The opening event of the 19th annual Akron Open Championships have come and gone, but not without some 3.0 history being made! Congratulations to all those who participated in one of the largest fields in Akron Open history who played, who won, and who made life long friendships.
Or lifelong enemies.
Or life long frenemies?!
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Group One
Group One - Brian, Jason, John, Kane, Robert, Scott, Travis
Group one turned out to be a highly competitive (i.e., cluster) of 3.0 tennis madness! And no wonder, with two players who had made Nationals appearances (in the tennis mecca that is Oklahoma City, btw), two former D.F.O. Players of the Year, two D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Famers, and three former tournament champions, this group one had the most experience of all the groups (all two of them!), meaning there would be no shortage of crafty (i.e., old man) tennis being played! Jason, with his gorgeous one-handed backhand, and Kane, with his nuclear-powered Dayton-area forehand, unfortunately fell early to wily veterans Travis and John, but showed they'd be a threat for years to come with their powerful games! Meanwhile, hometown hero Brian, Towpath's undefeated singles star in 18+ league play, got off to a hot 3.0 start with a big opening win versus doubles veteran Scott, who took a while to warm up to the fact he was playing singles and not ... doubles.
But Scott, who hadn't played a singles match since 2018 and hadn't won a singles match since [checks stats] ever (!), got off the career schneid by earning not only his first ever singles tournament victory, but his first very singles victory ever (!) with the classic strategy of "serve and lob" (thought we were going to say serve and volley, didn't you?!) versus John to the tune of 4-2. John, though, got back on the winning track with the even more classic strategy of "serve and volley" (thought we were going to say serve and lob, didn't you?!) past Travis to the tune of 4-2. Brian, though, a human-wall of defense, was able to absorb John's attacking tennis to win to the tune of 4-3 (thought we were going to say 4-2, didn't you?! WE ARE A MYSTERY OF THE LITERARY!). But just when it looked like Brian would walk his way to the final to the joyous applause of the home crowd (or the 3.0 ladies hoping the 3.0 men would hurry up and finish their event so the ladies could start their event), Robert, the wily and crafty 3.0 veteran that he is, who had only dropped two games in three straight victories up to this point, upset the entire 3.0 apple cart with a master class in slow-and-steady wins the 3.0 race stratagem, handing Towpath's very own Brian his first loss of the tournament. Meanwhile, John, thought out of the race, then came back into the race by winning an epic 4-3 match versus Robert.
WHOA! WHAT IN THE NAME OF CLEM KISSLING IS HAPPENING?!
Making it all the more confusing, Travis then bested his tennis sensei Scott 4-2 despite being down early, and then, just minutes later, lost (in minutes) Brian, 4-1.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!
It meant the final match in Group One, in which Brian took on hard-hitting Kane, and Robert took on Travis, would determine who would win the entire group! If Robert beat Travis, the finals were his! If Travis beat Robert and Kane beat Brian, the finals were Travis'! If Brian beat Kane and and Travis beat Robert, the finals were Brian's! SO MUCH MATH!
Fittingly, two D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Famers would help decide the tournament, as Robert, with well over 100 career 3.0 wins took on Travis, with well over 100 career 3.0 wins (which is meant to sound impressive unless you know this is the lowest level of tennis in existence, but we'll assume you don't know that, so please don't look up the USTA's NTRP rating system and instead just blindly continue to be awe-struck at these completely out-of-context numbers that you are reading). With the overall head-to-head series between these two a dead heat at 2-2, hese two crafty veterans were known for long and grueling mano y mano matches (much to the chagrin of the 3.0 ladies who wanted this over with)! And indeed, the first point, a 15 stroke rally, was a sign of what was to come, as both knew one another's games like the back of their own ... um ... backhand? In the end, Travis' defense was able to weather the consistent storm of Robert's ground strokes, and that, combined with A LOT of luck (i.e., a stab volley lob while his shoes were untied over Robert's outstretched racquet for a match point win) meant it would all come down to what was happening on Court 2 with Brian versus Kane.
Brian, knowing if he won he would enter his first final ever, was down early to the powerful Kane, but just like former 3.0er Batman, Brian was able to persevere, absorbing the power of Kane to not just win the match, but save his tournament run as well!
Thus, at 5-1, Brian would wait to see who won Group Two...
Group Two
Group Two - Adanan, Gunnar, Jay, Mark, Rymwen, Tony, Xiaofeng
Group Two, unlike Group One, was much more straightforward, but that didn't mean it was lacking in 3.0 intrigue!
Gunnar, the intimidating prohibitive favorite to win not just Group Two but the entire event, got off to a fast 3.0 start with wins over Xiaofeng and last week's MIO runner-up Jay before running into current Rocky River Force teammate Ado. Ado, enjoying wins over Mark and Xiaofeng to start his first ever tournament run on a winning note, was looking to keep his winning ways going and simply didn't know the meaning of the word "intimidating" (possibly because his native language is Norwegian)! Despite the spirited forehands of the elder Ado, it was the younger Gunnar who was able to prevail 4-2, but not before he was pushed to the limit by his Estonian Force friend/foe.
Speaking of friends who would turn into foes, Gunnar's teammate and One-Doubles league doubles partner Rymwen, who enjoyed a fast 3-0 start of his own with early wins over Jay, Mark, and Xiaofeng, and who was playing better and better with each succeeding match, faced the emotional gauntlet of taking on his friend ... and partner ... who was now his foe! But like the true friend he is, Rymwen chose his friend over winning, and proudly could be heard to proclaim "Put me out of my misery!" Gunnar, the true friend that he is, did just that to go undefeated on the day.
Gunnar and Rymwen, post-match.
In order to enter the championship final versus Brian, Gunnar still had to finish strong, and despite the emotional toll his victory over Rymwen no doubt took, and despite spirited efforts from the #1 rated player in Northwest Ohio, Tony, Gunnar was able to end the group with an undefeated 6-0 mark (which included a victory, ironically, over a "Mark," Mark from Paramount Westlake!).
In the end, the entire group enjoyed tournament wins, with Ado earning his first tournament victories ever, Jay rolling off three straight to end his second tournament in as many weeks, Xiaowang going 2 for 3 in the final half of his tourey run, Mark earning his first tourney victory of 2023 in what will no doubt be many, many more to come, and Tony taking down one of the best players Denmark has ever offered in Ado!
The Finals
The championship would see the D.F.O. Prediction Machine (patent pending) get yet another one right - Towpath's very own Brian versus undefeated 3.0 rookie Gunnar! The backcourt consistency of Brian, who enjoyed the home crowd support (i.e., the 3.0 ladies wanting to start their 3.0 tournament and thus hoping for a quick end), versus the all-court brilliance of Gunnar, who thanks to half the Rocky River Force roster entering this event, enjoyed some raucous support of his own! The match started off like it would be over quickly, with the undefeated favorite Gunnar taking the first two sets in relative ease. Brian, though, worked his way into the match (to the sadness of the 3.0 ladies), and with consistency and variability, was able to not just get back in the match, but frustrate his opponent just enough to even the championship final at two games a piece!
As the championship was first to four, the all important fifth game took place, and it was a doozie for the supporters (mostly those 3.0 ladies who were waiting for the men's event to end so they could finally take the court, but still, they were watching, so they count as supporters!). With Brian on serve, these two titans of the Towpath courts went back and forth, with deuce after deuce after agonizing deuce! In the end, with both 3.0 tennis warriors having multiple opportunities to take the game but being thwarted by some amazing play, it was Gunnar who was able to break service to take an exhausting 3-2 lead!
Having come just close to losing his advantage, Gunnar, on serve, refused to be denied, unleashing a series of crushing serves to take the game, the match, and ultimately his first ever 3.0 title!
And with that, the 19th Annual Akron Open Championships had come to an end!
OR HAD IT!
For in fact the 3.0 singles event is just the beginning of the Akron Open festivities as the lesser known 3.5 through Open players will be taking to the courts in the following days and weeks, no doubt in the shadow of these 3.0 all-stars! Still, good luck to them and a special good luck to the 3.0 doubles players that will be hitting the courts in the coming weeks to close out this rendition of the Akron Open. BECAUSE IT'S NOT AN AKRON OPEN UNLESS IT'S A 3.0 AKRON OPEN!
Be that as it may, congratulations to all the participants on a fantastic Akron Open Championship and good luck the rest of your season!
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