Brian Compton and Scott Kahler Claim Their First Grand Prix Title at Midwesterns

Cincinnati, OH
January 11-13, 2019

2019 Midwesterns Men's Open Final Results (pdf)
2019 Midwesterns Men's 90+ Final Results (pdf)

Men’s Open
The Midwesterns, the first Grand Prix tournament of 2019, had two teams heavily favored to reach the finals: 2018 APTA National Champions John Hughes and Marc Powers (1) and 2018 Chicago Charities champions Juan Arraya and Max LePivert (2). No one team has dominated the men’s game this season, however, and the strong field at The Midwesterns indicated that the favorites were not a lock to face each other in the final round.

 

Early Rounds
The early rounds of the tournament followed the same script as the women’s draw had a day earlier. Seven of the top eight seeded teams reached the quarterfinals, with only the seventh seeds, Ian Hintz and Jay Schwab, falling at the hands of Scott Estes, Jr. and Mike Stulac. Each of the top four seeded teams continued on to the semifinals, with only Tyler Fraser and Rob Bakker (3) losing a set in the quarters, in a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 win over William Colmar/Adam Morgan (5).

Semifinals
Hughes/Powers got off to a slow start in their semifinal match against Brian Compton and Scott Kahler (4). Compton/Kahler went up 5-2 and had two set points, but Hughes/Powers eliminated the errors from their game which enabled them to even the set at 5-5. The set went to a tiebreaker, which Compton/Kahler finally took 8-6 on their fifth set point. The fourth seeds raced out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, mixing in aggressive play judiciously and giving away very few free points. Hughes/Powers managed to win the next game, but that was all, as Compton/Kahler finished off the 7-6, 6-1 win.

In the other semifinals, the pace of play was very fast, which seemed to favor Arraya/Le Pivert who won the first set 6-1. Bakker/Fraser settled down, though, and Fraser executed a number of successful blitzes to help push his team to take a 5-3 lead. They had two set points at 5-3, but Arraya/Le Pivert saved them and extended the set to 5-5. The 5-5 game, which was filled with exceptionally exciting points, finally went Bakker/Fraser’s way, and they held on to win the second set, 7-5. The third set was all Arraya/Le Pivert, who took control early in the third and held it all the way to a 6-2 win.

Finals
There wasn’t much separating the two teams in the first set of the finals. The set was even at 4-4 when Compton/Kahler pulled away to win the set 6-4. In the second set, Compton/Kahler continued to execute their volleys and drives with consistency and precision, frustrating their opponents who threw in some more errors. Compton/Kahler never wavered, adding The Midwesterns to their win at the Cleveland Masters, the only other tournament they played together this season.

Men’s 90+
The third seeded team of Nathan Crick and Eric Miller knocked out the second seeds, Ryan Baxter and Edward Burns, in three tough sets in the semis and then beat the top seeds, Henry Brightwell and Tyler Fraser, to win the title.

Thank you to tournament director Mark Kebe for running a fantastic tournament. Thank you also to the Kenwood Club and the Camargo Club for providing courts and facilities and the Hyde Park Golf and Country Club for hosting the tournament in their beautiful new hut.

 

Men’s Open Results:
Main Draw: Brian Compton/Scott Kahler def. Juan Arraya/Max Le Pivert, 6-4, 6-1
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Nathan Crick/Randy Lofgren def. William Colmar/Adam Morgan, 6-4, 6-4
Reprieve: Jeronie Barnes/Dane Schmidgall def. Mark Barry/Brian Heil, 6-1, 6-4
Round of 32 Consolation: Tommy Croker/Alex Hume def. Edwin Lewis/Scott Triplett, 6-4, 6-2
Round of 32 Consolation Reprieve: Alex Lambropoulos/Mackey Pierce def. Kyle Bates/Richard Canelas, 6-1, 6-4
Consolation: Mitch Granger/Robert Phillips def. Edward Burns/Mikael Thygesen, 6-4, 6-2

Men’s 90+ Results:
Main Draw: Nathan Crick/Eric Miller def. Henry Brightwell/Tyler Fraser
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Kyle Bates/John MacLeod def. David Pierce/Brad Pierce, 6-1, 6-4
Reprieve: Kevin Andersen/David Parker def. Patrick Gilligan/Patrick Shiels, 6-4, 6-4
Consolation: Dennis Moore/John Watrous def. John Fovel/John Vanlokeren, 6-2, 6-7, (10-3)
Consolation Reprieve: Eric Hendy/Brian Vass def. Bill Boughton/Erik Simonson