Sights Set On Sectionals....Maybe

It is hard to be very excited about the prospect of Sectionals with a hurricane forecast to hit the coast and more than likely drop rain down on Alamo Town but like it or not, sectionals will take place this weekend. Let's start off with the 4.5s. I had to blink a couple of times to make sure I was seeing the right draw because you would think Sectionals would boast the strongest or at least 2nd strongest draw (next to Gallery, aka "The Coke") of the year but that will not be the case. No Alfonso is pretty much the equivalent of no Nadal at the French Open....meaning someone will win this tournament who really doesn't deserve to be Sectional's Champion. And it does look to be a rather wide open draw, especially in the top half. There is probably a dark horse in there I have not heard of, but from the names I know, I do not see a winner coming from this half. From the players listed in this half, I would have to go with Yien Zheng to steady, backboard his way to the finals. Bottom half at least has some degree of fire power with #2 Alejandro Sanches joined by non-seeds Jason Kern, Juan Dekruyff (righty or lefty this time?, who knows), Greg Schmucker (if he has been hitting and if he bothers to show) and Guillermo Del Campo (who is in a rather tough quarter). Haven't seen much of Casas this year so don't know how he has been hitting but I have no doubt he will show up with his usual abundance of flair, gamemanship, and outright bad line calls, so he could always be a factor up to the semis. Taking a wild stab at it, I will go with Alejandro to win over Yien in straight sets in the finals. Though I think this tournament rightfully belongs to Alfonso Rodriguez so I hope he has a good reason for missing it.

5.0s - Wow. Another massive draw. 13 guys this time. I hope the winner can still walk on Monday after all that tennis. How about Brian Smith over Reader in the finals in a repeat of the "The Coke" finals. Also, look for an exciting semi between Amit Garg and Smith in another repeated matchup from "The Coke". Where are you Dibuas? A Dibua or two thrown in the mix would have added a little extra excitement, but oh well, it is what it is. At this point, I am starting to develop more of an interest in 4.0 than 5.0....

But not enough to bother looking at the draw and make a prediction or two. 128 Draw and probably 120 names I have never heard of. Outside my comfort zone to comment.

Open - I wish I knew these guys well enought to comment. Adrian Valdez is always a favorite, as are the Jejede ( I am sure that is misspelled) brothers and that Brian Wooten guy if he plays. Of course, Brian Smith could have also been a factor in Open. Maybe next year he will decide to give these guys a run for their money and let Reader have control of the 5.0s, with a still solid Tim Green nipping at his heels.

Here's to hoping all you guys get the chance to play, and play real tennis at that, not the 2-2, No-add BS that I am sure is already being planned.

Is there anybody out there?

I think that comes from a Pink Floyd song on the great album The Wall. More importantly, it seems a fair question in regard to this weekend's tournaments. Where the hell is everyone? 5.0 draw in Austin, a joke. 4.5, not much better, 14 guys is the smallest I can remember it ever being. Beaumont, hell 4.5 didn't even make last I checked, let alone 5.0. Where the hell are Kallus and Schmucker and the usual cast of guys who run like made to lesser tournaments (200 pointers) in search of the easy points? At least the 4.0 draws are still well populated....by a cast of guys I know absolutely nothing about so I can't even comment on the draws. I know Sectionals will be the normal draw sizes but I am really surprised by the vacuum of tennis right now. I would love to hear your thoughts on whether you think it is just a fluke or if tournaments other than the 8 major zones and the Master's Cup are the casualty of the point system that really only recognizes results from those bigger events unlike the old system where head-to-heads mattered regardless of the size of tourney and players were also required to play at least 2 OTHER tournaments to qualify for a ranking.

2008 4.0 Major Zone Winners & Finalists

Abiline - Winner: Tuyen Nguyen Runner Up: Bo Bassett
SAPTA - Winner: Fernando Ontiveros Runner Up: James Murray
Gallery - Winner: Roberto Narajos Runner Up: Matthew Schlensker
Corpus - Winner: Ismael Dutchover Runner Up: Scott Flores
Waco - Winner: Forrest Feuille Runner Up: William McKinney
Tyler - Winner: Ismael Dutchover Runner Up: Tuyen Nguyen
Alamo - Winner: Anthony Jones Runner Up: James Murray
FW - Winner: Forrest Feuille Runner Up: James Murray

Two things: #1 Obviously a bit more diversity on the winners list without Jason Kern running all over the 4.0's like he did last year

#2 Where the hell is Foad? Protest to stay down at 4.0 and not make one final? What is up with that?

2008 4.5 Major Zone Winners and Finalists

Abiline - Winner: John Trautmann Runner Up: Adam Cherry
SAPTA - Winner: Alfonso Rodriguez Runner Up: Jacob Casas
Gallery - Winner: Alfonso Rodriguez Runner Up: Leonardo Solis
Corpus - Winner: Alfonso Rodriguez Runner Up: Alejandro Sanchez
Waco - Winner: Alfonso Rodriguez Runner Up: Alejandro Sanchez
Tyler - Winner: Ben Sticker Runner Up: Dustin Viktorin
Alamo - Winner: Brent Gruno Runner Up: Ben Hawkins
FW - Winner: Wesley Longacre Runner Up: Dustin Viktorin

Is it just me, or is it pretty obvious that Alfonso did not play Tyler, Alamo City, or Fort Worth. Ben Sticker? Wesley Longacre? Who the hell are these guys? I am sure they are great players, but not exactly fixtures in the Texas tournament scene. As far as Alfonso, he has not lost a match this year at 4.5 and beat Tim Green rather easily in 5.0 at Alamo City. I would have to put him right behind Brian Smith and Thomas Reader as third best LEVELS (not open) player in the state as I would go with him to have won the four 5.0 majors that Green won had Alfonso played those tournaments at 5.0. Again, just my opinion and not meant as a slight to Tim who is a really strong player. Alfonso is just better. Just imagine how it must feel for Federer to deal with the fact that Nadal is just better than him now.

2008 5.0 Major Zone Winners & Finalists

With only Sectionals and Master's Cup left to go, I thought I would provide a rundown of winners and finalists at the 5.0, 4.5, and 4.0 levels, starting with the 5.0's.

Abilene - Winner: Tim Green Runner Up: Jason Gound
SAPTA - Winner: Thomas Reader Runner Up: Reggie Black
Gallery - Winner: Brian Smith Runner Up: Thomas Reader
Corpus - Winner: Tim Green Runner Up: Joe Schornick
Waco - Winner: Thomas Reader Runner Up: Jason Gound
Tyler - Winner: Tim Green Runner Up: Jason Gound
Alamo - Winner: Brian Smith Runner Up: Thomas Reader
FW - Winner: Tim Green Runner Up: Reggie Black

Of interest, only Brian Smith has beaten Thomas Reader this year and Tim Green has not won any major zone in which either Reader or Smith has played, so though he has won 4 major zones, he would rightfully have to be place third behind Smith and Reader even though he has them on points. Just my opinion.

Yee-Hawhhhh! Round 'em up for Fort Worth.

You wanted a new thread, you got a new thread. Much like the Tyler draw, the Fort Worth 4.5 draw lacks alot of the star fire power. I would honestly have to say at this point I would think the winner will be an unseeded, unknown player. I can't see JD winning and I haven't seen enough of Yien to be convinced he can take a major either, though his backboard style can definitely wear an opponent down in the Fort Worth heat, if the Heat Index rule is not in effect. I hate that rule, and honestly it is the reason that I do not play Fort Worth anymore. If you can't play 3 regular sets in the heat, then stick to your cozy Thursday night league if you ask me. The only seed that I could actually see winning this thing would be Adam Cherry. He is a poor man's Jason Gound and can stay out there all day with his consistent round house shots and "gladiator" never say die attitude.

5.0 should be easy. If Tim Green does not win this one, then he probably is tanking. I hope he does win this, I know he has done well there in the past, though he is not much of a heat warrior. Doesn't really matter when you can count a draw size on your hands and have 2 fingers left over (long way of saying 8 man draw).

Further south, Conroe actually has one of the strongest 4.5 draws it has had in quite some time. Schmucker and Leach should both be at the top of the favorites list. Not sure why Chris picked this drive for 100 points instead of Fort Worth's 400, but to each his own. Good luck to both of those guys at Conroe and to everyone else playing this weekend. Remember to wear lots of sunscreen and try to enjoy the cramping.

I almost forgot, the 4.0 draws....nah, I didn't forget.

Ready to Sweat?

Alamo City just a few days away. A bit of a shift this time around as Master of 4.5 Alfonso Rodriguez steps up to take on the 5.0 crowd, followed by fellow 4.5 Yien Zheng. Zheng will probably make it to the 2nd round and then get a rude send off by Brian Smith. Rodriguez will get a chance to prove his 3 set victory over Tim in 2005 (?) was not a fluke. I think he takes it but I do not see him as a sure thing in that match. I hope he does win the match because a Reader/Rodriguez match up would be extremely compelling. That one I would have to call a push as I have no idea who would emerge as both are very strong players. If you look at how Rodriguez has dominated Trautman this year it is hard to believe that he will not be able to hang with Reader, but I do not mind being wrong as Reader is also a tremendous player. Dibua should face Smith in the other semi and I would definitely have to go with Smith unless he has a problem playing in hot conditions. He seems fit, so probably not. After taking that one, I would assume he then wins the tournament. I wonder how shocked everyone would be, if Alfonso would somehow emerge champion. I can't say that it cannot happen.

4.5s, no Alfonso means that Trautman will have no reason not to show up and play, especially since he lives in San Antonio. Either Juan Dekruyff or Ben Hawkins might be able to give him trouble in the top half, especially Juan, but I think there is just a great a chance that Juan doesn't even show up for the tournament. If he does, watch out for him, he is a very interesting player. I do not know this Gruno guy that is being highly touted. If he can beat Alejandro in the 1st round then he definitely has the potential to take the tournament. If Alejandro takes it, I would pick him to win the entire tournament. A 2nd round match up between Anthony Tatu and Kris Knutson would be an interesting one to witness, especially 2nd match of the day. Should be a war of attrition, though not likely an exhibition of strong fundamental tennis strokes.

As always, I have no opinion on either Open or 4.0. Please fill in the blanks in those draws if you would be so kind.

To all the players with a shot at winner their draws, please don't go crazy on the free beer...you know who you are.