Long Island Team of Cohen & Bielik Just Four Wins Away From U.S. Open Main Draw
Two local Long Islanders won the U.S. Open National Playoffs/Mixed-Doubles Sectional Qualifying Tournament, played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The team of Darrin Cohen & Bea Bielik was rarely tested throughout the tournament and did not drop a set in five wins. In the finals, they defeated Magda Okruashvili & Tsimafey Senkevich, 6-2, 6-2. Next up for Cohen & Bielik will be a tournament comprised of the winners from each of the USTA’s 16 sections. The winner of that tournament, which will be played in New Haven, Conn. in August, during the WTA’s Pilot Penn event, will advance straight into the main draw of the 2011 U.S. Open.
“Most of the players in this tournament were younger than us, and we used that to our advantage," said Bielik. "I think we only spent about 15 min. playing as a doubles team before this tournament, but we have a lot of tennis experience between the two of us."
Cohen is a former standout collegiate player at the University of Virginia, and Bielik is a former National Champion at Wake Forest who also spent some time on the WTA Tour. She reached the third round of the U.S. Open in 2005 where she lost to Justine Henin. Cohen is currently the head tennis pro at Sportime Kings Park, while Bielik is the director of tennis at Sportime Lynbrook. The team was put together and coached for this tournament by mutual friend and colleague Jason Wass, who figured they would be a formidable team and he was certainly correct.
"The team showed great poise throughout the tournament and used their teamwork and experience to defeat all challengers despite only playing together in two practice matches before the tournament," said Wass.
Bielik and Cohen said that they did not know what to expect from this tournament coming in, but their goal was to "simply enjoy themselves." After playing for the last five days straight, the pair is now looking forward to some rest and relaxation.
"The experience was great and a lot of fun," said Cohen. "I am looking forward to continuing on to the next step, but first, I look forward to resting."
With five wins in the books and four remaining for their big shot to face the pros at the U.S. Open, the next four months prior to the New Haven qualifier will be a tough waiting period for the Long Island duo. While Bielik has been in the main draw of a Grand Slam before, she would certainly embrace a return trip and this is a brand new experience for Cohen. After asking him what it would mean to him to be part of the main draw at the 2011 U.S. Open, he replied, “A dream come true, honestly."
If the team of Cohen & Bielik has four more wins in them, then that dream will become a realization!
Darrin Cohen serves in his doubles qualifying match
Darrin Cohen & Bea Bielik en route to their 6-2, 6-2 win over Magda Okruashvili & Tsimafey Senkevich
Magda Okruashvili returns a shot
The team of Magda Okruashvili & Tsimafey Senkevich congratulate the match winners Darrin Cohen & Bea Bielik
Darrin Cohen (left) and Bea Bielik (right) are presented their winning trophies by Whitney Kraft (center), director of tennis for the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
The winners recap their win during a post-match interview
