Five USA teams reached the final in Turkey today.
The men’s 65 beat Austria 2/1. David Nash had a tough match at #2 singles and fought hard but lost. Jimmy Parker took the court in a must win situation at #1 singles and played a flawless match to level the tie at a match apiece. After a break, Parker and Hugh Thomson paired up to play the deciding doubles. They promptly fell behind 4-1 and 5-2, but then figured out their strategy and executed it well, winning the deciding match in straight sets. They play France in the final tomorrow.
The men’s 70s beat France 2/1 today. Joe Bachmann played #2 singles despite having a heavy cold, and played great, winning 62 63, bringing back every ball his opponent threw at him. Rudy Hernando had a great start at #1 singles, winning the first 5 games before dropping the next 4, but he nevertheless won the first set, but lost the match in three tough sets. The 2010 Gold Slam winning team of George Sarantos/Hank Leichtfried took the court for doubles and put in a solid performance, winning in straight sets. They play the semis Saturday.
The men’s 75s had an easy day, dropping only 2 games in both singles matches! Their opponents wore themselves out in their previous matches, and didn’t play all their top players in singles.
The men’s 80s had a day off and play either Canada or France tomorrow. France beat Canada in a minor upset, but in a big upset, Henri Cruchet beat Canada’s Lorne Main 62 63 in singles.
The women’s 60s played a tough Aussie team. Martha Downing, USA, beat Sue Walter, overcoming a 4-1 deficit to win in straight sets. Sue was flawless to start the match, but as errors crept into her game, errors were gone from Downing’s game. In the deciding match, Kerry Young, USA, took on last year’s finalist from the World Championships, Wendy Gilchrest and dominated the match from start to finish, from the back court, on offense (nice volleys), defense (great lobs), and used her devastating dropshot to perfection. Kerry won 60 61. The USA won the doubles in three sets, with Carol Clay and Molly Hahn playing the doubles.
The women’s 65s had a tough loss to Great Britain. Betty Wachob played a solid, steady match at #2 singles, winning in 2 tough sets. Brenda Carter won the first set at #1 singles, but ultimately fell in three grueling sets. The doubles team from the USA was Wachob and Judy Louie, and they played their hearts out but the Brits were too good, winning 61 64.
The women’s 70s won both singles, with Suella Steel and Charleen Hillebrand playing the singles and winning both in straight sets. Both matches combined took about 2 1/2 hours. Then the doubles started, and Sheila Weinstock and Susanne Clark began about 1pm and three hours later, they had won 64 in the third! They missed lunch, but it was worth it.
The women’s 75s cruised past Germany, losing only a handful of games in all three matches combined. Dorothy Matthiessen played #1, Dori deVries played #2 and Carol Wood/Burnette Herrick won the doubles.
The women’s 80s have finished and are the bronze medalists.
The men’s 60s played a quarterfinal match today and play the semis tomorrow.
