THERE WAS NO marathon final this time around.
No third set tiebreaker. No epic thriller.
Apparently there’s no stopping Seanon Williams on the big stage either.
He squandered successive match points but the same couldn’t be said of his opportunity to win a fourth straight national championship, as tennis’ top-ranked player downed rival Russell Moseley 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) for yet another men’s open title at the Wildey Tennis Centre on Saturday.
It was the third time in a row the two Davis Cup mates met in the national final, and the fifth straight title game of a tournament that featured the riveting Williams-Moseley match-up.
But tennis’ next best rivalry didn’t live up to its recent billing after failing to produce the epic three-set classic that the head-to-head series is best known for.
Even the second set tiebreak seemed devoid of drama as Williams rattled off the first five points before holding three match points (6-3) on the back of a stunning crosscourt forehand return winner.
The match did have its moments of suspense though, with the top seed double-faulting prior to hitting an easy forehand long to let Moseley back in the tiebreak – reminiscent of last year’s marathon four-hour final.
“I had little memory lapse, I forgot my game plan and I let it slip a little,” acknowledged Williams, who also squandered four match points in last year’s third set tiebreak.
Moseley eventually handed him the match after missing an easy forehand winner down the line, ending what proved a miserable showing in an error-filled final.
“I think I came into the match a little overconfident,” reasoned Moseley. “I wasn’t hitting through it and timing the ball very well.”
It was the story of his night, especially in the first set where Moseley dropped two of his first four service games under a slew of unforced errors from either side to fall behind 5-2.
And he was even fortunate not to have lost a third, having gone down 15-40 before saving one of those break points on a let cord and coming up with a stand-and-deliver forehand winner.
Williams gave back one of those breaks via double fault, as Moseley produced two lusty backhand returns plus a huge inside-out forehand for a winner at 15-30.
But the younger Williams eventually served out the set despite falling behind 0-30 by coming up with two big kick serves at deuce to set up identical forehand passing shots down the line.
However, Moseley threatened to extend the match to yet another decisive third set, readily attacking the net to break his counterpart in the set’s second game and consolidating for a 3-0 lead.
“I won the first set so regardless of what the score was in the second set I knew I still had the advantage,” Williams said of not letting the early deficit trouble him.
And it didn’t take long for him to break right back, as he walked around his backhand to pounce on some weak second serve offerings before Moseley missed another inside-out forehand wide.
