It's finally here! The biggest 3.0 event of the season, the Akron Open, is upon us! If you've read this blog before (and OF COURSE YOU HAVE!), this event is regularly the most attended of all the 3.0 Major* events in the entire area! THE ENTIRE NORTHEASTERN OHIO AREA, THAT IS! Indeed, the Akron Open is a literal who's-who of 3.0 stars! From new players looking to make a name for themselves on the 3.0 tour (which they should totally have, by the way) to grizzled veterans looking to add to their legacy (a 3.0 legacy, that's something to ponder, eh?) to random people who just happened to show up with a tennis racquet, the Akron Open, the longest running USTA 3.0 Major* event in all THE WORLD ... is here! (Again, we don't know if this "world" claim of ours is actually true, but it sounds so good, why would you try and ruin a good thing by making us fact check stuff like this? Shame on you!)
While the Akron Open has had to, for obvious reasons, change up it's format, the 3.0 doubles event is still on, but rather than taking place over a series of days, it'll be a one day extravaganza, just like the 3.0 singles event (which took place last weekend), which will no doubt even the playing field and make for one of the more exciting Akron Open's 3.0 doubles events of ALL-TIME! EVER!
So, with registration closed, who is playing? Who isn't? Who has the best chance to WIN IT ALL! Will the event even have enough entries to take place?! Find out ... HERE!
3.0 Doubles
Robert Schneider & Tim Schneider ... Robert 7-6 overall, 7-6 in doubles; Tim 0-0 overall, 0-0 in doubles ... TennisRecord.Com Rating: Robert 3.0s, Tim N/A ... Midwest Standing: N/A ... Doubles Tournament Experience/Highlights: Robert, '12 Akron Open 3.0 Doubles Quarterfinalist ... Pros: Robert's league championship experience as a core member of his
National Championships qualifying team shows he's no stranger to success on the courts ... a '16 Akron Open 3.0 Doubles Quarterfinalist, Robert's experience in tournament play will no doubt come in handy during the blitzkrieg-like first-to-eight match play that this event may host ... communication, always key in doubles, will surely be to the Schneider Family's advantage as they clearly enjoy the familial bond that will give them a communication edge the rest of the tournament field will no doubt envy!
David Gann & Travis Haselswerdt ... David 2-5 doubles, 11-20 overall; Travis 8-7 doubles, 55-29 overall ... Tennis Record.Com Rating: David 2.76, Travis 3.0 ... Midwest Standing: David N/A, Travis #2 ... Doubles Tournament Experience/Highlights: Together, none, but David and Travis did sign up for the 2020 Paramount Winter Championships 3.0 Doubles only to be defeated by the typical 3.0 nemesis - lack of entries; both have played several tournaments, but usually at singles; Travis won* the 2019 Paramount Fall Championships 3.0 Doubles (though Joshua Grischow, now a 3.5, did most the work) ... Pros: David, while only 2-5 in 3.0 doubles is career 23-23 lifetime in all areas of doubles, showing he not only brings significant doubles experience, but, as he's part man, part Sasquatch, a 47 foot wingspan as well ... Travis' 3.0 doubles experience is limited but he does have one solitary 3.0 doubles title that he brags way, way, way too much about ... the fact neither have ever played together means this could be like a phoenix that rises from the, well, a phoenix that just stays in the ashes...
Bob Shearer & John Ingersoll ... Bob 42-31 in doubles, 61-45 overall; John 26-19 in doubles, 26-19 overall ... Tennis Record.Com Rating: Bob 2.17, John 3.0S ... Midwest Standing: Bob #402 (2012), John N/A ... Doubles Tournament Experience/Highlights: Together, none, but Bob has played the Akron Open Doubles event four times and boasts a '06 Finalist finish at the near-professional 3.5 level and an '07 Consolation Finalist finish in the 3.0 event ... John has near-professional 3.5 tournament
experience as well, playing in the '14 Akron Open Doubles Shootout ... Pros: With almost 70 combined doubles victories between them, Bob and John bring the most experience - possibly ever! - to the event ... Bob, a legendary 3.0 player with some of the best 3.0 records in the history of Ohio 3.0 tennis, brings not just experience, but wins at almost every level, including league, playoff, and tournament play ... John enjoys an extensive doubles playing experience, both at the 3.0 and 3.5 level, and has enjoyed three undefeated league seasons in his career ('12, '13, '15), showing he's no stranger to winning!
Debabrata Ghosh & Robert Corts ... Debabrata 5-0 in doubles, 5-0 overall; Robert 32-12 in doubles, 63-38 overall ... Tennis Record.Com Rating: Debabrata 3.0S, Robert 2.90 ... Midwest Standing: Debabrata N/A, Robert N/A ...
Doubles Tournament Experience/Highlights: First tournament entered ... Pros: While this may be their first doubles experience together, both have fantastic individual doubles records ... Debabrata, is a perfect 5-0 in USTA 3.0 doubles league play, meaning he's never, ever lost - at anything! ... Robert, one of the winningest 3.0 players in Ohio, has over 30 doubles 3.0 wins to his incredibly legendary name ... despite their lack of playing time together, their combination of youth and experience make them an early tournament favorite!
Abhijit Nath & Devender Vittedi ... Abhijit 0-0 in doubles, 0-0 overall; Devender 0-0 in doubles, 0-0 overall ... Tennis Record.Com Rating: Abhijit 3.0, Devender 3.0S ... Midwest Standing: Abhijit N/A, Devender N/A ... Doubles Tournament Experience/Highlights: First tournament entered ... Pros: While neither Abhijit or Devender have played at the 3.0 level, both have played at the almost professional-level 6.5 doubles level and enjoy an undefeated 1-0 doubles record together ... playing exclusively in 3.5 or 6.5 (which according to our math experts is almost twice the league 3.0 is!) Abhijit, 9-5, and Devender, 1-1, have an impressive degree
of upper level experience to draw on ... both are members of the NEOATP, which actually sounds like a pretty cool organization, and have a vast and extensive amounts of singles and doubles experience in a rogue non-USTA league/ tournament play ... their undefeated tag-team record - in which they've never lost! - shows they are one of the favorites in this year's Akron Open despite this being their first ever event!
John Gambol & Clay Rexrode... John 0-1 in doubles, 0-1 overall; Clay 3-1 in doubles, 3-1 overall ... Tennis Record.Com Rating: John 2.5S, Clay 2.5S ... Midwest Standing: John N/A, Clay N/A ... Doubles Tournament Experience/Highlights: First tournament entered ... Pros: As both John and Clay play on the same USTA league team, they no doubt have incredible amounts of knowledge and communication on the doubles courts, thus providing them a communication advantage over much of the field ... home court advantage is definitely on their side, as their home club in league play, Towpath, just happens to be where the Akron Open is being hosted! ... members of a currently undefeated USTA league team, all they know is winning, which will surely provide the mental toughness needed to guide them during their maiden tournament voyage ... last minute additions to this event, they no doubt enjoy the element of surprise!
Preview Formula Rationale (because we know you care):
The following previews count both U.S.T.A. tournament AND U.S.T.A. league play records and unless otherwise noted focus on the highest level of entry level play one can participate in - that's right, 3.0 tennis! - and dismisses other levels, unless otherwise noted ... because we are just THAT dedicated to providing super in-depth analysis ... and it's basically a lock-down, so we have time to do this because we are stuck inside. Thanks, Covid. Also, we include ratings from TennisRecord.Com which provides even more in-depth analysis for those of us that like going down the tennis stats rabbit hole. Moreover, we also include the completely irrelevant and almost impossible to understand U.S.T.A. Midwest Men's 3.0 NTRP Singles PPR Standings List, which includes years from 2012 to 2019. Please don't ask us what it means or how it's calculated or how there can be a standings list of the best 3.0 players in the entire Midwest that only calculates two total events from 2019 or the fact they only list 21 total rankings and we are guessing there MAY be more than 21 total 3.0 players in the entire Midwest, but hey, who are we to question things we don't understand.
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