Buchanan wins First Futures Championship

Chase Buchanan.

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Chase Buchanan survived a three-hour marathon match to defeat Jose De Armas 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (2) in the Grand Harbor Tennis Classic. At 16-years-old Buchanan from Columbus, Ohio, won his first Futures tournament.

De Armas -- a Venezuelan who won this clay court tournament in 2000 and 2004 -- apparently had Buchanan confused and befuddled in the first set. At 27, De Armas is more experienced than Buchanan, who still plays junior tournaments, and De Armas won a lot of points with his backhand volley and he was also able to hit a lot of balls by the charging Buchanan.

By starting out with a 4-2 lead, De Armas seemed to be wearing down Buchanan and creating doubt in the mind of the young player. De Armas won the first set 6-4.

Buchanan fought back in the second set and jumped to a 5-2 lead. But De Armas stormed back to tie at 5-5. Buchanan held De Armas back to win the second set 7-5 and force a third and deciding set.

In the third set, it began to look like the longer the match went the better the chances of the younger and fitter Buchanan. (In an interview yesterday, Buchanan talked about winning matches on his fitness.)

The third set featured long rallies and was tied at 1-1, 2-2, and 3-3. Buchanan pulled away at 5-3. The remainder of the match was competitive with great shot-making on both sides, but De Armas tied it up 5-5.

De Armas used a lot of top spin. The players forced a tie-breaker for the championship. By the tie-break Buchanan, the youngster, took charge and won his first championship.

Jose De Armas.

De Armas Smothers Jones in Vero Beach

Jose De Armas.

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Jose De Armas beat Greg Jones 6-4, 6-2 in the Grand Harbor Tennis Classic. There were a lot of long rallies throughout this Futures match, but in the end the cool and controlled De Armas prevailed.

"I'm very happy with my game," said the Venezuelan De Armas. "This is my first final in a while...This week everything came together."

De Armas, a former champion in Vero Beach, had his wife, new daughter and in-laws at the match. "I train in Miami," he said. "Similar conditions, it helps. I like any slow surface."

He likes the clay at the Grand Harbor Tennis Club. He plays Chase Buchanan in the final.

Greg Jones.

The Chase to the Final

Banana and Gatorade, the essential tennis player diet. Chase Buchanan.

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Chase Buchanan beat back Luka Gregorc 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the finals of the Grand Harbor Tennis Classic.

After winning the first set, Buchanan was leading by as much as 5-2 in the second set on the clay courts of Grand Harbor Tennis Club. Gregorc, from Slovenia, made a push, closing to 5-4, but Buchanan finished him off 6-4.

"I'm playing pretty smart," said Buchanan who will face Jose De Armas in the final. "I try to put people in a position they don't like, I make a lot of balls and use my fitness."

Buchanan spoke with enthusiasm and confidence. "He's got a big game, if you let him dictate," Buchanan said about Gregorc. "You get on top of him, he doesn't like to move. Get on top or at least stay neutral."

Luka Gregorc.

Related:

DeArmas, Jones in Vero Beach

Little Rock Futures

Mobile Futures

Resources:

Vero Beach Results

Vero Beach Schedule

Vero Beach Newspaper Coverage

Michael McClune Falls in Baton Rouge

Photo, Michael McClune at Texas 76ers, by Tessa Kolodny

Michael McClune had the misfortune of playing against the number one player in the Baton Rouge Pro Classic. It ended badly for McClune.

Izak Van Der Merwe of Kempton Park, South Africa, beat McClune 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals at Lamar Tennis Center at the Paula G. Manship YMCA. McClune had barely celebrated a victory at the Texas 76ers Pro Tennis Classic a week earlier.

Carsten Ball, the runner-up to McClune at the Texas 76ers tournament in Mansfield, Texas, is still alive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Ball defeated Chase Buchanan 6-2, 6-3.

Uladzimir Ignatik, a former French Open junior champion, knocked off Alexei Grigorov 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Ignatik and Grigorov, who both played at the Texas 76ers tournament, are like teammates; both are members of John Roddick Total Tennis Academy in San Antonio, Texas.

The Tennis Hacker Interviews the Players

Being a reporter, as I attempted to be Thursday at the Texas 76ers Pro Tennis Event, can be a heady experience. With so many matches going on -- two or three at the same time -- it is no small feat to sort out who is who and who did what.

I donned my reporter's cap at the Walnut Creek Country Club in Mansfield, Texas, pen and pad in-hand and proceeded to interview the players. I said, 'Congratulations,' to the first interviewee. His reply was: 'For what?! I lost.'

In my confusion, I mixed up the players. My apologies to Milan Pokrajac who actually lost to Gastao Elias, 4-6, 2-6.

I was determined not to make that mistake again. Alexei Grigorov was easy to distinguish. He was the one talking to his racquet -- in Russian. Apparently there was a problem with the translation because his racquet did not cooperate and his opponent Jarmere Jenkins beat him, 6-0, 6-4.

I spoke with Jarmere. He said, "I was familiar with his game. I saw him in juniors."

Jarmere is all business. He talks about tennis like a chief financial officer talking about the quarter's numbers. "I just went with my game plan and concentrated. My game is coming along pretty good. I've been training the past two years for these tournaments."

I asked him which other players looked good. He said Austin Krajicek, Chase Buchanan and "the lefty from Florida."

The guys were all polite, so I feel obligated to post each of their comments.

Austin Krajicek, who defeated Ilija Vucic, 6-1, 6-4: "I know him very well. We played a lot in Europe. He played me tough and it was windy that made it tougher. I'm glad I played well and glad to get a win."

Vahid Mirzadeh, who defeated Henri Kontinen 7-5, 6-1: "I didn't know too much about him. He is a good a young player. The week is going well. Hopefully I could keep it going."

Michael McClune and Rylan Rizza was in an incredibly close match. Rizza proved to be bilingual -- he cusses fluently in English and Spanish. His cussing and temperament caused him; he was penalized two points. In an incredibly close match, he seemed more concerned with arguing with the umpire and eventually lost 6-4, 1-6, 6-7 (4).

Nicholas Monroe, at number two is the highest-ranking seed in the tournament. I did not get to see all of his match. I had to run home to watch Judge Judy.