Tuesday, July 17th-Day Three
Story by Marlena Hall

Strictly speaking, I’ve always found the denomination of the tennis- term—"Upset”—bold and offensive. According Merriam-Webster, “to upset” means: “to overturn; to disturb mentally or emotionally, or to overthrow a mechanism.” In tennis lingo, an “upset” usually means “to overthrow an opponent considered more formidable.” Formidable??!! When you have the top ranked tennis players in the country gather in Palm Beach County for the USTA Boys' 18 & 16 Clay Court National Championships hosted by the City of Delray Beach, Florida (one of the four top-tier junior competitions in the country), how can you automatically presume that a seeded player will advance against a non-seeded player? And if that numerically-chadded player loses to a non-seeded player, we’ve got ourselves a newsworthy “upset," folks. So I say to all you linguists and etymologists, it’s time to alter your deep-seeded predispositions towards higher ranked players. It’s time to NOT expect the expected before I start getting upset.

Day 2 of the Boys' 16 Clay Court Nationals certainly proved just that. Marathon Monday produced an outrageous 9 matches in the division where the non-seeded underdogs upset the superscripted players. Casey E. MacMaster (Fort Collins, CO) -- pictured right -- took on Ian Chadwell (16) (Franklin, TN) at 11:15 AM, concluding with MacMaster “hanging” Chadwell in 3 sets. Just as Chadwell was up-a-set against MacMaster, Casey Mac“Daddy”Master was not about to hang up the towel to a seedy player just yet. He took the 3rd set to a 7-6 tiebreak and finished masterfully. Because of your Gladiator-like determination and mental strength, we kneel down to you, MacDaddy, and knight you as our Day 2 Boys’16 Player of the Day.

For tournament chairmen, site directors, umpires and court monitors, the ideal tournament would be stocked with: plentiful courts, healthy players, promptitude, and blue skies, with players, parents, and tournament staff eating dinner by 7pm and tucked into bed by 9pm. But Day 2 of the Boys' Clay Court "Nats" was no Thomas More's Utopia, but more like Herman Melville's Moby Dick—never-ending but classically memorable. Head commander of that abysmally vast and voyaging vessel, was none other than David B. Fink (Roslyn Heights, NY), who will remain on the book shelves of National Clay Court history here in Delray Beach for some Pequod years to come.

Monday morning, Fink prepared to play Texas’ Kayvon T. Karimi (17) (Plano, TX). This was not going to be a first-time match up between Fink and Karimi, they've played nearly a baker's dozen times against one another in national tournaments! But they've never met on Delray Beach's sands, and Fink really wanted to finally come out on top. This match should have come with a General Surgeon's Warning sign reading: "Watching this match may potentially heighten blood pressure, increase the production of the apocrine glands, and may lead to parents with minimal cuticles, graying hairs, and a sudden desire for cosmetic injections." "I really thought if I won this match, I would for sure have been Player of the Day," said Fink remorsefully post-match. The match completed with Karimi on top, with a score of, 7-6(3),6-7(4),7-6(4). Exhausted? Fink wasn’t. He then had to finish a doubles match from the prior day, continuing a score of 3-6; 2-4, with his opponent to serve. Unfortunately for David, he again had to walk off the court void of victory balls in hand. He approached the tournament desk sweaty and sanctified, and declared: "I can't believe I just lost 2 matches in 15 minutes!" But it was his positive attitude and never-give-up effort unanimously earned him, Day 2 Boys' 18 Player of the Day, AND our utmost respect and encouragement in your future Ivy League, "Big Green" endeavors.

Daily admission is FREE at Delray Swim & Tennis Club, Broken Sound Country Club and Boca West Country Club and continue through next weekend culminating with the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of both the 18's and 16's played at Delray Beach Stadium and Tennis Center to a national television audience.

Story from Day One

Results from all Claycourts

Also look for stories & photos on Zoo Tennis.

BOYS' 18 SINGLES DRAW
BOYS' 18 DOUBLES
BOYS' 16 SINGLES DRAW
BOYS' 16 DOUBLES DRAW