Hearing the angelic voice of Elle Perozzi singing the National Anthem was the perfect beginning to the finals that will go down in history as the pinnacle of Tiburon Challenger finals.
I can only hope you were there today. We could not have scripted it any better.
Men’s Doubles – Final
First up… Doubles specialists Roberto Maytin and Rob Galloway vs the ‘King of Barbados’ and JC Aragone.
No big surprise here, the doubles specialist team of Maytin/Galloway proved early on that it was going to take something very special to deny them the trophy. 6-2 and up a break in the second found Roberto serving for the match… Ouch, double fault… break back and back on serve …
It never really seemed in doubt that they’d be leaving with the title and 5 minutes later, after a number of ‘C’mons’ and audible ‘pump ups,’ that’s exactly what happened.
Game set and title to Galloway and Maytin… you’d have to go a long way to find a nicer guy than Roberto Maytin, and his doubles partner Rob Galloway. Well done guys! You make the Tiburon Challenger the tournament that it is.
Men’s Singles – Final
Ok, you’ve probably heard by now the controversy, excitement, energy that saw this finals day take the top place of all finals…
Massive hitting Kokkinakis vs all-round specialist Tommy Paul. It was always going to be a showdown of all showdowns, and that it was! No less than 5 breaks of serve saw the first set go to Paul 7-5. Bathroom break for Kokkinakis…
Paul goes up an early break in the second … should we get ready for the presentation? Start the BBQ? Well, there really is no bad time to start the BBQ, however, Kokkinakis says “not just yet” and rallys, clearly fully invested in this encounter. There is nothing more that we could all have asked for at this point. A Finals with two ‘A-listers’ giving it all they had.
Tiebreaker second set. The crowd is going nuts, equally supportive of both player, they cannot get enough. Thanasi wins the breaker! A third set… at this point it like the universe had sprinkled magic dust all over Tiburon, we’re all floating on air knowing that we’re going to see more tennis from these two heavyweights.
An unfortunate incident… a time violation by Kokkinakis led to a game penalty to start the third set. Yes, you heard correctly, Kokkinakis started the third set 0-1 without hitting a ball. It’s a long story, but the nuts and bolts of it are, you cannot take as long as you like for your second bathroom break of the match … if you need to pee that bad …well, we’re always looking for new sponsors, so perhaps that ‘depends’ on how you see it?
Aussie Aussie Aussie … what a pleasure you have given to all of us being able to watch you play, brilliant!
Tommy, huge congratulations and off you go up into the top 80 in the world! We wish the best for both of you!
We will all be watching and cheering as these two supreme athletes reach for their goals. I have to add that the sportsmanship between these two on the court was a pleasure to witness, true camaraderie… a lesson for all of us.
Thank you all for being a part of this amazing tournament, significant in making it the best Challenger on tour.
Final’s Day Results | September 29, 2019
Men’s Doubles – Final
[3] R. Galloway (USA) / R. Maytin (VEN) d J. Aragone (USA) / D. King (BAR) 6-2 7-5
Men’s Singles – Final
[1] T. Paul (USA) d [8] T. Kokkinakis (AUS) 7-5 6-7(3) 6-4
