Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF
(by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Finalist Alexis Perez serving to Senior Champion David Tiplady”)
There were four groups of four, with the top two in each group advancing to the quarterfinals, with the winners of group 1 and group 2 getting a bye to the semifinals.
Group 1: After struggling with exhaustion (7400 feet elevation, low oxygen content) and not always playing as well as he could, top seed (in the group and event) Alexis Perez played better and won his group, going 3-0. His main battle was with fourth seed Sergio Blanco (MEX), winning 13,-12,15.Third seed Adolf Huttl (CZE) came in second and also advanced, winning -13,13,17 against Sergio, and 18,-17,8 against Dave Fullen (USA). Sergio finished third, Dave fourth.
Group 2: Top seed Larry Hodges (USA – hey, that’s me!) didn’t play as well as he thought he might, and lost to second seed John Sabalik (DEN) at 13,10. So John advanced in first, and Larry (who will have something to say about his play when we get to the single elimination stage) in second. Steve Kasha (USA) came in third, and ICTTF At-Large Rep Jimmy Shen (USA) fourth.
Group 3: Dave Tiplady (ENG) easily won his group, not losing a game in going 3-0, with nobody getting more than 17. Finishing second was Steve Claflin, 2-1, with his key match a 19,-21,15 win over third seed Albair De Camargo (BRA), who finished third, with Joel Lefebvre (FRA) finishing fourth.
Quarterfinals
Alexis Perez and John Sabalik won their groups and so had byes to the semifinals. In one quarterfinal, David Tiplady (ENG) d. Larry Hodges (USA), 15,11. Larry say he used to like choppers. David is a chopper. Larry say he no longer likes choppers. Larry say he played this entire event the way he hopes to play in forty years. In the other quarterfinal, Adolf Huttl (CZE) d. Steve Claflin, 13,14.
Semifinals
- Alexis Perez (USA) vs. Adolf Huttl (CZE), 18,16.
- David Tiplady (ENG) vs. John Sabalik (DEN), -9, 21, 15.
But Huttl and Sabalik both received $150 for reaching the semifinals.
Final: Alexis Perez (USA) vs. David Tiplady (ENG)
This was one of those great attacker versus chopper matches, with some rallies very long, others ended quickly by Alexis. It was also one of great momentum changes. In game one, mostly chopping but occasionally throwing in sudden backhand blocks, David led 15-9, with Alexis playing very erratic. Then Alexis wins five in a row, 15-14. David then led 17-15, then it was 17-all, and suddenly Alexis is up 20-17. At 20-18, we had two identical points – Alexis attacking, David chopping, and David suddenly backhand blocks a winner to the wide forehand, and it’s 20-20. David then gets a net ball to lead 21-20. Then he topspins Alexis’ serve back, catching him off guard, and Alexis smashes off, and game one to David, 22-20. But what a near comeback by Alexis. But that’s nothing – wait’ll you see game two.
In game two, with David playing more aggressive – often topspinning serves back and throwing in more backhand attacks, along with sudden forehand put-aways, but still mostly chopping – David goes up 16-7, with Alexis missing shot after shot. It’s over, right? But you can almost see Alexis getting more focused, and seven points later it’s 16-13. Then it’s 17-13, 18-14, 19-16, and then 20-17 match point for David. The next two points are all long, with Alexis topspinning steadily, sometimes more aggressively, while David chops – and suddenly it’s 20-19. (Remember those 16-7 and 20-17 leads?) Once again Alexis steady topspins – and then, in either one of the gutsiest shots ever or perhaps out of panic, David pulls off a spectacular backhand smash to win the game, match, title, and $500 by scores of 20,19, while Alexis gets $250.
Who is David Tiplady? He’s a retired electrician from Cambridge England. (We could have used him this morning when the lights went out for 90 minutes!) More importantly, now that he’s retired, he says he plays table tennis EVERY DAY!
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