Scott & Patrick win the day, the respect of their peers, and shiny plaques of 3.0 greatness!
In one of the biggest 3.0 doubles fields in Akron Open 3.0 history, it was the first time tag team of Scott and Patrick who notched their maiden 3.0 tournament experience with a perfect undefeated 3-0 3.0 record to take home their first ever 3.0 trophies (which were actually plaques, but still)...! In doing so, both joined the history books as Akron Open Doubles Champions!
With eight total participating teams, this Akron Open Doubles event would host the second most entries ever (and since a team was actually left out, you could argue this was tied for the most entries of all-time ... and we shall argue it!), meaning the assembled crowds (the 3.5 ladies who played previously .... but left as soon as possible to avoid watching the 3.0 men's event, so really we're talking about Greg, the Towpath pro and the poor kid behind the front desk) were going to view one of the most talented* 3.0 groups ever assembled in one single location! WHOA!
So how did it go? How did it end? And when did the poor kid at the front desk finally kick the participants out of Towpath's fancy new main room? FIND OUT HERE!
Round 1
As this was a Compass Draw, which is something far too complicated for us to understand let along explain, the First Round would be vital in determining who would advance toward the championship and who would advance toward consolation (which, well, is exactly what happens in any tournament ... guess that wasn't too hard to explain after all). Chosen at random, the eight participating 3.0 teams faced off in a first to 8 games, win by 2, format!
Travis & David d. David & John, 8-2
Court One saw a tale of two versions of experience - Travis and David who were playing in their third straight Akron Open as a team and who had tag-teamed the doubles courts 10 times as a duo took on John and David who had over 40 combined years of tennis experience, not to mention over 140 years of life experience, and almost all of it at the near professional 3.5 level. So much experience! On this day, however, despite the amazing movement of John and the incredible hands of David, the on-court camaraderie and experience of Travis and David, the 2020 Akron Open Doubles Vice-Champions, combined with the huge serves of David, won the day. But as to who won the hearts of the crowd, that answer was obvious, as David and John's play was not just stellar, but inspiring as well!
Sebastian & Leon d. Corey & Mark, 8-1
On Court Two, two of North Canton's finest, Sebastian and Leon, matched up with the two of Towpath's finest, the duo of Corey and Mark. Indeed, early on it was the NCRC team that enjoyed the advantage, as North Canton's early gamesmanship by NCRC Captain Benjamin clearly wore out the Towpath team as, when they were initially brought out to Court Six to play, it was discovered that the wrong team's were brought out, meaning that the Towpath duo was no doubt exhausted after their nearly 100 meter walk! Indeed, no doubt exhausted, due to this gamesmanship/scheduling malfunction, and as they didn't get on the court until almost 30' later, the NCRC team enjoyed the mental advantage! With this advantage, combined with the crafty play of Sebastian and the hard-hitting serves of Leon, the North Canton duo were able to rally (which is kind of important in tennis) to get the early win, putting them two steps closer to the shiniest trophy in all of Akron!
Erik & Benjamin d. Scott & Renier, 8-0
Court Six saw the unique matchup of former foes becoming tennis friends (at least friends on a scale of 3.0 to 10) as the 2021 Akron Open singles Vice-Champion and Akron Open singles third place finisher teamed up to achieve 3.0 doubles glory! Scott and Renier, playing together for the first time, played well, but the combined power of Benjamin and the stellar net-play of Erik was simply too much to handle, and the first-time dynamic doubles duo earned the victory to advance to championship play!
Scott & Patrick d. Robert & Debabrata, 9-7
The most anticipated match of Round One saw two singles specialists go at it versus a doubles team that had already etched their names in Akron Open Doubles Championship glory back in 2020! Indeed, the hard hitting Scott and Patrick, who had both dominated the singles courts during the 2021 league campaign, had joined forces, and looked to be the odds on tournament favorites as their singles play was beyond rec league reproach ... however, their doubles play was ... a mystery (leading D.F.O. Maths Expert Jeff to predict a Vice-Championship finish for the duo, which Scott could be heard to comment, "I respect his decision")! Those questions, however, were soon answered in the affirmative as they ran out to a quick 4-1 lead using their now well-known blistering serves and outstanding court coverage! However, almost exactly 78' away from them (and sometimes closer than 78'), was one of the most accomplished doubles tandems of the new decade (which sounds pretty impressive ... and it's even true!). Indeed, the veteran guile of Robert and Debabrata, two players who had led their league 40+ team to a Flight Championship, soon turned the match around as Robert's hustle and Debabrata's net play keyed the turn around, punctuated by a strategic change that saw them lob, lob, and lob their way to take a late lead (leading Scott to comment, "I respect their strategic decision")! But, two match points down, Scott and Patrick, remembering why they came to play (to, um ... play?), refocused and not only saved both match points but saved the set as well! WOW! In what turned out to be the key match of the event and the closest match of the tournament, the rest of the field could be left to ponder the bracket system in which the computer randomly assigned the top two teams to play one another in the first round, leading everyone else in the field to comment, "I respect the computer's decision."
Round 2
In Round 2, two brackets now existed, the winner's bracket and the not-so-nicely-named loser's bracket (thanks a lot USTA, our self-confidence is low enough as it is without needing any of your help), which we will instead call the "Consolation Bracket." Because we are way nicer than the USTA.
Erik & Benjamin d. Sebastian & Leon, 8-0
In a match that had to test Benjamin's heart strings, the North Canton Captain faced off versus his North Canton league teammates Sebastian and Leon. Thankfully for Benjamin, as the league season had wrapped up a week ago, he was simply Benjamin this time around as opposed to Captain Benjamin, and since the league season was over, he was able to quote his former tennis coach Ivan Drago and say throughout the match, "I must break you." Which is a tennis thing, as it turns out, so clearly coach Drago knows what he's talking about! And on this day, coach Drago would be proud, as Benjamin did just that all four times versus his former teammates (and possibly friends, now) to enter the championship courts! Sebastian and Leon, though, were still in the running for 3rd place ... and possibly finding a new captain!
Scott & Patrick d. Travis & David, 8-3
Meanwhile, on Court One, Travis and David got off to an early lead versus the no-doubt gassed Scott and Patrick, thanks to two factors. One, their opponents were tired from their previous match. And two, David, sweating through not just his clothes but also his racquet, made a wardrobe change (the patent-pending head-band-wrist-band-scrunchie) that was so large and obnoxious that it left his opponents equally impressed and ... weirded out. Mental tennis warfare! Unfortunately for Travis and David, their mental advantage only lasted a few games, in part because they had gotten used to the bright lights and notoriety of Court One and had let the glow of their celebrity Court One status get to them, and soon they forgot why they were there (i.e., to play) and instead started to focus on the future (i.e., Erik's giant box of adult beverages). Speaking of focus, Travis and David immediately started to focus on the 3.0 beat down they were receiving as Scott and Patrick immediately took advantage of Travis and David's lack of focus and evened the match before pulling away with a serious of deft plays at the net that left Travis and David wishing Erik had brought the giant box of adult beverages down to the court so they could just get this over with. Scott and Patrick, meanwhile, were advancing to their first ever championship bout!
Robert & Debabrata d. David & John, 8-4
Robert and Debabrata, coming off an exhausting Round One match, had to face tennis wits versus the most experienced tandem in the event, David and John. Initially David and John were able to take advantage of their opponents exhaustion as John ran down everything in the back while David's eagle eye made sure the tandem only went for what was absolutely necessary. Robert and Debabrata, though, the wily veterans that they are, soon got themselves back into the match with their trademark play - hustle, net play, and lobs! In the end, the former champions were able to get the win, meaning they still had a championship to strive for - the consolation championship!
Corey & Mark d. Scott & Renier, 8-6
The second closest match of the evening should have come as no surprise as one of the main events, Towpath v. Towpath, was taking place! That's right, teammates and Towpath home towners Corey, Mark, Scott, and Renier would face off in a tennis civil war the likes of which this nation has never seen (we're fact checking that statement right now, but we're pretty sure it's spot on accurate)! Back and forth both teams went (much like the tennis ball, as it turned out) as neither was willing to cede tennis ground to their former Towpath brother. Eventually, Corey and Mark emerged victorious, and thankfully for the entire Towpath family, tennis axes were soon buried as soon as the match was over, helping to bring the entire Towpath community back together once again!
Round 3
In this round, there were multiple championships taking place. How's that? Well, you had the 7-8th place championship. Then the Consolation Bracket championship. Then the 3rd place championship. Then the championship championship! Perhaps calling all of these matches "championships" isn't correct, but this is the second lowest level of rec league tennis around, so let's treat these matches with the respect they deserve!
7th Place Championship
David & John d. Scott & Renier, 8-4
Playing for pride, which is pretty much the best thing to play for, it was the veterans David and John that earned their first ever 3.0 doubles tournament victories versus a spirited Scott and Renier. Indeed, the all-out hustle of John and the deft hands of David were the talk of the tournament while Renier's ability to play singles and doubles in two Akron Open's in a row while at the same time helping to clinch his Towpath team's wild-card playoff victory earlier in the week with his clutch doubles victory showed this 3.0ers career is definitely on the up!
Consolation Bracket Championship
Robert & Debabrata d. Corey & Mark, 8-4
Now dialed in, Robert and Debabrata got back to doing what they do so well - winning! And while they may have lost out on the Championship championship, they won the Consolation Title, and they did so with their textbook doubles play - Robert's all-out hustle and Debabrata's ingenious net game. And, thanks to the intricacies that is the Compass Draw and the random assigning of brackets, they actually had the second best performance of any team in the entire event, making one wonder exactly what any of these results actually mean. Huzzah for randomness!
3rd Place Championship
Travis & David d. Sebastian & Leon, 8-2
Travis and David ran out to a quick 2-0 lead with Travis serving, quite uncharacteristically, like a grown man. Sebastian and Leon, though, gave as good as they got, with Sebastian making the ESPN highlight reel Top 10 Play of the Day (honestly, come on ESPN, we know you want to cover this!). Down 1-2, and after a David smash, Sebastian somehow got it back across the net where Travis smashed the ball again, this time to a virtually irretrievable area on the adjoining court. We say "virtually" because Sebastian, with the all-out hustle that he had displayed all tournament long, not only ran down the ball, but also sent it back with such pinpoint accuracy that he split the middle and all Travis and David could do was watch helplessly as Sebastian won the point! Tied at 2-2, the match went back and forth, but Travis' surprisingly good serves combined with David's unsurprisingly good net play, won the day, and 3rd place was celebrated by all as Sebastian threw his tennis shirt into the crowd!
Championship Championship
Scott & Patrick d. Erik & Benjamin, 8-2
On Court One, Scott and Patrick, who had narrowly won their first match and were down early in their second, took on a team that hadn't dropped a game the entire tournament, leading some pundits to ask, would being rested or would having tournament experience be the advantage? In a hard hitting, hard serving, and actually really legit looking tennis match, the two undefeated sides went at it, with everything they've ever dreamed of on the line (if everything they've ever dreamed of is a plastic trophy ... WHICH IT SHOULD BE!), and those around them were given a show (which is actually true as several of the teams still playing stopped to watch the Court One match instead of actually focusing on their own match because, well, their match was actually good). Early on it looked like the tournament grind that Scott and Patrick had experienced would prove to be the difference as they ran out to an early lead, but the rested energy and youthful confidence of Erik and Benjamin would not be denied, and soon the match entered a 3.0 see-saw of epic 3.0 proportions! The consistency of Scott versus the net play of Erik ... the blistering serve of Benjamin versus the service bombs of Patrick ... the headband of Benjamin versus the backwards hat of Scott ... the lure of the huge box of adult beverages of Erik versus Travis and David accidently continuing to hit balls onto Court One thus disrupting any rhythm they might have. IT WAS BACK AND FORTH! In the end, though, the 3.0 grind that Scott and Patrick had endured had given them the mental fortitude to power through, and power through they did, to the tune of their first ever 3.0 championships!
Final Results
Scott & Patrick, 3-0
Erik & Benjamin, 2-1
David & Travis, 2-1
Robert & Debabrata, 2-1
Sebastian & Leon, 1-2
Corey & Mark, 1-2
John & David, 1-2
Scott & Renier, 0-3
Erik's Giant Box of Adult Beverages, Undefeated Forever and Ever
Fun Facts
- Patrick earned career 3.0 victory #20 while Scott notched his 29th career 3.0 victory, putting him very, very close to 30! Meanwhile, both earned their first ever 3.0 tournament title!
- Benjamin also earned career 3.0 victory #29, putting him one more closer to, well, 30, and enjoyed the fourth tournament Vice-Championship of his 3.0 career! Erik, in his first year, is already at five 3.0 victories, showing he has a great 3.0 career ahead of him. Dare to dream, Erik!
- Travis, with 92 career 3.0 victories, is nearing Crash Davis status with every passing match. Meanwhile, with his 14th career 3.0 tournament victory, David cracked the top 10 all-time 3.0 list for 3.0 tournament victories ... all-time!
- With his 2-1 record on the day, Robert is now one victory shy of a number only two other 3.0ers have ever achieved ... 90! Debabrata's record on the day now gives him double-digits tournament wins!
- Congrats to Sebastian, Leon, David, John, Corey, and Mark for earning tournament 3.0 victory numero uno - you'll never forget your first win, gentlemen!
- Renier and Corey are still playing in the playoffs for Towpath and congrats to Renier for clinching the wild-card win early in the week for his beloved club!
Summary
Congrats to all on a fantastic event and some fantastic low level rec league tennis! And super thanks to the Towpath Tennis Center for not only hosting, but for also letting all participants stay in the facility way longer than was probably necessary while they toasted gratitude to Erike's giant box of beverages!
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