National Public Parks Blemish

If you took a look at my last blog then you know I’m enjoying my experience at the National Public Parks Championships (NPPC). And I hate to dwell on anything that puts even a little bit of a damper on things, but I gotta tell it like I see it, even when I don’t particularly like what I see.

Seedings Don't Match Lists

The first negative at the NPPC was brought to my attention by Oliver Stenger, who played and lost a tough 6-7, 7-6, 4-6 match to Ervin Mendel, who was seeded No.7 despite being 21 points lower than Stenger on the Florida seeding list. Stenger complained about the seeding during the break after the second set. That sent me looking at all the seeded players in the draw and their Florida and National seeding/ranking positions.

Using Official Lists Best for All

If you look at the numbers below, Stenger has a valid point. Of course since he didn’t beat Mendel, one might say there’s little room for argument. But I know that Stenger hasn’t been able to play much tennis over the past few months, and perhaps playing a match or two before meeting a player of Mendel’s caliber might have made all the difference in the world. The USTA and USTA/Florida publish the rankings and seeding lists precisely to help tournament officials avoid such issues.

Analysis of Seeding and Ranking Lists

If you check out the lists below, you will note that the No.1 seed (seeds in parentheses) in the draw should have been third according to the Florida list and fifth if you use the National list. The guy I play tomorrow, David Smith, is not on Florida’s seeding list, but he has the second best national ranking of the seeded players. And can you figure why Gary Clermont, the player who has the highest national ranking of all the seeds, is seeded behind Schellenger, the No.1 seed? To be fair, USTA regulations don't require seeding according to the lists, but let's just say it's wise to use them.

Florida Seeding List Men's 45 As of 7/20/07

5 Shulla, Steven M. Bradenton FL (3)

13 Clermont, Gary R. Fort Lauderdale FL (2)

17 Schellenger, Norman D. Port Saint Lucie FL (1)

21 Winsor, Steve A. West Palm Bch FL (5)

23 Meek, Rick H. Jacksonville FL (6)

27 Stenger, Oliver Fort Myers FL (not seeded & played Mendel)

29 Curry, Michael K. New York NY (8)

48 Mendel, Ervin A. Hollywood FL (7)

N/A Smith, David Cresskill NJ – (4)- Not on Florida seeding list

12 Month Rolling Standing List National Men's 45 As of 7/13/07

28 Clermont, Gary R. Fort Lauderdale FL 986 (2)

44 Smith, David Cresskill NJ (4)

45 Shulla, Steven M. Bradenton FL (3)

58 Curry, Michael K. New York NY (8)

69 Schellenger, Norman D. Port Saint Lucie FL (1)

73 Meek, Rick H. Jacksonville FL (6)

87 Winsor, Steve A. West Palm Bch FL (5)

107 Stenger, Oliver Fort Myers FL (not seeded)

N/A Mendel, Ervin A. Hollywood FL (7)

Scheduling a Bit Off

And that’s not all. If you looked at the draw online, you would certainly have been confused. Yesterday, the draw indicated that I would play the winner of the round of 32 at 10:30am, but when I asked the desk official after my match, he told me I would play at 9:30am. I wondered how that was going to happen since my potential opponent was scheduled to play at 8:30am.

When I got there this morning at about 9:10am, I found that one of the players of the match scheduled for 8:30am (actually a continuation of a match begun yesterday) had not shown up for his 8:30am start time, but no default had yet been awarded. I believe USTA rules indicate that there is a 15-minute default period…but perhaps I’ve been away from the game too long and that’s changed. The bottom line is that my opponent waited around for a couple of hours and I waited around for an hour when a default should have been issued, and we could have played in a timely fashion.

Spoiled by Well-Run Events

After watching the Bush Florida Open, hosted at the Landings and 11 other sites in Fort Myers, playing in the Adult Classic in Naples, I suppose I had been spoiled because those two tourneys were superbly run. It is hard to avoid snafus at a large event like the National Public Parks Championships, but when you ignore the basics, like seeding lists and default rules, you create fertile ground to grow discontent. I’m still enjoying my experience, but I’m a little less surprised that some of the top-ranked players in the country were not in the draw. Game, set, match…

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