Yours, Mine, and Ours

By JEFFREY DUNHAM
Aug 9, 10:16 pm EDT

In what one fan called the LG&T Challenger's version of the U.S. Open's "Super Saturday," today's action got off to a rousing start with the completion of the match between Slovakian No. 5 seed Lukas Lacko and recent University of Georgia graduate Travis Helgeson, a wild card entrant. Although they are similar in age, Lacko, 21, has considerably more experience playing on the pro tour than Helgeson, 22, who only recently turned professional.

Lacko (SVK) meets Helgeson (USA)

The match left off at 4-4, 30-30 with Lacko serving. Helgeson got a break point in this game, but Lacko eventually held serve after a 26-stroke rally that ended with a forehand winner down the line. Lacko moved Helgeson around the court extremely well, but Helgeson played great defense and even turned some of Lacko's aggressive inside-out forehands into winners of his own, as they went right into the left-hander's strength. A deep backhand by Helgeson that Lacko hit into the bottom of the net gave Helgeson the break for 6-5 and the chance to serve for the first set. Helgeson held at love to take the first set, and Lacko showed some subtle signs of frustration.

Both players held serve to start the second set. Lacko started to open his shoulders on his forehands for some good crosscourt shots on short balls by Helgeson. Helgeson himself seemed to be dealing with short balls much more effectively today. Neither player could afford to throw up a weak shot at this point. A terrific backhand crosscourt pass gave Lacko triple break point with Helgeson serving at 3-4. A forehand struck inside out and well wide by Helgeson gave Lacko the break, and he closed out the second set at 6-3.

Lacko broke to open the final set on a couple of loose errors by Helgeson. Some aggressive net play and returning got Helgeson triple break point, which he converted on a wild Lacko forehand that went long. A hooked down-the-line forehand on a popped up volley by Lacko gave Helgeson break point again, and he gained the service break advantage with a Lacko backhand error. Lacko appeared to be going for a bit too much and making too many errors, but eventually held to within 3-5.

All over the net with Helgeson serving for the match at 5-3, Lacko broke a nervous Helgeson to pull within 4-5. However, the tactics proved to be too late, as Helgeson turned the tables on Lacko with some aggressive play of his own, breaking to win the set and the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

U of Georgia graduate Travis Helgeson

"I got a little tentative serving for the match and he took advantage of that," admitted Helgeson after the match.

Helgeson was pleased with his performance, however, as he took the initiative himself when it counted the most.

"I took my forehand and pressed him for the edge in the point," said Helgeson.

Continuing a theme that began in a profile of college player Luigi D'Agord earlier this week, the importance of higher education in the maturation of a tennis player came up in conversation with Helgeson after his match. Helgeson believes strongly that going to college first and then turning professional works for many players.

"The competition is so good at the college level that guys are much more ready for the pro tour," according to Helgeson. "We had John Isner on the team, for example," referring to last year's NCAA Singles finalist and fellow Georgia Bulldog.

"College gave me the confidence to succeed on the pro tour. I was able to build my game," added Helgeson.

Considering that this is only his fourth tournament as a professional, Helgeson is clearly on the right track in his career.

The Battistone brothers in sync

The next match on center court was the second doubles semifinal thriller between the No.1 seeded Czech team of Lukas Dlouhy and Tomas Zib vs. Americans Brian and Dann Battistone. In many ways, this was the feature match of the day, as it had the largest and most vocal crowd by far. The Battistone brothers have won over the fans and the media this week with their accessibility and politeness, making them the clear crowd favorites. However, it is Dlouhy, 25, who is the most accomplished doubles player in this matchup, having won four career doubles titles. Zib is a tour veteran at 32 years old who turned pro in 1995.

The theatrics of the Battistones may have initially unsettled the Czechs, but they quickly got a read on their flashy opponents Brian, 28, and Dann, 31. Serving at 3-3, Dlouhy left a floating return that just dropped inside the line. This would prove to be a crucial mistake, as he double faulted on the next point to give the Battistones break point. A blown overhead by Dlouhy on the next point gave the Battistones the break. Dlouhy received a code violation for ball abuse for striking one up into the baseball field.

While serving for the set at 5-4, the confusion of "mines" again costs the Battistones a point. One of them needed to say "yours!" instead. These miscommunications actually proved to be quite humorous, as the brothers typically are completely in tune with one another. The Battistones held serve for the first set with a huge leaping serve by Brian.

"Yours! Yours! Yours!" shouted Dann to Brian, and Brian hit a forehand down the middle between Dlouhy and Zib. Their communication improved during this set, but a double fault and a popped-up volley by Dann that led to an easy volley by Dlouhy contributed to the Battistones losing the second set.

Zib watching for the return, Dlouhy serving

The match tiebreak would initially prove to be a deflating experience for the crowd, as the Battistones quickly found themselves down 0-5. However, a great exchange at net and the breaking of both of Zib's serves found them at 2-5. Two high-bouncing serves by Brian pulled them to 4-5. Dlouhy then held both serves for 7-4. Dann won one of his serves for 5-8, and then a key event occurred. A USTA linesperson was hit by an out first serve by Dlouhy at 8-6, and the distraction caused him to fault on the second serve. The Battistones got to 8-8 on a bit serve by Brian, but Dlouhy and Zib reached match point at 9-8 when Zib drilled a forehand directly at Dann. The Battistones saved one match point after a furious exchange of volleys and groundstrokes between themselves and Zib. The crowd roared in delight. Brian missed a return to give the Czechs another match point at 10-9, but a great serve set up by Dann gave Brian an easy volley put away. The Battistones got their first match point at 11-10 on a missed return by Dlouhy. This match point was wasted, but Dann hit a volley up the middle for yet another match point at 12-11. Brian then hit a big serve out wide that Dlouhy could not handle, and the Battistone brothers reach their first Challenger final by a score of 6-4, 3-6, 13-11.

The crowd were more engaged in this match than at any other time during this year's event, and the Battistones are single-handedly (or is that double-handedly?) responsible for this phenomenon. Regardless of the outcome, tomorrow's doubles final certainly figures to be exciting.

Asked what they were thinking when they were down 0-5 in the match tiebreak, the brothers had similar responses.

"This one might go fast," Dann said in response to the question, while Brian was thinking to himself, "Let's not lose 10-0."

The Battistones may have had trouble deciding which shots were "yours" and "mine," but in the end the match was "ours." It was "ours" in the sense that the win belonged to them, but the pleasure went to the crowd.

Ram aiming at his 2nd Challenger title

The singles semifinals quickly got underway with No. 7 seed Australian Carsten Ball facing American Rajeev Ram, who was aiming for his second Challenger final of the year, having won in Winnetka, Illinois in June.

Ram, 24, got the early break in the first set, with Ball, 21, giving him far too many second chances at passing shots. After securing a second break, Ram easily served out the first set.

While serving to start the second set, Ball blew an opportunity on a short backhand by Ram. A double fault by Ball gave Ram the break in the second set. Ball received a code violation for striking a ball into the field. It appeared as if this was going to be a rout, with Ball talking to himself and clearly frustrated.

A backhand error by Ball after a long exchange gave Ram break point for a second break, which Ball erased with a high backhand volley. Ball then held for 1-2. Ball staved off match point serving at 3-5 with a big left-handed forehand down the line. Turning things completely around, Ball then earned the break when he hit a forehand drive to force a short ball from Ram. He put away the next shot with ease. A nervous Ram made numerous errors in the second set tiebreak to tie the match at one set all.

No. 1 seed Paul Capdeville of Chile

Ram hit a forehand volley winner early in the third set to give him the only break of serve in that set. Ball was starting to misfire on his groundstrokes badly. In fact, a huge forehand miss on a short ball by Ram affected his concentration significantly, as he hurled his racquet in disgust, incurring another code violation.

Ball would recover to blast a crosscourt backhand to get a break point with Ram serving for the match at 5-3. Ram then nervously double faulted for 15-40. However, a couple of big serves for Ram and unforced errors for Ball sealed the victory for Ram 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3.

Lastly, the second semifinal featured Chilean No. 1 seed Paul Capdeville against the rising Helgeson. Capdeville, 25, employed many "coast to coast" combinations to great effect in this match, eliciting numerous unforced errors from his comparatively inexperienced opponent in the process. This side-to-side pattern seemed to tire Helgeson, who surely must have been fatigued from his earlier quarterfinal and overwhelmed to be in his first Challenger semifinal. Capdeville would go on to win easily 6-3, 6-1.

Can Rajeev Ram make an impression on the as yet unchallenged Capdeville, who has had much more experience playing in big matches on the ATP Tour and in Grand Slams? Will the Battistones continue their groundbreaking run and fulfill their dream of capturing a Challenger title? Do not miss this great professional tennis being played in your own backyard tomorrow at the LG&T Tennis Challenger at Recreation Park!