Artem who? Matt Roberts steals the Show

Matt Roberts.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A funny thing happened on the way to the final of the St. Vincent Auxiliary Men's Tennis Tournament. Suddenly Artem Sitak, the number one seed, no longer looks like the overwhelming favorite to win.

In fact, if one were to judge solely from the early performances of the finalists, one would say Artem Sitak is in trouble.

The hometown kid Matt Roberts -- who will face Artem Sitak in this Sunday's final -- is re-writing the script. Perhaps the players, like this reporter did, had dismissed Matt Roberts as the local player who was gifted a wild-card berth into this Futures tournament. But after seeing Roberts' 6-3, 6-4 drubbing of Julio Peralta in the semifinal, attention must be paid.

Artem Sitak (seated, during a change-over) will face a crowd cheering loudly for Matt Roberts.