Nebraska Adult  Open Results

Over 30 competitors took their best shot at money prizes awarded to the winners of the USTA Nebraska Adult and Wheelchair Open hosted May 24-27 at Koch Family Tennis Center in Omaha. Tracy Wright, tournament director, was pleased with the level of play at the tournament and the addition of wheelchair divisions. “What made this tournament unique is the fact that many teaching pros played and had lots of fans supporting them,” Wright said.

The tournament’s largest draw came in Men’s Open Singles with 19 competitors. Among the best were the two finalists, David Fox and Matthew Barlow, who reached the finals where Fox, the top-seeded player, defeated Barlow 6-4, 6-4 in a competitive match. Barlow made a great run through the draw as an unseeded player, taking out the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively.

Fox, 25, came to the States to play for Denver University in Colorado and is currently resides in Kansas City. Last fall he started playing again full-time and doing cardio/strength training four days a week.

“I wouldn’t say that I have any one shot that is a huge weapon, but my brain is my advantage.,” Fox said. “I like to think of tennis as if it is a game of chess - where is my opponent going and what is my next move after this one? I try to be aggressive with my forehand and use my speed to find the ball, then stay in control of points that way.”  

Fox has recently worked his world ranking inside the top 900 and plans to play in some bigger prize money tournaments later this summer. With any luck at all we might just be watching him play on the ATP soon, but his goal is to play as long as it is still fun and see how far he can go.  

Barlow played collegiately at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, where he is currently an assistant coach. His goal is to keep playing in adult tournaments as long as he is competing well and is having fun.

The tournament was part of the MoKanNeb series.         

Finals Results

Men’s Open Singles: David Fox d. Matthew Barlow 6-4, 6-4

Men’s Open Doubles: Alexander Pozo/Austin Williams d.  Joshua Raymond/Joel Reckewey 6-1, 6-3

Mixed Open Doubles: N’Nagniba N’tcha/Raymond (Round Robin)

Men’s Wheelchair A Singles: Darryl Rahn d. Brent Bicket 6-0, 6-1

Men’s Wheelchair B Singles: Brent Bicket (Round Robin)

Men’s Wheelchair B Doubles: Kingery/Rahn d. Bicket/Rory Heaton 6-1, 6-3

Men’s Wheelchair C Doubles: Kingery/Rahn d. Heaton/Brett Wolff  6-1, 6-1

The next tournament in the MoKanNeb money series will be the Jayhawk Open June 7-9 in Topeka, Kansas.