After spending the day in Kalamazoo yesterday I made my way down to Decatur, Illinois, today to watch the finals of the Ursula Beck Pro Tennis Classic/USA F26 Futures. I was hoping to catch the second and possibly third sets of the doubles final but Jared Hiltzik and Rhyne Williams weren’t very accommodating and finished off Nathan Pasha and Dane Webb 6-0, 6-1 in just 43 minutes. It was Hiltzik’s second career pro doubles title and Williams’s seventh though it was Rhyne’s first since 2013.
The singles final matched up 2015 USC graduate Roberto Quiroz and 19 year-old Australian Marc Polmans. Quiroz was looking for his third singles title of the year while Polmans was seeking his fourth. Quiroz got off to a quick start by breaking Polmans in a three-deuce game (on a double fault) to open the match and then he came back from 15/40 down to hold in a three-deuce game to extend his lead to 2-0.
Quiroz broke from 30/40 go to up 3-0 and then held in a one-deuce game to make it 4-0. Quiroz broke again pretty quickly and then served out the set from 40/30 to take it 6-0 in 32 minutes. Quiroz played close to an error free set while Polmans had trouble staying in rallies and racked up quite a few unforced errors. Polmans hit half a dozen drop shots in the first set (and placed them well) but Quiroz not only tracked each of them down but he hit an offensive shot to boot. Below are some first set highlights with most of the points being break/game points:
Polmans took a good five minutes in between sets to go to the bathroom and do a full wardrobe change (including shoes) and it seemed to pay off early in the second set.
Polmans got on the board with a hold from 40/15 and then he went up 15/40 on Quiroz’s 0-1 service game. Quiroz fought off both break points, with some well placed serves and strong first strikes, and held in a three-deuce game to even it at 1-1. Quiroz then broke from 30/40 and held from 40/30 to go up 3-1 and it looked like the end was near. Despite dropping three straight games, Polmans kept his composure and clawed his way back in one game at a time. He held from 40/15 and then broke from 15/40 to even it at 3-3. It looked Quiroz would break back after going up 15/40 but Polmans took the next four points to hold for 4-3. Polmans broke from 30/40 to go up 5-3 and then he fought off a pair of break points to hold in a two-deuce game to take the set 6-3.
Polmans really kept the unforced errors in check during the second set and Quiroz struggled on his second serve winning only 5 of 13 points. Below are some second set highlights:
Polmans finished the second set by winning five straight games and he would add another four on top of that to start the third set. Polmans broke Quiroz in a two-deuce game and then he won 12 of the next 15 points to go push the lead to 4-0. Polmans was brimming with confidence while Quiroz was fading but Roberto wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
Quiroz stopped the bleeding by holding from 40/30 and then he broke from 15/40 to make it 2-4. Quiroz fell behind 0/40 on his next service game but he fought off those three break points plus another to hold for 3-4. Quiroz had a break point to get the match back on serve but Polmans managed to hold for 5-3. Quiroz held from 40/15 and then broke from 30/40 to even at 5-5. Quiroz fought off a break point to hold for 6-5 and then Polmans held at love to send it to a match deciding tiebreak – third set highlights below.
Polmans opened up a 5-0 lead in the tiebreak but Quiroz won both points on Polmans’s serve and then the next two on his own to make it 5-4. Polmans went up 6-4 but Quiroz took the next four to pull off the improbable comeback win 6-0, 3-6, 7-6(6) – tiebreak highlights below.
So in summary Quiroz led 6-0, 3-1 then after losing nine straight games he trailed 0-6, 6-3, 4-0 then he won six of eight games to force the tiebreak and in the tiebreak after falling behind 5-0 he won eight of the next nine points to win it.
Below are both guys post-match speeches along with a photo of the two of them together and then at the bottom is a post-match interview with Quiroz.
This was my first-ever visit to Decatur and I was impressed with the facility and the large turnout. There was easily 100 people there for the finals which is a solid number for most Futures. The tournament has been around since 1999 and there was a large number of sponsors that helped get the prize money up to the $25K level.
The four-stop Illinois swing is very nice for guys that are looking to save on travel costs. The two St. Louis area stops in Godfrey and Edwardsville are just 20 miles apart and then Decatur and Champaign are only 40 miles apart.
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