The 2023 rendition of the longest running 3.0 event on the 3.0 tour is almost upon us! The 19th annual Akron Open, the oldest and most continuously running 3.0 event in all of O-H-I-O will see the best of the 3.0 best ply their 3.0 trade on the vaunted courts of the Towpath Tennis Center! And as last year's champ, Todd, has been promoted to 3.5, the event is guaranteed to see a new(ish) champion! So who will that lucky lad be? Find out here!
Format
Two groups of seven will play first-to-four round-robin style with the best record in each group facing off for all the 3.0 marbles!
Singles Previews
Each entry will be broken down by TennisRecord.com rating (higher is better), World Tennis Number (lower is better), NTRP Northeast Ohio, Midwest, and National Rankings (which is actually a thing!), their home club, singles details, fun facts, and pros and cons! With this group, though, you know there will be way more pros than cons!
Robert Corts ... (2.93 & 22.0) ... no singles rankings, but in doubles he is 470 in the Nation, 14 in the Midwest, and 10th in Northeast Ohio ... with well over 200+ matches, Robert is a D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Famer, Akron Open Doubles Champion, and Flight winning captain, meaning his level of top-level 3.0 expertise is second to none! Pros: Experience! While he's ranked nationally in doubles, he's also ranked in the Top 10 in Ohio in both league and overall singles wins, showing Robert Corts no doubt knows his way around the - wait for it - COURTS! HEY OH! Cons: With but one trophy - a singles title - missing from his packed-full trophy case, will this prove to be his White Whale? And does anyone know what that reference actually means?!
Kane Feltner ... (2.64 & 29.1) ... 1482 in the Nation, 50 in the Midwest, and 8th in Ohio Valley ... Ohio Valley ... his third tournament, he has 20+ career total matches including 2-4 in tournament singles ... returning from last season's Round of 16 Akron Open finish! ... Pros: Not his first rodeo, he has experience in this event! Cons: An Ohio Valley player has never won this event ... will he break the curse?!
Colin Fishbaugh ... (2.92 & 28.3) ... Bay Village R.D. ... a newbie on the 3.0 scene, he's 3-4 on the season and 1-2 in singles. Pros: ook one of the best singles players in the area, last year's runner-up Nathan, to three sets in league play! Cons: His first event ever, how will he handle the bright-lights of the Towpath Tennis Center?!
Travis Haselswerdt ... (2.84 & 22.7) ... 368 in the Nation, 4th in the Midwest, and 2nd in Northeast Ohio ... Bay Village R.D. ... 160+ matches at the 3.0 level, he's an nine-time 3.0 tournament champion, with seven of those titles coming in singles, the most recent just last weekend at the MIO ... a two-time Akron Open champion, once in 2018 and once in 2021 he was demoted from 3.5 after one horrid 2022 season in which he didn't win a match, let alone a set, showing he's the ultimate in 3.0 technology ... Pros: Most 3.0 tournament tennis experience of any human alive with over 25 tournaments to his name ... Cons: The fact he's been a 3.0 this long is both shocking and depressing ... plus he's seen a -.10 de-provement in his TennisRecord.com rating since February!
Adnan Kazazic ... (3.01 & 25.4) ... Rocky River Force ... while this is his first ever 3.0 tournament, he has over 200+ career matches to his European name over the course of more than a decade of league play, with over 40 of those matches coming via the courts o' singles! ... a versatile player, this 3.0er who hails from parts unknown, has equal acumen via singles and doubles, enjoys a powerful forehand, and has National level experience! ... Pros: As the most tenured player in the event, there is quite literally nothing anyone can throw at him that he hasn't seen before! ... Cons: As this is his first ever 3.0 tournament event, is that a new thing being thrown at him?!
Jason Kucharski ... (2.91 & 28.5) ... Mayfield Village Racquet Club ... first ever event, he's 2-3 in his career, all in singles! Pros: Has played some of the top east side 3.0ers in singles this season and even played in a 3.5 singles event, showing he can clearly hold his own! Cons: First 3.0 tournament ever, will he be able to control his 3.0 nerves?!
Jay Lee ... (N/A & 27.5) 935th in the Nation, 16th in the Midwest, and 10th in Northeast Ohio ... Korea ... second ever tournament, he rocked his first ever tournament just a week prior to this event, going 2-1 to hoist the MIO Vice-Championship! Pros: Already a tournament vice-champion, he has the moxy to hang with the elder statesmen of this event! Cons: Will the bright lights of 3.0 expectations get to him?!
Tony Mazzarella ... (2.76 & 25.0) ... 927 in the Nation, 15th in the Midwest, and 1st in Northwestern Ohio! ... Perrysburg Tennis Center ... 60+ career matches with 10+ wins coming in singles ... fifth tournament event, highlighted by 2021 Northwest Ohio District title! ... Pros: Tourney experience and title owning ways show he's got the swag to make a dent in this event ... Cons: As the only representative of NWO, will he get lonely?!
Scott Mellino ... (3.01 & N/A) ... No singles rankings, BUT at 40+ doubles 26th in the Nation, 7th in the Midwest, and 7th in Northeast Ohio ... Rocky River Force ... a former 50+ NTRP 3.0 Doubles Champion with over 100+ career matches, he's also a former D.F.O. Doubles Team of the Year member ... while this is his third career tournament it's first ever singles event ... Pros: Vast experience combined with championship pedigree gives him the mental edge against most his opposition! ... Cons: With only four career singles matches to his name, and without his doubles bestie John, will he remember he has to cover the entire court and not just half?!
Rymwen Mil ... (2.86 & 26.9) ... Rocky River Force ... no singles rankings, but 562nd in the Nation, 23rd in the Midwest, and 14th in Northeastern Ohio in doubles! ... one of the hardest hitting players in the event, he finished runner-up in the Towpath Doubles event earlier this year ... 10 career matches, with one coming in singles, but 3.5 singles! Pros: As a tennis coach for the Parma Redmen, he'll know exactly what to do - and when to do it - during this event! Cons: A standout doubles player, will he remember that this is singles?!
Mark Miller ... (2.61 & 29.8) ... 1288 in the Nation, 40th in the Midwest, and 29th in Northeast Ohio ... Paramount Westlake ... 30+ career matches, with almost 25% of those coming in singles ... third event, and the only return participant from last year's MIO ... Pros: Court experience. As the only returning player, he knows these courts better than anyone! Cons: The tournament has moved from Ravenna H.S. to Notre Dame Cathedral Latin School!
Brian Piazza ... (2.93 & 21.2) ... Towpath ... 90 career matches with over 20 of them coming upon the courts o' singles including an undefeated league singles run for 2023! ... Pros: Has played some of the biggest names in singles the last two seasons, including Roderick and 2022 D.F.O. Player of the Year Nicholas, showing he's got the singles skills necessary to make a deep tournament run! ... Cons: Playing on his home court, will the home crowd be to raucous in their support for Brian to focus on the task at hand?!
Gunnar Schied ... (3.44 & 25.6) ... 559 in the Nation, 22 in the Midwest, and 13th in Northeastern Ohio ... Rocky River Force ... a rookie on the 3.0 scene, he's playing anything like it, earning a runner-up finish at the Towpath Doubles Championships, earning a victory in the 3.5 section of the Midwest Independence Open, and playing on multiple 3.0, 3.5, and One-Doubles leagues this season! Pros: The highest rated TennisRecord.Com player in the event with loads of high-level tournament experience already, he may not have the long-term experience, but he's rocking in experienced talent! Plus his name is flipping cool! ... Cons: Can he hang with some of the best lowest-rated players in the area?!
John Schuld ... (2.88 & 23.9) ... 297th in the Nation, 8th in the Midwest, 5th in Northeastern Ohio ... Paramount Westlake ... 20+ career matches with double-digits in singles ... fourth event with best finish coming in this very tournament, a 2022 Semi-Finalist finish, eventually bowing out to the eventual champion ... Pros - With some of the best tourney experience in the bracket, John's all-around game, combined with his all-around experience, make him a dark horse to look out for! Cons - What if he matches up against Paramount Westlake teammate Mark?!
Xiaofeng Wang ... (2.67 & 28.6) ... LaTuchie ... First tournament event! Pros - With only 10 matches under his 3.0 belt, he's a wild-card! Cons - With only 10 matches under his 3.0 belt, he's a wild-card!
Predictions
As there are no brackets yet, it's impossible to predict who will face one another let alone who will face history by winning the 19th Akron Open championship, making this the most difficult of all predictions. And yet the easiest!
This we do know ... Robert is a former Akron Open champion and current D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Famer ... Adnan has the most match experience ... Travis enjoys the best NEO ranking ... Brian enjoys the best WTN ... and Gunnar enjoys the best TennisRecord.Com rating! Look for one of those five to make a run to the title ... or lose to one of the other 10 who will win the title. IT'S THAT UP FOR GRABS!
But the guy grabbing the title will be the guy with the coolest name in the tournament - Gunnar!
Good luck all!
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