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Longest Match with Third
Set Tiebreak?
Trudie Gill-Kennly and
Larkin Cleaveland have some things in common: Both were former basketball
players, both were introduced to tennis through family members, they started
to play USTA League Tennis within a year of each other, and their games
could almost be mirror images of each other.
Larkin and Trudie also
have some differences: Larkin is 26 and Trudie is 50; Larkin plays singles,
while Trudie is primarily a doubles player, and Trudie is playing her third
state championships as Larkin plays in her first.
Little did teammates or
officials dream that when the pair took the court at 7:45 am, they would not
shake hands until 1:25 pm. The players played through four time slots as
eight, nine-thirty, eleven, and even twelve-thirty matches came and went.
Thank goodness for the third-set tiebreak!
Trudie took one look at
her opponent and thought she was in trouble. After all, she is almost half
Trudie’s age. During the warm-up, Trudie thought her consistency would be
in her favor. About an hour into the match, Larkin’s teammates playing next
to her commented to each other that they thought Larkin was wearing her
opponent down.
What went through the
minds of the players during their five hour, 25 minute match: Larkin said,
“I was exhausted, and I just wanted to make it through the match.” Her Mom
counted 84 strokes in one point.
Trudie commented after the
match that she had three match points but Larkin played well and she
couldn’t close it out. She also had set points but Larkin wouldn’t give
in. “I thought at one point that she might retire, but alas, she kept
going.”
Both players had high
praise for the other. Larkin said Trudie was “a great competitor.” Trudie
found Larkin to be a wonderful person who gave her excellent line calls and
made the match fun.
Trudie and Larkin both
will sit out the second matches today, but on Saturday, they will return to
competition. Opponents will be sure to take them seriously and not assume
they will have an easy time. |
