nd set. At 1-1, I got another break by hitting a
few good returns. However, he responded in the next game to break and
make it 2-all. I remained focused and broke him again in the next game. I followed up the break with a solid hold for 4-2. I got one more break before serving out the match for a 6-1, 6-2
victory. I played at a higher level than my first match and also served better.
In the finals I would face off against Matt Seeberger. He is
currently ranked #1720 ATP. He plays an all court game where he likes to come
to the net and finish points. He has a good serve and also returns aggressive.
At 1-all in the 1st set I broke him after playing a good return
game. Unfortunately I got broken right back to make it 2-all. I was playing a
little too defensive and needed to play more aggressive and take it to my
opponent. We both got a few more holds until it was 4-all. I broke him at
30-40 after playing a solid game. When I was serving for the 1st set
at 5-4, I got down 15-40 on my serve and faced four break points on my serve. I
saved all of them with some big 1st serves. I finally held after a
long 8-Deuce game to take the 1st set 6-4. After taking the 1st
set, I started to find my rhythm. I broke him in the 1st game of the
2nd set to go up an early break. I got a hold in the next game to
take a 2-0 lead. I then got another break after hitting a great passing shot on
break point. I held to go up 4-0 after hitting some good spots on my serve. My opponent got on the board to make it 4-1. I saved one break
point in the next game before holding to go up 5-1. At 15-40 in the next game I
had two match points on his serve, but he came up with some clutch shots. I
served out the match in the next after converting my third match point to take
a solid 6-4, 6-2 win. This was a productive weekend as I was pleased to get 3
tournament matches after not getting that many singles matches in the Futures
that I played in the last month. I also won $400 for winning the men’s open.
After playing the men’s open in West Hollywood, I had about 10
days of training before I was off to Kuwait for 3 Futures tournaments. I
travelled there with my doubles partner, Miles Seeman. We arrived on Friday
evening and had three days to get adjusted to the time change and the
conditions. The courts are a little on the quicker side (medium-fast) but the
balls are very different depending upon if they are new or worn. So the
conditions can change drastically from one point in the match to another. The
new balls tend to fly for the first few games and then right before we get new
balls they will be very dead and it is difficult to play aggressive. I was accepted
into the main draw of singles based on my ranking. I was also seeded #8 the 1st
week, which was my first time being seeded.
I played my first round of singles and doubles on Tuesday.
My opponent in singles was Mousa Alkotop from the country of Jordan. He is
currently ranked #1947. He had a very big first serve and could also place it
well in the corners. He was solid from the baseline, although he couldn’t
really hurt me so I was able to wait for the right opportunities to attack.
Both of us held in our first two service games. At 2-all, I got the first break
of the match after playing solid tennis and hitting a few good returns. I
consolidated the break to go up 4-2. We both held our next two service games to
make it 5-3. I then broke him again to take the 1st set 6-3. I didn’t
have the best start as I got broken in my first service game of the 2nd
set. He went on to hold for 2-0. I responded with a good hold and then I broke
him in the next game to even it at 2-all. I started to play a little better and
I broke him again to take a 4-2 lead. We both held to make the score 5-3. I then
served out the match at 40-15 to take a good 6-3, 6-3 win. Any win is a good
win, although I didn’t feel like I played my best tennis. I could have played
more aggressive and didn’t need to play as many long points.
In doubles, my partner and I faced off against two players
from Qatar, Mousa Zayed and Mubarak Zayid. One of them was clearly the better
player as he was ranked #720 in doubles a few years ago. They didn’t play
traditional doubles as they didn’t serve and volley and were comfortable playing from the baseline. They liked to get into 1 up/1 back rallies and try to
dominate from the baseline. My partner and I wanted to get to the net as fast
as we could as we had the advantage up there. Both teams started off serving
well and there weren’t many opportunities to break. We both held our first two
service games to make it 2-all. We had one break point at 2-2 but they saved
it. At 4-all we got the first break of the match to take a 5-4. We subsequently
served out the first set 6-4. In the first game of the 2nd set we
were up 0-40 on their serve but they saved all four break points. This was a
big momentum swing to not get the break. We held for 1-all in the next game.
They broke us in the next game to take a 3-1 lead. We broke right back to make
it 2-3. At this point, one of our opponents started to return unbelievably. No
matter where we served he was ripping the return. We held for 3-all after a
tough game. We broke them in the next game to take a 4-3 lead. However, they
broke right back after hitting three very good returns. At 4-all, we had one
break point on their serve but they saved it. With us serving at 4-5, we got
broken on a No-Ad point after they hit a backhand down the line return winner that landed on the line. So we would play a 10-point tiebreak. My partner and I
dialed in and won the first point on our opponent’s serve to go up an early
mini break 1-0. Then we hit two good first serves to go up 3-0. We then won
both of the points on their serve to take a commanding 5-0 lead. They responded
by hitting a good return to make it 5-1 and then we lost a weird point which made it 5-2. They defended their serve by holding both of their service points to
make it 5-4. We didn’t panic here, and focused in to win both of our service
points to go up 7-4. We split the points on their serve which gave us an 8-5
lead. We won the next point to go up 9-5. Then we closed out the match 6-4,
4-6, 10-6 after hitting a solid return on match point. This was a match we just
had to get through as our opponents played well.
In the second round of singles I faced off against Marc Dijkuizen, from the Netherlands. He is a lefty and is currently ranked #1261. He has a
good lefty serve and he likes to play aggressive and take the ball early. I broke
him early in the first set to go up a break 3-1. Unfortunately I got broken
right back to get it back on serve at 3-2. Both of us held our next few service
games. At 4-4, I played a solid game to break my opponent to go up 5-4. When I
was serving for the set I came back from 0-30 down and saved one break point.
But I closed out the first set with a big first serve to take it 6-4. It was a
decent first set, but I made a few too many unforced errors. I broke him right
away to open up the 2nd set. I held for 2-0. I started to serve
better and use different spins which got me more free points and short balls. I
broke him again to go up a double break. I then held in a tough game after
saving four break points to go up 4-0. I got one more break in the next game
before serving for the match. I served out the match at 40-15 to take a solid
6-4, 6-0 win. I thought my level improved from the first match which is all you
can try to do. You can’t control whether you win or lose as sometimes your
opponent will just play too good that day. I was only focused on what I could
control: my attitude, my mindset, my competitiveness.
In the quarterfinals of doubles, my partner and I faced off
against Niklas Johansson (Sweden) and Anurag Nenwani (India). One of them had
a lot better volleys while the other guy was better from the baseline. At 1-all
in the first set we got the first break of the match by attacking the net. However, they broke us back when we were serving at 3-2.
We got broke after not hitting our spots on our serve. At 4-all, we
played another good return game and broke on the No-Ad game to take a 5-4 lead.
We then served out the 1st set at 40-15 to take it 6-4. The second
set started off just like the 1st set as we got the early break to
go up 1-0. Unfortunately, we lost our momentum again and got broken back to
even it at 2-all. We need to do a better job of focusing on our serve after we
get up a break. The next few games remained closed as both teams had looks at
break points. At 3-all we got the break to go up 4-3. Both teams then got a
hold before we would serve for the match at 6-4, 5-4. We got down 0-30 in this
service game before winning the final four points to secure a 6-4, 6-4 win.
This wasn’t our best tennis as we needed to clean up a few things. We needed to
focus more on our serves as we got broken twice. But still a win
is a win and we were into the semifinals.
In the quarterfinals of singles, I faced off against American, Denis Uspensky. He played #1 at Pepperdine this past year. I lost a
close match to him in April in a 3-hour match 7-5 in the 3rd set. He
has a good serve and likes to play aggressive tennis from the baseline. His best
shot is his forehand and he has a one-handed backhand but plays the slice a
lot. I got off to a fantastic start by breaking my opponent in the 1st
game. I followed the break up with some good serving to take a 2-0 lead. Then I
played another strong return game to go up a double break 3-0. I had game point
in my next service game and had an easy volley but missed it. I went on to get
broken in that game which cut my lead to 3-1. At this point my opponent started
playing some great tennis and not making any unforced errors. He held to make
it 3-2. I then got broken at love to even it at 3-all. My opponent then held at
love to go up 4-3. From 3-1 up, I had lost 12 points in a row. This was a
combination of my level dropping slightly and my opponent raising his level.
Luckily, the set was still on serve. I refocused and made a few good 1st
serves to even the set at 4-all. I followed it up with a solid return game
where I broke my opponent at 30-40 to go up 5-4. When serving for the set, I
had to save two break points at 15-40. We then had a long Deuce game where I
saved three more break points and also had multiple set points. I finally won
the 1st set 6-4 after hitting a big approach shot. This was a key
game as it gave me a lot of momentum. I knew the first game of the second set
was very important. I saved four game points before I finally broke my opponent
to go up 1-0. I subsequently got a solid hold for 2-0. I went on to get another
break to go up a double break 3-0. I knew that I couldn’t relax as I was in
this same situation in the 1st set. This next game was a battle as I
had to save three break points to hold for 4-0. My opponent got on the
board to make it 4-1. I got a quick hold to go up 5-1. I then converted my
second match point and took a solid 6-4, 6-1 win. This was a good match as I
raised my level again from the last match. I played aggressive and closer to
the baseline and also came to the net a lot. I was excited to make another singles
semi-final!
In the semis of doubles my partner and I played against the
#2 seeds from The Netherlands, Bart Stevens and Marc Dijkuizen. They are both
ranked in the top 600 in doubles. This was a lefty/righty team that had good volleys and
groundstrokes. They play a lot on clay so they like to get in the one up/one
back rallies. My partner and I tried to get to the net first. We got off to the
better start by breaking them to go up 2-1 in the 1st set. We were
playing aggressive and going after our returns. Each team held their next service game which made it 3-2. We then held for 4-2. We were serving well and making a high percentage of first serves. They held to cut our lead to
4-3. We held for 5-3 and broke them again to take the 1st set 6-3. This set was solid as we played some very good doubles. They had two break points in our first service game of the 2nd set
but we saved both of them. Our opponents got a hold to even it at 1-all. We held
for 2-1 and then played another good return game to go up a break 3-1. We
consolidated the break for 4-1. We were holding pretty easily and making a high
percentage of 1st serves. We would serve for the match at 6-3, 5-3.
We served out the match at 40-15 to take a solid 6-3, 6-3 win to advance to the
doubles final! This was by far the best doubles we played in our 3 matches in
Kuwait. We served and returned at a high level.
In the semis of singles I played Kristian Lozan, from
Russia. He was the #2 seed in this tournament and is currently ranked #550. He
is an interesting player to play against as he has a two-handed forehand and a
two-handed backhand. He is a counterpuncher who moves well and defends well as
he plays a good amount on clay. I knew that I needed to be aggressive and take
it to my opponent and look to finish points at the net. We both held our first
two service games to start the match which made it 2-all. I then played a good
attacking return game to break my opponent go up 3-2. I held my next service
game to take a 4-2 lead. I was serving well and getting a good amount of free
points and short balls. We each held our next service game which made the score
5-3. The next game was a long Deuce game on my opponent’s serve. I finally
broke him to take a solid first set 6-3. I lost my momentum as I got broken in
the first game of the 2nd set. I missed two fairly
straightforward shots to give my opponent the break. I then had two break
points to break back but I was unable to convert. I held my next service game
to make it 1-2. I had two more break points in the next game but my opponent
hit a few good shots along with a few errors from me. He then played a
good return game to break me again to go up a double break 4-1. At this point,
all I wanted to do was play one good return game. I wasn’t focusing on winning
the set but more so just breaking his momentum. I stuck to what was working and
kept playing attacking tennis. I needed to keep doing this despite making some
errors to go down 4-1. I played a good game to make it 2-4. I followed it up
with a good hold and some strong serving to make it 3-4. My opponent played a
good service game to hold for 5-3. I then held to make it 4-5.
In the next game I made two unforced errors to go down 30-0 on his serve. However,
I kept playing aggressive tennis and won four straight points. I played my tennis and finished three of these points at net. I broke to make it 5-all. We
both held our next service game to send us to a 2nd set tiebreak.
The tiebreak was close in the beginning with my opponent taking a mini-break
lead to go up 2-1. He won the next point on his serve to go up 3-1. I then won
the next two points to tie it at 3-all. The next few points went to serve. I
was serving at 4-5. I hit a good kick serve out wide and serve & volleyed
but my opponent hit one of the best returns of the match with a backhand winner
down-the-line that landed right on the line. I was serving at 4-6 and faced two
set points. I hit a good serve to make it 5-6. On the next point I hit a good
approach and hit a solid volley to even it at 6-all. On the next point I hit a
great return to go up 7-6 and had my first match point. I once again came to
the net and hit a backhand volley winner to close out the match 6-3, 7-6(6).
This was a difficult win as I played a tricky opponent. I was now into my
first Futures final! I played a great match, as it was the best tennis I had played this week. I was happy that I stuck with my game-plan even after making some errors to
go down 4-1 in the second set.
My partner and I played the #1 seeds, Kai Wehnelt and Peter
Heller, in the finals of doubles. This was a German team and they are both ranked in
the top 500 in doubles. They both have good serves and solid volleys. In the 1st
set, we both held our first service game to make it 1-all. In the next game we
had one break point but they saved it with a good serve. We held to tie it at
2-2. They held to go up 3-2. We then got broken on a tough No-Ad point on my
serve. They hit two good returns in that game to take a 4-2 lead. They then held for
5-2 in the next game. My partner and I held to make it 3-5. However, they
continued to serve well and they made a high percentage of 1st serves.
They served it out to take it 6-3. We knew we had to just focus on holding our
service games since they were serving well. Both teams got a few quick holds to
open up the 2nd set. We took a 2-1 lead. It remained tight as we had
one break point on their serve but they saved it and held for 2-all. We both
held our next two service games to make it 4-all in the 2nd set. We
had to save one break point and held for 5-4. They followed with a hold to even
it at 5-5. We got a hold to take a 6-5 lead. At this point we made a tactical
adjustment by deciding to play 1 up/1 back on 1st and 2nd
serves. Earlier in the match we were playing two back on 1st serve.
This put more pressure on the server to hit a better 1st volley. It
paid off as we hit three good returns and the net man made some plays. We broke
them at 30-40 to take the 2nd set 7-5. A 10-point match tiebreak
would decide the champion. We got a mini-break lead to take a 2-1 lead. But
then we lost our next two service points after they hit two good returns. Our
opponents then won both of their service points to take a 5-2 lead. We then
only won only one of our two service points and were in a 3-6 hole. We hit a pair of
solid returns to get it back on serve and make it 5-6. We then won both of our
service points by hitting solid serves to take a 7-6 lead. They came up with a couple
of clutch points and held their service points to take a 8-7 lead. We then lost
a tough point where both teams scrambled to go down 9-7. They hit a good 2nd
service return to take the finals 6-3, 5-7, 10-7. I thought the finals match
was high-quality tennis and they played a little better than us in the
tiebreak. Obviously it’s a bummer not to win the title when you are a few
points away. But we gave ourselves a chance to win the title which is all you
can ask.
In the finals of singles I played Aidan Mchugh, who is from
Great Britain. He is 18 years old and is currently ranked #650. He is an
aggressive baseliner who likes to rip his forehand from the middle of the
court. He also has a good serve and has a solid backhand slice. I broke in the
1st game of the match after hitting a big 2nd serve
return and coming to the net. Unfortunately I gave the break right back after
not making many 1st serves in. We both held our next service game to
make it 2-all. In the next game we had a marathon game on my opponent’s serve.
I think I saved five game points in a row and had two break point chances. My
opponent finally held after he hit a forehand winner. In the next game, my
opponent raised his level and put a lot of pressure on me by playing aggressive
tennis. He broke me to take a 4-2 lead. I had one break point in the next game
but he saved it with a well-placed serve. He held for 5-2. He went on to break
me one more time to take the 1st set 6-2. I didn’t serve at a high
enough level as I got broken three times. My opponent held at love to open the
2nd set. He then broke me again after I made a few unforced errors.
He went on to hold for 3-0. I tried to treat this finals match like any other
match, but I felt like I had too low of energy. I saved two break points in my
next service game and started getting fired up. I broke my opponent by playing
a good return game to get it back on serve. At this point I started to find my
serve and started hitting my spots. I got a solid hold to even
it at 3-all. We both held our next two service games fairly easily to make it
5-all. My opponent held for 6-5, then I responded with a big hold to send it to
a tiebreak. I got up the early mini-break 2-1. But I only won one of two points
on my serve to make it 3-2. My opponent hit a good serve to make it 3-all. I
then hit one of the best shots of the match as I hit a crosscourt backhand
passing shot winner to go up 4-3. I hit a big serve to go up 5-3. Then I went
for a big 2nd serve and got a service winner to go up 6-3. My opponent won the next point to
make it 6-4. I then hit a good return and followed it up with a forehand
down-the-line winner to take the second set 7-6(4). To start the 3rd set, I served first and my
opponent came up with two winners and I also didn’t make many 1st
serves in. I got broken to go down 0-1. This really freed up my opponent as he
let his shots rip from this point. He was serving well and held to go up 2-0. I
held to make it 1-2. Then my opponent made all his first serves to go up 3-1. I got another hold to cut
his lead to 2-3. He continued to serve well and held for 4-2. He then broke me after
hitting a forehand return winner after I served & volleyed to go up 5-2. He
served out the match at 40-15 to take a tight match 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2. I thought
a played a pretty good match, but obviously I could have served a little
better. It would have helped to have not fell behind early in the 1st
and 3rd sets. But I fought hard to come back in the 2nd
set and get a split. It was still a fantastic tournament for me to make my
first Futures singles final! I picked up 10 ATP points. And I won $1520 for
making the finals of both singles and doubles. I am excited to try and improve
these next two weeks in Kuwait.
“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know
how amazing you can.” -Maya Angelou
Upcoming Schedule
November 5-11 – Kuwait F2 $15,000 Futures
November 12-18 – Kuwait F3 $15,000 Futures
Congrats on some good tournaments my brother!
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