2009 Davenport & Company's Richmond Tennis Championships |
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In the NewsRobinson's team dominates Battle of the Pros by John Packett, RTA Staff Writer When the Richmond Tennis Association changed the format of the Battle of the Pros this year to include more players, the idea was to make all four teams as equal as possible. Exciting and competitive matches were the goal of officials. Well, that didn't exactly happen today at Byrd Park, when Cris Robinson's squad dominated the second annual affair, winning both of its matches 4-1 to earn city bragging rights for the year. "We sat down and tried to role-play our way through some of the [possible] matches and every time, we kind of threw our hands up and said, 'Anything could happen,'" said Robinson, director of tennis at Willow Oaks Country Club and captain of his squad. "Especially with eight-game pro sets, it's hard to pick a winner. I don't think any of the teams would have been surprised to come in first or fourth." The format was changed from a round-robin affair involving just the men to head-to-head matches between four teams. Each one consisted of three men's doubles, one women's doubles and one mixed doubles. Rather than best-of-three sets, an eight-game pro set decided the outcome. Robinson, with partner Michal Ciszek, led the way in each victory with a win at No. 1 doubles. Ciszek is an assistant pro under Robinson at Willow Oaks and a newcomer to the area. They knocked off Sean and Scott Steinour in the final 8-5 after beating Mark Bernstine and Martin Stiegwardt 8-3 in the semifinals. "That first one was 4-1 but the matches were close," said Robinson. "Several of them could have gone either way. We managed to squeak out the close matches. I'd say the wind blew slightly in our favor." A strong breeze kept spectators cool but played havoc with lobs and short shots that blew into the net. Other winners for Robinson's squad in the final were Eddie Parker-Joe Cappellino, Olga Borisova-Melissa Robinson (Cris' wife) and Laura Tuchscherer-Charlie Palmer. "It was a high level of tennis and it was fun competing against other players from around the city," Robinson said. Sean Steinour's team had reached the final with a 3-2 win over Carl Clark's squad in the other semifinal. The Steinour brothers pulled off what was probably the biggest surprise of the afternoon with an 8-3 decision over Clark and former touring pro Tom Cain. "Our team's goal was to really put a charge into that first round," said Sean Steinour, captain of his team. "The final was a bonus match. We had fun but it didn't work out. They were able to pull in Michal at the last second. He's as solid as they get for this competition. "It was a great time. It was nice to see this many people out here. It was a good social atmosphere for all the pros." In the third-place match, Clark's team edged Bernstine's squad 3-2. The Battle of the Pros was the kickoff event for the open divisions of the Davenport City Tennis Championships, which gets under way on Monday at 5 p.m. at Byrd Park. Clark is seeded No. 1 among the men, while Bridget Reichert tops the women's list. TODAY'S RESULTS SEMIFINALS Sean Steinour 3, Carl Clark Men's doubles: Sean and Scott Steinour (S) d. Carl Clark-Tom Cain 8-3. Cris Robinson 4, Mark Bernstine 1 Men's doubles: Cris Robinson-Michal Ciszek (R) d. Mark Bernstine-Martin Stiegwardt 8-3. Championship Cris Robinson 4, Sean Steinour 1 Men's doubles: Robinson-Ciszek (R) d. Steinour-Steinour 8-5. Third-place Carl Clark 3, Mark Bernstine 2 Men's doubles: Clark-Cain d. Bernstine-Stiegwardt 8-3.
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