USPTA Grass Court Championships See Newcomers Win Titles

HOUSTON – Many newcomers emerged as winners at the $6,000 United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Grass Court Championships presented by PaycheckCity.com in May at the Desert Highlands Racquet Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.  The tournament was the first on grass in the USPTA Surface Championship Series since 2011.

Bradley Bator (Kirkland, Wash.) was the men’s open singles champion after a win over Mathieu Soto (Boca Raton, Fla.) 6-4, 2-0 (retired) for his first USPTA Surface Championship Series title. Bator was also a finalist in the men’s open doubles division with partner Jesse Schouten (Bothell, Wash.) but narrowly lost to Thiago Barbosa (Glendale, Ariz.) /Rudy Obregon (San Antonio) 6-3, 6-4.

Soto didn’t go home empty handed after he defeated Eusebio Sarabia (Cave Creek, Ariz.) and John Denboer (Phoenix) in round-robin play for the men’s 35 singles title. The win marked his second title in the same division and first since 2013. Soto also won the men’s 35 singles division at the USPTA Clay Court Championships in 2013.

Four other USPTA Professionals notched their first USPTA Surface Championship wins. Andy Stoner (Cave Creek, Ariz.) and Brian Cheney (Chandler, Ariz.) won titles in the men’s 45 and 55 singles divisions, respectively.  Rob Horsch (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Tom Breece (Phoenix) paired up to take the men’s 45 doubles title.

The USPTA Grass Court Championships was the final tournament to qualify for the USPTA Masters Invitational in New Orleans. Members who played in the surface championships had the opportunity to qualify for the Masters Invitational, which gives USPTA-certified Professionals an added opportunity to showcase their skills and earn a portion of the $15,000 prize money, which is the largest amount awarded of all the USPTA tournaments. 

To see the current rankings or learn more about ranking rules, sanctioned tournaments, and tournament regulations and requirements, go to uspta.com/tournaments.  All tournaments are run through usptaplayer.com.

2015 Grass Court Championships Results

Men’s Open Singles
Bradley Bator (Kirkland, Wash.) def. Mathieu Soto (Boca Raton, Fla.) 6-4, 2-0 (retired)

Men’s 35 Singles (Round Robin)
Eusebio Sarabia (Cave Creek, Ariz.) def. John Denboer (Phoenix) 6-0 (retired)
M. Soto def. J. Denboer 6-1, 6-0
M. Soto def. E. Sarabia 6-0, 6-1

Men’s 45 Singles
Andy Stoner (Cave Creek, Ariz.) def. Rob Horsch (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) 6-2, 6-1

Men’s 55 Singles
Brian Cheney (Chandler, Ariz.) def. Tom Breece (Phoenix) 7-6, 6-4

Men’s Open Doubles
Thiago Barbosa (Glendale, Ariz.)/Rudy Obregon (San Antonio) def. Jesse Schouten (Bothell, Wash.)/ B. Bator 6-3, 6-4

Men’s 45 Doubles
R. Horsh/T. Breece def. Eric Anderson (Scottsdale, Ariz.)/David Smith (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 6-7, 6-2, 14-12

Full results for the 2015 USPTA Grass Court Championships on USPTAPlayer.com.

USPTA Masters Invitational Point Rankings