The first ever MIO Championships took place for the first time ... EVER! And when all was said and done, whoa-nelly, a surprise* winner was crowned 3.0* champion!
No doubt you've read our in-depth preview in which we only forgot to mention one of the participants, which, around these parts, is pretty impressive! And no doubt this review of the MIO results will be super in-depth considering our seven year old deleted our previous read-to-publish post a few hours ago. So get ready for a post-tournament review that is as informative as you've come to expect!
Ahem.
Round of 16 Results & Highlights
John d. Kyle- 6-3, 6-2
Ryan d. Mark- 6-0, 6-1
Matthew d. Leo- 6-2, 6-0
Tyler d. Florencio- 6-0, 6-0
Erik d. Aadil- 6-0, RET [ill]
Nicholas d. Jeff S.- Wd [inj]
David d. Benjamin- 7-6(6), 7-6(2)
Stephen d. Jeff- 6-3, 6-4
Round 16 saw one of the biggest tournament groups in recent memory take the courts of the Western Reserve Academy with championship aspirations in the air (or that could have been the high levels of heat and humidity). After the first forays, the top seeds enjoyed most the wins on opening day, although there were some notable matches that took place! Raw rookie Tyler, who had most likely never picked up a racquet before this very tournament, enjoyed the only bagel of the opening round while Erik, playing in only his second singles 3.0 event ever, played so sick, as the kids say, that his opponent Aadil quite literally got sick! Get well Aadil! In another impressive second, Jeff S., for the second 30 tournament in a row, suffered a "Withdraw [Inj]." Get well Jeff S.!
In terms of upsets, the biggest was no doubt the strong counter-punching ability of David "Double D" Deeter (as we're sure he's known to his friends ... and all 3.0ers are no doubt friends!) versus the tournament tested experience of one of the most tournament experienced 3.0ers of our generation, Benjamin. David refused to let any of Benjamin's powerful strokes get by, and in the match of the opening round, only seven points separated these two as David earned, and no doubt enjoyed, a historic personal milestone, taking down one of the best 3.0ers of his - and YOUR - generation!
Quarterfinals - Consolation Bracket
Kyle d. Mark- 6-4, 4-6, 10-8
Leo d. Florencio- 6-0, 7-6(7)
Aadil d. Jeff S.- Wd [inj]
Benjamin d. Jeff- 6-0, 6-1
The consolation round saw a number of firsts, as Kyle enjoyed his first ever 3.0 tournament win versus a spirited Mark, in a match in which only two points proved to be the difference! But the marquee match was no doubt Aadil, who, though sick, rallied past Jeff S., who, for the fourth straight time and the second straight tourney, suffered another injury. Get well Jeff, but congrats Aadil!
Quarterfinals Part 2 - Consolation Bracket
Stephen d. Kyle- 6-4, 6-4
Nicholas d. Leo- Wd [pc]
Matthew d. Aadil- Wd [inj]
Benjamin d. Ryan- 6-0, 6-1
In a rarely seen 3.0 first, the MIO allowed players from the championship bracket who had already won to enter the consolation bracket. HUBBA WHAT?!
Which meant that two pre-tournament favs, Nicholas and Matthew had a new found shot at 3.0 redemption! And redemption they earned to the tune of ... walkovers. Well done, gentlemen!
Quarterfinals - Championship Bracket
John d. Ryan- 7-5, 6-0
Tyler d. Matthew- 6-1, 6-4
Erik d. Nicholas- 6-6, 6-3, 10-7
David d. Stephen- 6-1, 6-4
The championship bracket was a who's who of 3.0 stars, but one 3.0 star started burning brighter than any other as 3.0 rookie Tyler took on the 2021 Akron Open Doubles Champion Matthew in the marquee quarterfinal match of Saturday! Tyler, new to the game of tennis, started strong, but Matthew, new to the game of singles tennis, rallied (which is always a useful skill in racquet sports), pushing the second set to the brink! In the end, Tyler's newfound tennis skills won the day, but Matthew could take pride in the fact that he would, when all was said and done, take the most games off of Tyler of any competitor the entire tournament! (Though, unless he's a time traveller he may not have known that at the time ... OR DID HE?!)
The big match in the quarters, however, was a rematch of Nicholas, he of the 2021 Green Open Champion, versus Erik, he of the 2021 LaTuchie Flight winning Scott Hovey loving Flight champions! Nicholas, who had won the day versus Erik during league play, looked to be one of the tourney favs, and as such, Erik came in super focused, super prepared, and super hydrated! Thanks to his special blend of energy drink (as it is copyrighted we are not sure what's in it other than hops, barley, and water), Erik was able to withstand a first set barrage of powerful forehands from Nicholas to even the match after the second set! Thus, a third-set SUPER TIE-BREAKER would be needed to settle this one! Erik's powerful baseline game versus Nicholas' powerful baseline game went tit-for-tennis-tat, but at a crucial point towards the end, Erik was able to counter and avenge his earlier league loss to make his first ever trip to a semifinal!
Semifinals - Championship Bracket
Tyler d. John- 6-2, 6-2
Erik d. David- 6-3, 6-1
Heading into Sunday, all four semifinalist's shared one thing in common - nerves! For this was, for all of them, their first ever appearance in a 3.0 tournament semifinal! WHOA! Both Tyler and John started off nervous (we assume, we weren't really there, and by "weren't really" we mean not at all), but the composure of Tyler, so new to the game, ended up being the difference maker, a composure so impressive that college scouts started to descend upon the courts of Western Reserve Academy to see what was taking place!
On the other side of the bracket, the powerful loopy forehands of Erik faced off versus the solid defense of Double D, as he was well-known by at this point of the event. Erik, though, used his strongest weapon to win the day - his ability to make those he plays physically ill, and thanks to David's bum ankle, Erik was able to control the match - wow, what strategy! - and enter the first final of his 3.0 career!
Semifinals - Consolation Bracket
Stephen d. Nicholas- Wd [inj]
Matthew d. Benjamin- 6-0, 6-0
The semifinals would have a surprising result as Stephen, a 3.0 newbie, took down Nicholas, a 3.0 star, in what was the tournament's seventh withdrawal. WOW! Meanwhile, the hard-hitting Matthew was able to outlast the now exhausted Benjamin who, after trying to play in the adult level 3.5 event was uber-exhausted. Let that be a lesson to you, kids!
We're not sure what the lesson is. But ... it's a lesson of some kind.
Finals - Championship Bracket
Thus, the finals of the first ever MIO was set! A relatively new player to the 3.0 scene in Erik versus a COMPLETELY NEW PLAYER TO THE GAME OF TENNIS, Tyler! Erik's marginal veteran moxy versus Tyler's completely raw level of play ... who would win!
Tyler.
Because Erik had stretched himself too thin - playing in both the 3.0 and the nearly-professional 3.5 tournament, Erik was running on fumes, and no amount of his special I.P.A. hydration could give him the energy necessary to prolong his tourney run. That's not to say that he didn't give it a go, and in the first set it was back-and-forth! Tyler, though, with his Bambi-like newness was able to withstand Erik's attempts, and when all was said and done, the MIO had crowned it's first ever 3.0 champion!
And, in a story that is only written in fairy tales (or pretend tennis blogs like this one), Tyler's 3.0 efforts were so impressive that Mount Union immediately recruited him to play Division III tennis at the college level!
WHOA!
Finals - Consolation Bracket
Matthew d. Stephen- 6-1, 6-3
The consolation championship would pit two relative newbies against one another as both hoped to etch their name in 3.0 history by taking home their first ever 3.0 consolation titles! Stephen was no doubt in awe of the moment, which is understandable, while Matthew's experience in championship matches, albeit doubles, certainly paid off early! Stephen, though, quickly got back in the match in the second, but the championship moxy of "Two Tall Matthew" (that's what the two t's stand for in his first name) proved to be too much, and for the first time ever, NCRC's own was able to take home his very first title!
Congratulations all, and good luck to everyone who is participating at the Akron Open!
Comments