Sports
GV’s
ApMadoc earns No. 1 tennis ranking
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Photo submitted Tudor ApMadoc, the No. 1-ranked tennis player in
the age-90 division, practies in preparation for the hard court
championships. |
By Mike Touzeau, Special
to the Green Valley News
Published: Saturday, September 19, 2009 7:08
PM MST
“I never expected to be anywhere near it,” admitted Tudor ApMadoc
after recently being named the United States Tennis Association No. 1
nationally ranked men’s age-90 player in both singles and doubles.
It’s been a banner year so far for the steady all-court specialist who took
four silver and two gold championship balls in three of the four major USTA
championships.
ApMadoc, who still plays four times a week in Green Valley, captured the USTA
National Men’s 85 and 90 Grass Court Championships doubles title at Longwood
Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Mass., last week with partner Albert Ritzenberg
of Bethesda, Md., coming back from a 4-1 deficit in the final set to beat Alex
Swetka of Mountain View Calif., and Robert Newman of Shrewsbury, Mass., 6-4,
4-6, 6-4.
“I was lucky to have a great partner,” ApMadoc modestly said.
Ritzenberg had called him and asked him to play with him in the tournament.
He lost to Swetka, who won each of the four gold balls last year, in the grass
court singles final 7-6, 5-7, 1-6, but took the No. 1 ranking by virtue of his
titles and runner-up finishes in the hard court and indoor tournaments earlier
this year.
It was a memorable experience, he said, playing at the club where the first
ever Davis Cup match had been decided more than 100 years ago.
He had to learn quickly to get up to the net on grass, especially since rains
had made the surface much slower, but he quickly adapted. He was particularly
tickled with playing in front of lots of spectators with an umpire who called out
his name and the score after every point — something all the pros take for
granted.
“It was my first experience with that,” he said, smiling.
ApMadoc has amassed 2,280 points in singles and 2,780 points in doubles and is
the only top-10 men’s age-90 player from Arizona.
His previous best rankings were 10th in singles and 13th in doubles when he was
playing in the age 85-90 division.
ApMadoc and Howard Moffett took the USTA Indoor Championships doubles title in
May, sweeping Ed Osgood of San Francisco and Tom Whitlow of Long Beach, 6-2,
6-1.
Moffett then beat him in the singles championship match, just as he did at the
Hard Court Championships in April after ApMadoc destroyed the competition in
his own bracket, losing only three sets on his way to the final.
Local pro Ray Wardlaw has been working with him each week, and was instrumental
in getting him ready to play on grass, an unfamiliar surface for ApMadoc.
They’re drilling at Tucson’s La Paloma, preparing for the USTA Clay Court
Championships later this month in Pinehurst, N.C., where he will try to hang
onto his No. 1 ranking.
Wardlaw is helping him with the familiar “sliding” needed on clay and improving
his speed in getting to the ball, since drop shots are a big part of the game
with players of advanced ages, he said.
ApMadoc took up the game in his mid-60s to keep in shape for skiing, but
obviously has exceeded even his own expectations with the sport.
“He works for a solid hour, and as hard as anyone else I work with,” Wardlaw
said.
Who knows how much longer the amazing Apmadoc will keep winning tournaments?
He shows no signs of slowing down, and now as the No. 1-ranked in the country,
he remains an inspiration to everyone who loves the sport, regardless of their
age.
Mike Touzeau is a freelance writer for the Green Valley News.
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