Chasing the Impossible Dream

When the USTA announced that the mixed-doubles winner of the U.S. Open National Playoffs would get a wild card into the main draw of the 2011 U.S. Open, I knew I had to at least give it a shot and play in the Eastern Sectional Tournament.

Although I took about a 10-year break from competitive tennis, within the last two years, I started playing in a few USTA leagues and in a weekly game with some great local players. For this important tournament, I went straight for the best player I could think of—Hannah Camhi of Syosset High School who is a top-ranked Girls 18s player and a student at Bethpage Park Tennis Center, where I teach a few days a week.

We were only able to practice together a couple of times before the tournament, but I knew I had a good partner on the court with me. Our first round was against a team comprised of two USTA employees. With inclement weather and threatening skies, the match was moved to the indoor facility at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. While it would have been nice to play on the actual U.S. Open outdoor courts, Hannah and I got the tournament off to a promising start with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.

Not accustomed to playing on back-to-back days anymore, we returned the next day to play a formidable team of former professionals (and top-10 world ranked doubles player) Katrina Adams and her partner, Jaycen Murphy. Again forced indoors due to the weather, Hannah and I played a near-perfect match, racing out to a 5-2 lead. Knowing Adams would never give up, we had trouble closing out the first set and had to battle to hold on and take the set 7-5. The second set stayed on serve until late in the set when we got a break and I served it out for a 6-3 victory. It was one of the most pleasing victories I can remember and a match that was truly an honor to play in, and in some ways, it was my own personal U.S. Open experience.

Sore and a bit battered, the semifinals started early the next morning. When the draw was first published, I knew Bea Bielik & Darrin Cohen were the team to beat in the tournament. I have known Bea for many years and watched her develop into an NCAA champion some years ago. They were fortunate to have the privilege of playing Chris Evert & ESPN’s Mike Greenberg in an early round of the tournament. Hoping to play outdoors to help combat their overwhelming pace, the weather was again overcast and the match was played indoors. Hannah and I got off to a bumpy start and faced a 4-0 deficit within minutes. Fortunately, we fought our way into the match and although the 6-2, 6-4 loss ended our little run, it was satisfying to compete with the team that would win the title the next day in easy fashion.

Although my “impossible dream” didn’t come to fruition, I had an amazing experience. The pace and power that the younger players hit with today makes it a different game from my playing days, at 35 years of age, I was definitely among the older competitors in the later rounds of the mixed-doubles draw. I was so proud of my partner and her ability to compete with several former WTA-ranked players and hope Hannah answers my call for next year’s tournament so that we can make another run at chasing the impossible dream!