Nicholas concludes the end of the 3.0 tournament season with his first ever 3.0 tournament championship!
The final 3.0 tournament event of the season took place with some of the top 3.0 players in the entire Midwest in attendance! And while this statement may seem like hyperbole, thanks to the USTA's fancy new ranking system, the aforementioned statement is 100% accurate!
Indeed, three of the top 3.0 players in all the Midwest descended upon Wooster, including three of the top four players in all of Northeast Ohio, meaning that the final 3.0 tournament event of the calendar year would be a star-studded event with some of the best of the best 3.0 talent around! And in the end, when the 3.0 dust settled, it was a hard-hitting matchup of two of the best 3.0 players around, duking it out on the plush WAC courts for 3.0 supremacy! Who won? How'd they win? Find out ... here!
Round 1
Nicholas d. Brian, 6-4 6-4
The opening matchup witnessed tournament tested Nicholas, a GOC semi-finalist just a weeks before, using said tournament experience to hold off hard-charging 3.0 rookie Brian, as the Mentor player used his now well-known powerful strokes to keep the hungry newbie at bay!
Scott d. Levi, 6-2 6-3
Tournament veteran Levi, veteran of over five 3.0 tournaments and a title winner in his own right, brought his vast experience to the Wooster courts, looking to enjoy a rematch later in the event with former opponent Benjamin. Taking advantage of his opponent perhaps looking ahead, 3.0 rookie Scott stormed out to an early lead, keeping Levi on his heels! The veteran rallied, though, and pushed Scott in the second set, but by then, it was too late as 3.0 momentum was on Scott's side, helping to lead him to his first ever 3.0 win!
Round 2
Nicholas d. Brandon, 6-4 6-4
After a hard-fought first round match, Nicholas' reward was to play the #1 ranked player in the entire state of O-H-I-O! Brandon, the top rated player in the area with well over 1,000 ranking points (whatever that means), was rightly given the #1 seed and a first round bye, meaning he was rested and raring to go! And indeed, what a match the crowd was privy to, for both players brought a hard-hitting style that was a pleasure to view! In the end, Nicholas was able to summon the necessary power needed to take down the top player in the area (if not the world!) to advance to his first ever 3.0 final!
Benjamin d. Scott, 6-2 6-4
On the other side of the bracket, the wily veteran that is Benjamin awaited rookie Scott, who had just enjoyed his first ever 3.0 victory. Benjamin, displaying his new-found power, used pinpoint shots to take an early lead, and while the rook did a fine job in pushing the second set to late dramatics, in the end, the experience and power of the most well-travelled 3.0 player around proved too much!
Consolation Rounds
Levi d. Brian, 2-6, 6-2, 10-6
Veteran Levi and rookie Brian took to the Consolation Courts, looking to get their opening win of the WAC, and it was the rookie who took charge early as he sprinted out to an open set victory! But Levi, the veteran he is, knew that slow-and-steady often wins the 3.0 race (as most 3.0ers tend to be, well, kind of slow in more ways than one), and as the match went on, so did his game! In a tightly contested third set SUPER TIE-BREAKER, experience proved the difference, and when all was said and done, Levi could walk proud, ending his tournament season with a victory!
Brandon d. Scott, 6-1 6-2
Playing for their first ever title, the Consolation Title, both players brought their "A" games. But as this is NTRP rated, that was a mistake, for NTRP is all about number! And when it comes to numbers, no one - NO ONE! - is better than Brandon, NEO's #1 ranked player! And on this day, on this court, and in this match, the numero uno player in all of Ohio proved his worth, not just enjoying the win, but enjoying his first ever 3.0 title - the WAC Consolation Title!
Championship Round
Nicholas d. Benjamin, 6-4 6-1
The assembled crowd - which was probably the entire city of Wooster - witnessed two of the top players in all the land go at it, and go at it they did! Both players, no stranger to one another as this was their third match, traded power for power, trying to blast their opponents off the court! Back and forth the first set went, but at this critical juncture, the well-travelled Benjamin, who had played in every single 3.0 event on the year, was no doubt exhausted, giving Nicholas the opening he needed to take a very close first set. Benjamin continued to give all he had, showing great form and some fantastic shots, but the well-rested Nicholas was able to withstand a furious comeback attempt to achieve the greatest achievement a 3.0er can possibly achieve - a shiny plastic trophy!
Congratulations to all the entries on a fantastic tournament day as the 3.0 tournament season has wrapped up!
There was no shiny plastic trophy this year. Especially no participation trophies. Nick received a shirt and a water bottler and I got a shirt. Which I decided to select a small after I was warned they ran small. When I got home, I realized it was a women's small (women shoulders)... So it was quickly donated to a small child.