Semis Set at USTA Nat'l Clay Court
Rose Blooms & Wilder Wilts at National Men's 45 Championship
Upsets continue at the USTA National Men's 45 Clay Court Championship, setting up interesting semifinal matches.
Tom Coulton Upsets Val Wilder in Quarters
Surprises are no longer surprises at the USTA National Men’s 45 Clay Court Championship, because they have become the norm. On the top-half of the draw, defending champion and No.1 seed, Val Wilder of Fort Worth, TX, was dethroned by Tom Coulton of Hilton Head, SC in three sets.
Down 4-6, 1-4, Coulton turned things around and claimed the second set breaker. He went up 5-1, 15-15 in the third set before rain halted the action for 90 minutes. One might think that the delay would give Wilder time to regroup and utilize his years of winning experiences to turn the tide. But such was not the case.
After Wilder held serve for 2-5, Coulton refused to let his opportunity to beat the top-ranked player in the world in Men’s 45 get away. He served out the set and will face Boca Raton’s Horacio Rearte (7) in the semis.
Horacio Rearte Grounds Charlton Eagle
Rearte came as close as he has come all tournament long to losing a set, spotting Delray’s Charlton Eagle a four-game lead in the first set, before coming back to win it 7-5. Rearte didn’t let up even after the rains had, closing out the second set, 6-2. Coulton has bucked the odds once, but Rearte still has much of his open-clay-court-titliest skill (1999, 2000), and will be tough to beat in this battle of baseliners.
Mike Rose and Peter Markes to Faceoff
Another interesting match-up is set for the bottom-half of the draw, as lefty, all-courter Peter Markes (11) of Austin, TX is set to face off against Mike Rose (3) of Ecorse, MI. Markes eliminated the “seed-killer” and three-set bastion, Al Cannon of Greenville, SC, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. Playing his fourth three-setter in a row, Cannon was not able to tap the gas in the final set.
Markes’ all-court game has proven effective against all-comers, but Rose’s game has been in bloom all tourney. Rose has lost an average of less than four games per match through the quarters. Chances are he will lose more than four games versus Markes, but it will be interesting to see if Peter stays on the mark or Rose’s game loses its sweet fragrance.
Florida Clay No Longer Dominant?
Aside from the players themselves and the intriguing match-ups, the diversity of locales from which the semifinalists come is interesting. Although Florida has been known as a hotbed of clay court tennis, only one of the semifinalists, Rearte, lists Florida as his playing base.
Neither Michigan nor Texas could be considered a clay court centers, yet both Rose and Markes have played extremely well on the clay. Coulton’s Hilton Head home boasts some fine clay court facilities at world-renown resorts, so his clay court prowess is no surprise.
Finals a Battle of Styles
The final on Saturday will feature a hard court stalwart against a clay court specialist, as either Rose or Markes will face either Rearte or Coulton. It will be interesting to see if the clay court specialist will prevail over the all court games of the hard court stalwart, and whether Florida can produce the clay court Champion.
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