NIGHT LIGHTS SHINE BRIGHT IN PTA SEASON FINALE
The lights were shining bright over the PTA’s talent as the crowd watched electrifying match after match in New York.
The night started with home town boy Tony Titan taking on the Italian Stallion Civello. Titan was looking to win his first ever US Open and hoping to tie up the slam count in season 10 with Pelligra by claiming his second of the season. The only other man other than Pelligra is Civello has taken 2 slams in a season. That was just the man in the way of the hometown boy. Civello himself was playing for high stakes, trying to insure his spot in Antarctica, coming in the fifth seed, he needed to lock up 4 to do so.
The match was a high octane affair with back and forth action. both men were on their games and it made for some tense tennis. Civello opened up a 4-2 lead but Titan fought back to tie things up. at 5-5 Civello broke Titan at love and was serving for his first slam final in 3 season. But nerves got the best of the Italian who dropped his game at love. A tiebreaker it was and once again, Civello was the victim of choking. Out playing Titan only to lose in the breaker. The crowd was relieved and thrilled as their boy made it through to the finals in a squeaker.
The other semi was Garofalo taking on Pelligra. The start of the match was all Pelligra and it was 3-0 before long. From that point on the Russian played some fine tennis but unfortunately was not rewarded. Pelligra was up 5-0 when finally Garofalo held serve forcing Pelligra to serve it out. Pelligra did just that. His serve was spot on and may have been the difference in what was a tight 6-1 win believe it or not.
So it was the finals that the partisan New York crowd wanted to see number 1 vs number 2, the puncher vs the boxer. After the Russian Cup this was nothing short of a grudge match and both men would be lying if they said otherwise. There was little to know communication on the court and on change overs. Pelligra even took his change over on the opposite side of the American. was it a coincidence or by design? All that aside the bottom line was the US Open title.
What was probably the best match of the year between the two, at times it was a slug fest. an absolute battle of wills and a paradox of styles. Long winding rallies were quite frequent and both men winning their share. Titan was playing the net often and early on was finding great success. as the match went on Pelligra was finding the pass but more often the lob to offset Titan. They both broke to start and then followed up with 2 more breaks. The games were long and though its been said before, you could cut the tension with a knife. Finally Pelligra got his serve in gear like in his semi match. He held to lead 3-2. Titan was not to be out done as he followed with a hold of his own. Pelligra then held again in a tight deuce game followed by an easy love game for Titan. it was 4-4 and all of a sudden both men looked like they were unbreakable. Pelligra stepped to the line and again, served brilliantly despite falling behind 0-30. The hold was made, the players switch sides with Titan stepping to the plate. Titan started slow on serve and Pelligra pounced. before long it was love – 40 and with all the pressure on the American he double faulted. His shoulders dropped and so did the hearts of the American faithful. Pelligra took home his 7th US Open singles title and 3rd slam of 2010. He also clinched a record breaking 10th title, one better than last seasons 9.
For Titan it was a bitter pill to swallow as he believed that he could bring a title to the American land but alas, it will have to wait. The American also fell to 3-8 vs Pelligra on the year in singles after winning 2 of the first 3. Adding to the sting of defeat was the usually calm and diplomatic Pelligra who sounded off after the match. “That was a good win, it was tense and we both wanted this one more than others. It was great to squash his dreams of being a hometown hero. Ever since he’s become American there is a change in his attitude, and it stinks. I did some fumigating on the PTA’s behalf.” Clearly that was unlike Pelligra but like I stated before, there was a tense and electric feel to this open. It felt different. The night, the lights, it was a success in many ways. The PTA has already stated that it will continue to hold the US Open at night through the next season at least. This is a great thing because the quality of match doesn’t lie. there was a lot of drama in three matches that night.
Quick notes, Civello clinches the number 4 spot and will play in Antarctica on Thanksgiving weekend.
The final 4 are Pelligra, Titan, Ferrara, and Civello
Vurro was unable to defend his US Open title.
The season has ended for 6 of the PTA greats. It was an extremely successful year and the tennis was better than ever. Its hard to believe that its done but let the off season be a productive one as the PTA will be in full gear come April 2011.
BRING ON THE PLAYOFFS!
