The 2009 tournament was a great success! It was held at the beautiful Tualatin Hills Tennis Center in Portland, Oregon. The tournament is run by the Northwest Wheelchair Tennis Association (NWTA).
A total of 19 players, 12 in the Open Division and 7 in the A Division participated. They represented Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Utah and British Columbia.
The Open Singles bracket was hotly contested. The top two seeds, Marti Anderson from Yorba Linda, CA and Anthony Anderson from Snohomish, WA were upset in the semifinals by unseeded players. Marti Anderson lost 6-4, 6-3 to his doubles partner Donald Beardon from San Jose, CA.
Anthony Anderson lost 1-6, 7-6, 6-2 to David Wagner, the World’s #1 ranked Quad Open player from Portland Oregon. Wagner went on to prevail in the final, beating Beardon in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
Patrick Jacobson from Renton, WA won the Consolation bracket with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Randy Corbett, from Boise, ID.
In the doubles bracket, the top seeded teams made it to the finals where #1 seeds, Anthony Anderson and Patrick Jacobson (Renton, WA) lost a very competitive match to Marti Anderson and Donald Beardon 7-5, 6-1.
The A Division had a repeat winner. Top seed Danny Quintana from Salt Lake City, UT bested Carl Backstrom from Redmond, OR, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the final.
The A Doubles played a 3 team round robin, with the team of John McClaren (West Linn, OR) and Jim Ilg (Keizer, OR) finishing undefeated, as they beat Jim Carlton (Milwaukie, OR) and Tim Woods (Kuna, ID) 3-6, 6-2,7-6 in the deciding match.
The Friday evening Don Drake Memorial Up/Down Round Robin had a fabulous turn-out. Several local players teamed up with 16 of the tournament players to play four rounds of doubles. It was a great convergence of the areas community tennis programs, as six players from Portland After School Tennis (www.pastkids.org) Junior Elite team were on hand to experience wheelchair tennis for the first time. Everyone had a fun evening of tennis and enjoyed watching Brian Harrington and his wheelchair partner Ali Ataman (Seattle, WA) defeat Elise Orban and Anthony Anderson 6-4.
Everyone is looking forward to next year’s tournament, to be held August 13-15th, 2010.
A heartfelt thanks to the USTA national and sectional offices, the numerous sponsors and countless volunteers that support this tournament year after year.