Mother nature was kind to Stockton Cup with great tennis weather over the weekend. And the tennis on the clay courts of Olde Providence Racquet Club was solid, as well.
Main draw singles and doubles took center stage, as well as a competitive consolation draw.
The level of competition was elevated as both the top 2 seeds were defeated in the quarterfinals. Kim Niethammer defeated top-seeded Thomas Brown as both traded big groundstrokes from the baseline. Brown jumped out to an early advantage but Niethammer refused to go away and fought from behind to send the match to a decisive third-set tiebreaker. The Gardner-Webb standout from Germany would take control of the tiebreaker with some timely winners, and took advantage of some unforced errors to win 2-6, 7-5, 10-5.
Elsewhere, in an epic quarterfinal, Frederic Schlossmann defeated defending champion Eduardo Dias 6-4, 1-6, 16-14. In a third set tiebreaker that could have gone either way, both players traded licks and made shots from seemingly everywhere on the court. Both had match points during the tiebreak but ultimately it was Schlossmann coming away with the victory.
Meanwhile, Arsene Pougault, a freshman at Charlotte, would defeat former world number 339 Jared Hiltzik 7-6, 6-2.
In another competitive quarterfinal, it was Ivan Dreycopp defeating his Charlotte 49er teammate Matias Iturbe 6-3, 7-5. The two players battled it out in a spirited match that featured some impressive shot making.
Later in the day, Niethammer would defeat Dreycopp to advance to the singles final and Pougault beat Schlossmann in the second semifinal. Both matches required a third set tiebreaker to decide.
photos courtesy of John Hamrick
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