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.
