After taking half a day and a good night’s rest to reflect on yesterday’s match, I keep hearing the same phrase come up in conversation: most exciting match I’ve ever seen in person. I said that directly after the match and here nearly a day later I haven’t changed my mind. Jason Jung and Dominik Koepfer put on an epic 125 minute show, ending in a 7-5 tiebreaker after the third set was locked at 6 games all.
The clutch performance by both players came right down to the wire. When Jung had an opportunity to attack while down 4-5 in the tiebreaker he didn’t hesitate for a moment, approaching the net and finishing as if there was no pressure at all on his shoulders. Two more cleanly played points and Jason became our 2018 KPSF Open Champion. Best of all was that there was no cracking from Koepfer in the final few points–he played his heart out and easily could have taken the match had a ball or two landed just a few inches away from where it did. An unbelievable performance from two outstanding competitors who were both also a pleasure to be around off the court.
Looking back to earlier in the day, the doubles final would have been enough to make the day special all on its own. Marcelo Arevalo and Roberto Maytin had a back and forth match with Luke Bambridge and Joe Salisbury that also came down to the last few points in a tiebreak. Arevalo and Maytin took the first set 6-3 and had a chance to close out the match with a second set breaker, but Salisbury and Bambridge dug deep to take the set and send it to a 10-point match tiebreak. Even within that final tiebreak, the lead changed multiple times.
With that much momentum-changing, it would have been easy for Arevalo and Maytin to think about their missed chances and succumb to the pressure. But just as with the singles final that would come later, a few clutch points turned the match in favor of the side that won the first set. Maytin and Arevalo are your 2018 KPSF Doubles Champions, an incredible run to the title after they nearly went out in the first round. Congratulations to both of them.
In total for the week we had a whopping 17 matches that went to three sets, and 25 sets that went to tiebreakers. The depth among this field was astounding and nearly every match would be worth watching on replay. As we look toward 2019, some upcoming rule changes on the ATP Challenger Tour will likely bring an even better group of players here to San Francisco. All of us here at Bay Club hope you’ve enjoyed this tournament as much as we have. It has been an amazing week and all of you coming out to join us is what makes it really special.
Thank you so much for your support of these great athletes and this great sport. We’ll see you in a year, even bigger and better!