Locals Take Center Stage to Advance at U.S. Open Qualifiers
The sun finally came out for the finalists of the U.S. Open National Playoffs qualifying event at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Saturday. After a week of rainy weather and matches being played indoors, the players returned outside to play in the warm weather.
The Men's Final featured Phillip Simmonds, a pro from Sportime, and Brooklyn, N.Y.'s Gary Kushnirovich in a highly anticipated battle.
"After playing inside for a few days, we were out in the sun and the wind and I had to adjust my game a little," said men's singles finalist Simmonds. Simmonds, a teaching pro at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy/Sportime Randall's Island, said that it was difficult to pass his opponent, Kushnirovich, in the windy conditions.
"I just tried to hit a lot of slices and told myself to stay calm with the elements," said Simmonds. "I got some early breaks and was also able to get a lot of first serves in."
The strategy worked for Simmonds, as he defeated Kushnirovich in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2 to earn a spot in the U.S. Open Men's Qualifying Draw.
In the Women's Singles Final, 18-year-old Rima Asatrian of Tenafly, N.J. fought back to win her match after losing the opening set 0-6 to her opponent, Petra Januskova of Canada. Asatrian got off to a shaky first set, filled with errors, to beat the 22-year-old Januskova, 0-6, 7-5, 6-4.
"I got off to a slow start and was very nervous," said Asatrian, who was defeated in the women's final two years ago. "I told myself to be more aggressive and take advantage of opportunities, and it worked for me."
Asatrian, who will attend Columbia University in the fall, was all smiles after her match win.
"I am so excited and am really looking forward to playing in the next qualifier to hopefully get to the U.S. Open," said Asatrian.
The Mixed Doubles Final, which featured four players from Long Island, was a tightly-contested match, as Cory Parr and his partner Elizabeth Kobak, both Jericho High School graduates, faced off against Southampton's Hleb Maslau & Simona Weymar. After losing a competitive first set 4-6, Parr & Kobak gave it their all in the second, but Maslau & Weymar held steady and were able to pull out the 6-4, 6-3 win.
"I think we communicated well with each other on the court and picked up each other's energy level," said Maslau, who is a teaching pro at the Ross School Tennis Academy in East Hampton, N.Y. "I felt we made a lot of the important points throughout the match, and there were a couple of deuce points that we got lucky on."
The U.S. Open National Playoffs is a series of tournaments that gives any player 14 years of age or older who meets eligibility requirements the opportunity to qualify for the 2014 U.S. Open. The winner of each Sectional Qualifying Tournament in each division (Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles and Mixed-Doubles) will advance to the U.S. Open National Playoffs Championships in their respective division. The winner of each Singles Championship (one male and one female) will receive a wild card entry to compete in the 2014 U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament (Aug. 19-22) and the winner of the Mixed-Doubles Championship (one team) will receive a wild card entry to compete in the 2014 U.S. Open Mixed-Doubles Championship (commencing Aug. 27) at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Credit all photos of Kelly Keenan
The team of Cory Parr & Liz Kobak from Jericho finished runners-up in the mixed-doubles draw
Gary Kushnarovich of Brooklyn, N.Y., runner-up in the men's singles draw
Sportime pro Phil Simmonds in action in the men's finals
Eighteen-year-old Rima Asatrian, winner of the women's draw
