Saturday, July 14, 2001
Met finalists may look familiar
Top 4 of 2000 could play Sunday
By Dave Schutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Craig Boynton, a three-time winner of the Thomas E. Price Metropolitan Tennis Championship and former professional, said today's Met semifinals could produce repeats of last year's finals Sunday at Lunken Playfield.
“The Met is a lot harder to win than people think,” said Boynton, the director of racket sports at Five Seasons Sports Country Club.
“... There's usually one match you're fortunate to win to become champion.”
Boynton evaluated all four semifinals:
• Kara Molony-Hussey vs. Lyndsey Molony, 11a.m.: Sister playing sister is difficult for both players.
“You want to play well, but you don't want to beat up on a relative,” Boynton said. “Those matches are not about who plays better but who plays worse. You can see this when the Williams sisters (Serena and Venus) play.”
Boynton said both are strong baseline players with good serves. He gave the edge to Kara (1998 and '99 champion and 2000 runner-up) due to experience.
• Emelia Anderson vs. Tanya Luzhanka, 12:30p.m.: This will be a match of contrasting styles.
“Tanya is a good shot maker, and Emelia is a good creator of points,” Boynton said. “It's going to come down to Tanya's unforced errors versus Emelia's ability to dictate with her forehand.”
He gave the edge to Anderson, the defending champ.
• Jeff Wolf vs. Jason Zimmermann, 11:30a.m.: Experience vs. Youth, Part I.
Boynton noted Wolf's big, left-handed serve and the fact he has been winning from the baseline.
“Without a doubt, Jeff is the best athlete in the field,” Boynton said of the defending champ.
Boynton said the match's outcome will depend on Wolf's serve and how well Zimmermann manages his game.
“Jason is without a doubt the most talented tennis player in the field,” Boynton said. “He has all the shots, but the question to be answered is: Will he be able to change strategies and pace like he did in defeating Brett DeCurtins?
“... I call it a dead heat.”
• Rey Puentes vs. Isaac Yarrell, 12:30p.m.: Experience vs. Youth, Part II.
“Rey is a blue-collar, no-nonsense, grinding player who gives you nothing,” Boynton said. “He makes you work for every point, which great clay-court players do. He has tremendous speed and the best backhand in the tournament.”
Boynton likes Yarrell's aggressive play, booming first serve, penetrating forehand and attacking style. He said the match will come down to Yarrell's shot-making ability vs. Puentes' patience.
“The edge goes to Rey,” Boynton said. “Rey has the look. He is hungry and fit. The difference this year is that he expects to win, which is a big part of the battle.”
Puentes was the 2000 runner-up.
The winners advance to Sunday's finals. The women play at noon, followed by the men.
WOMEN'S DOUBLES: The Molony sisters will be opponents today, but they teamed up to win the Met doubles title Friday night, defeating Anderson and Amy Frisch 6-3, 6-3.
“Lyndsey and I played doubles in high school and college, and we got better as a team,” Kara Molony said. “The chemistry has always been good, but we now create more strategy.”
MEN'S DOUBLES: Wolf and Dan Kronauge repeated as champions, beating Kelly Jones and John Mirlisena 6-2, 6-3.
Wolf credited Kronauge for getting him physically ready for the tournament and thanked his dad for the mental stability.
“Kelly can dominate a match,” Wolf said. “The key was that we got a lot of first serves in and Dan didn't stray too far away from his strokes.”
The doubles championship was Wolf's 12th. Kronauge has been on the winning team four consecutive years, three with Wolf and the other with Jones.
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