La Familia Jose De Armas

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The Jose De Armas family. His daughter Miranda attended her first match at the Grand Harbor Tennis Classic. His in-laws' last name is De Armas. I heard somewhere that in Venezuela the husband takes the name of the wife's family. Above, mother-in-law Nelly, wife Ana and daughter Miranda.

Jose De Armas made it to the final of the Vero Beach Futures.

In-laws including Martin De Armas. (Not pictured, in the bag, bottom-center of photo, is the family miniature dog.)

It is funny how a baby can disarm a powerful professional tennis player. After the match, De Armas was talking goo-goo baby-talk with his daughter Miranda. Also above, Nicolas Pareda.

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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