By Larry Hodges
Men's Singles: Round of 16
Ilija Lupulesku d. De Tran, 7,6,2,6
Khoa Nguyen d. Eric Owens, 7,8,7,4
Adam Hugh d. Alexis Perez, 8,4,8,9
Cheng Yinghua d. Chi-Sun Chui, 4,4,14,3
Han Xiao d. Barney J. Reed, 5,-11,-12,-4,6,9,7
Mark Hazinski d. Shuja Jafar-Ali, 5,2,3,5
Todd Sweeris d. Ashu Jain, 3,-10,-8,9,6,7
David Zhuang d. Rudy Miranda, 5,7,4,5
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| Eric Owens Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Ashu Jain Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
In the top half of the draw, all four matches were 4-0, as were two on the bottom. Three matches were of interest. First was Khoa Nguyen's 4-0 win over Eric Owens. Eric looked rusty, while Khoa was all over the court attacking. The points were great, but all too many ended with Khoa crushing a forehand. Eric had finished his finals a few days before - he's a Biochemistry Pre-Med major.
Another match of interest was Han Xiao's 4-3 upset of Barney J. Reed. Xiao had upset Reed two weeks before at the North American Teams, but this time was down 3-1 before staging a comeback. Han's relentless backhand looping from over the table rushed Barney, forcing many mistakes. "I think some nets bothered him," Han said. "He got a little frustrated and tightened up."
The final match of interest was Todd Sweeris (recently Xiao's practice partner) against Ashu Jain. Jain led 2-1, but like Xiao, Sweeris came back to win the last three.
Men's Singles: Quarterfinals
Ilija Lupulesku d. Khoa Nguyen, 7,12,12,8
Adam Hugh d. Cheng Yinghua, -9,-10,5,15,7,-7,2
Mark Hazinski d. Han Xiao, 11,7,7,8
David Zhuang d. Todd Sweeris, 3,-8,8,6,9
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Quarterfinalist Cheng Yinghua |
Quarterfinalist Han Xiao Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
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| Quarterfinalist Todd Sweeris Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Quarterfinalist Khoa Nguyen Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Of course, the match that JUMPS out above is 15-year-old Adam Hugh's upset over Cheng Yinghua. To some, this was astounding - a passing of the torch. To others, it was indeed a passing of the torch - but not so astounding, since Cheng, 45, hadn't played a tournament in a year, and the rust showed, and Adam - who was on fire this match! - was just the fearless type of player who wouldn't be intimidated by Cheng. On the forehand side, it sometimes looked like Cheng just couldn't find the table when he went for big shots - so Cheng went into a steady game, blocking and spinning. Adam came at him fearlessly, and made him pay for the lack of attack. Adam's backhand was especially effective.
The key to the match was game four. Cheng was up 2-1 in games, and led 9-5. After a net-edge to reach 9-7, Cheng serve & ripped a forehand - off. He then served and started to rip a forehand - but Adam caught him with a short push, which Cheng pushed in the next, 9-9. Cheng looped again, again it goes off, 9-10 Adam, but then Adam hits a backhand into the net, 10-all. Cheng serve & rips a forehand - but it's off again, 10-11. Adam has a chance to win the game a serve & rip that seems to catch Cheng going the wrong way, but it goes into the net. Cheng leads 12-11, 13-12, and 14-13 - but Adam gets two nets in a row to lead 15-14. Finally, Adam backhand hits a winner to win that game, 17-15, and the match is tied up, 2-2. Worse, Cheng is exhausted, while Adam still looks fresh - and Adam goes up 5-0 in the next game in winning 11-7.
Cheng isn't through, however, and dominates the sixth, 11-7. Up 9-7, Cheng suddenly plays like the "old" Cheng, and rips a series of backhand and forehand loops, which Adam manages to block until Cheng does an acrobatic forehand rip from the backhand corner. But he looks out of breath after the point. So it's into the seventh, with a huge crowd watching here in the main arena. But the seventh is over quickly - it's all Adam, as all Cheng can do is exchange backhands, missing nearly any forehand, while Adam comes at him relentlessly from both sides - 11-2. Tactically, Adam has played a very nice strategy of opening soft with either forehand or backhand loops to Cheng's wide backhand, then following up with backhand hitting or forehand loops. Many rallies became backhand to backhand, with Adam coming at Cheng very aggressively, Cheng playing a steady, close-to-the-table spinning backhand. Both players played the other's middle well, but most point-winners were to the wide forehand.
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| Semifinalist Ilija Lupulesku Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Semifinalist Adam Hugh Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
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| Semifinalist David Zhuang Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Semifinalist Mark Hazinski Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Khoa Nguyen had his chances with Ilija Lupulesku, but couldn't quite convert. Khoa led 9-5 in the second, but lost 5 in a row. He deuced it, but missed a counterloop from up 11-10. Up 13-12, Lupi was off the table half-lobbing, half fishing, while Khoa looped over and over - and then missed. Game four was almost a replay. Again Khoa led 9-5. At 9-8, Lupi missed an easy forehand, and looks up in disgust, 10-8 Khoa. But now, in his attempt to serve short so Lupi can't loop his serve, Khoa overdoes it - and serves into the net twice in a row!!! 10-10. From there on, they have great rallies, but Khoa never has an ad in losing 14-12. Lupi then wins game four easily. Tactically, Lupi often turned Khoa into a blocker, with Khoa hesitant to counterloop with Lupi, the best counterlooper in the country. When Khoa did counterloop, he'd often get Lupi to spin soft, defensively, but after a few loops, Khoa would usually miss one awkwardly, as if not expecting still another return. Most rallies started with Lupi serve and looping, or getting the first loop even on Khoa's serve. "I felt really good in that match," Lupulesku said afterwards. "He had no solution to returning my serve." Which meant that the master looper was able to serve and loop over and over and over and over.
Mark Hazinski dominated much of his match with Han Xiao with his backhand punch block. Both Mark and Han have excellent backhand loops, but Han plays his closer to the table. So when he backhand looped, Mark would punch-block it hard, rushing Han into missing. Once they got into rallies, Mark is a slightly better counterlooper, and has more power. Han had his chances in the first game - but at 9-all he served a net-ticker off the end, and down 11-12, he served still another net-ticker off the end to lose. ("That was very annoying," he said later of the net-tickers.") The rallies were short as both players ended the point very quickly and efficiently from both wings.
After losing the first, Todd Sweeris led 4-0 in the second, 5-0 in the third against David Zhuang. He converted the first, and went up 7-1 in the second - then lost 8 in a row, 7-9. After losing that game 11-8, it was mostly over, although he did fight from down 8-3 in the fifth to reach 9-all - but then hit two backhands into the net.
The Semifinal matches (which start at 5:00 PM on Saturday) are Ilija Lupulesku vs. Adam Hugh, and David Zhuang vs. Mark Hazinski.
Women's Singles: Round of 16
Jasna Reed d. Wendy Eav, 8,5,7,7
Judy Hugh d. Anzhelika Tyan, 7,6,6,-9,6
Simone Yang d. Mahin Roufeh, 1,4,6,2
Hong Zhao d. Barbara Wei, 10,-12,6,-8,7,3
Lily Yip d. Toni Gresham, 1,4,5,10
Michelle Do d. Charlene Liu, 7,3,12,12
Li Ai d. Atha Fong, 6,5,11,6
Tawny Banh d. Laura Xiao, 8,3,5,10
The only upset this round was 14-year-old Judy Hugh's win over Anzhelika Tyan. Tyan (also known as Angela Tian) has been rated as high as 2291, but is currently 2182 to Judy's 2028. Another 14-year-old, Barbara Wei (rated 2003), also had a nice performance, losing 4-2 to the #4 seeded woman, Hong Zhao, rated 2266. The other six matches were all 4-0.
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| Quarterfinalist Judy Hugh Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Quarterfinalist Simone Yang Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
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| Quarterfinalist Michelle Do Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Quarterfinalist Li Ai Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Women's Singles: Quarterfinals
Jasna Reed d. Judy Hugh, 5,7,6,6
Hong Zhao d. Simone Yang, -3,-7,12,11,-9,3,7
Lily Yip d. Michelle Do, 9,4,-9,10,3
Tawny Banh d. Li Ai, 7,13,5,5
There were no upsets, and the top four seeds are now into the semifinals. The only close one was Hong Zhao's 4-3 battle with U.S. team member Simone Yang. The two are rated 2266 and 2242, respectively, so it was no surprise the closeness of the match. Hong plays a unique game, a penholder who uses inverted and long pips, and regularly flips in the rally. Simone is basically a blocker, and the two played long countering rallies.
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| Jasna Reed Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Hong Zhao Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
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| Tawny Banh Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Lily Yip Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003 |
Men's Doubles
It was no surprise that Ilija Lupulesku and David Zhuang, probably the two best doubles players in the U.S. and the top two seeds here, coasted into the final (and yes, won the final easily). The big battle in the semifinals was between the #2 seeds, Mark Hazinski and Barney J. Reed, and the veterans (and #3 seeds) Todd Sweeris and Brian Pace. Hazinski/Reed had the advantage of being left/righty, and pretty much dominated the first two games at 5 & 4. "In the last three games, I focused on controlling the table, and told Brian to just loop everything steady." The tactic seemed to work as they won the next three and the match, -5,-4,7,8,4. In the final, however, as good as Todd is at controlling the table, David is better; and as good as Brian is at looping, nobody can match Lupulesku in steady looping. The final went to Lupi & David, 3,7,8.
Mixed Doubles
Lily
Yip and Adam Hugh, Mixed Doubles Finalists. Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003
Like Men's Doubles, it came as no surprise nobody could get a game off of Ilija Lupulesku and Jasna Reed. And also like men's doubles, the big battle was in the semifinals. Adam Hugh and mom Lily Yip had upset in the quarterfinals the slightly higher rated (and #4 seeded team) of Khoa Nguyen and Li Ai (yes, she's back in action!), 8,5,8. In the semis, Hugh/Yip played the #2 seeded team of Eric Owens and Tawny Banh. After losing the first 15-13, Hugh/Yip won the next three and the match, -13,7,7,11, with "Mother of the Year" Lily (who'd also made the final of Women's Doubles with daughter Judy) smashing in the final match-winning point. In the final, every game was nail-bitingly close, with Lupi & Jasna winning 9,10,9.
Senior Events
Over
60 Singles and Over 50 Doubles Champion George Brathwaite. Photo by Gerry Chua ©2003
For the second year in a row it was George Brathwaite vs. Richard Hicks in the Over 60 Men's Singles final, and for the second year in a row, Brathwaite won, this year at 10,7,3. (Of course, the year before that Hicks won over Nick Mintsiveris, who had upset George in the semifinals.
Last year, Bella Livshin had lost to Charlene Liu in the semifinals of Over 50 Women, and Mahin Roufeh had won the final over Liu. This year, it was Livshin over Roufeh in the semifinals (4,9,3), and over Liu in the final (-7,7,6,6).
Barbara Kaminsky successfully defended her Over 60 Women's Singles crown, winning over Danuta Andrzejewska, 7,9,9.
George Hendry added Over 75 to his Over 80 crown, winning the final over Grady Gordon, 6,11,9. Hendry had played Frank Dwelly in the Over 80 Final, and again here in the semifinals - and won both 11-8 in the fifth. Ironically, Gordon had won Over 70, but couldn't take Over 75.
George Brathwaite/Dave Sakai won Over 50 Doubles over defending champions Lim Ming Chui/Jiri Hlava, 6,7,-9,-11,3.
In Over 70 Doubles, Tim Boggan/Frank Dwelly won for the fourth year in a row, defeating Grady Gordon/George Hendry, 5,6,9. It was the seventh straight time the two have won the event at the U.S. Nationals and U.S. Open.
Other Results
Under 2200 - Final: Sakda Timsuwan d. Steve Berger, 7,5,4; SF: Timsuwan d. Michael Hadsell Jr., 6,-9,8,-9,6; Berger d. Santos Shih, 5,6,3; QF: Hadsell d. Chong Keng Tay, 5,9,-8,-9,9; Timsuwan d. Aleksandr Mikhlin, -8,8,-4,5,5; Shih d. Pan Lin, -6,6,9,9; Berger d. Judy Hugh, 6,-9,3,6.
Under 1900 Women - Final: Cheung Wan Yee d. Rita Wu, -8,11,8,-10,9; SF: Cheung d. Yevgeniya Kotlerman, 5,10,12; Wu d. Donna Sakai, -10,9,11,7.
Under 1800 - Final: Sean C. Lee d. Gene Chiu, 7,4,7; SF: Lee d. Ralph Guillory, -9,5,7,9; Chiu d. Edric Lewis, 7,5,1.
Under 1600 - Final: Wes Wolfe d. David Phoong, 4,6,-9,-7,6; SF: Wolfe d. Gregory Turner, 6,-6,7,8; Phoong d. Colin Hwang, 8,6,14.
Under 1500 - Final: Peter Ho d. Willy Castillo Jr., -7,-8,8,10,8; SF: Ho d. Colin Hwang, -9,1,9,5; Castillo d. Richard Yoshimoto, 6,5,-9,-5,4.
Under 1500 Hardbat - Final: Bob Mahler d. Bob Reising, -18,18,15; SF: Mahler d. Andrew Wai, 7,10; Reising d. John Curd, -17,16,13.
Under 1300 - Final: Colin Hwang d. Kim Mnuskin, 8,5,9; SF: Hwang d. Anthon Plake, 7,12,-4,6; Mnuskin d. Kristian Morell, 6,10,-8,12.
Under 1000 - Final: Joseph Wang d. Dave Sterner, 5,10,5; SF: Wang d. Ariel Hsing, 6,4,-9,7; Sterner d. Patrick Yuan, 7,8,-10,7.
Unrated - Final: Frank Correa d. George Brace, 7,-8,7,7; SF: Correa d. Vladimir Altman, 8,4,10; Brace d. Paul Ishimitsy, 9,5,-7,-4,6.
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