In the 2012 Cleveland Masters NRT, Scott Kahler and Matt Riva took home the title, defeating #1 seeds and defending champions Brett Engelesberg and Jeff McMaster in an all-Pittsburgh final. Kahler-Riva had been 0-4 in tournament play vs. Engelsberg-McMaster, including 3 losses in finals last year (Rochester, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh). This year proved to be a different story though. In Cleveland they came from a set down to win 3-6, 6-4 6-1.
The #2 seeds had a difficult path to the finals, earning close 2-set victories against Doug Bloom and Rob Edelstein (6-4, 6-4) and David Lowe and Dan McLaughlin (6-2, 7-6) in the rd. of 16 and quarterfinals. In the semifinals under the lights and in front of a lively crowd, the match of the tournament took place when Scott and Matt defeated #3 seeds Rob Bakker and Doug Jones 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 in a 2.5hr thriller. The 2012 champs fought off 4 match points, including a 5-4 40-0 deficit in the deciding set.
Engelsberg-McMaster made it through to the finals without dropping a set, securing victories over Matt Rogers and Scott McFaden (7-5, 6-2) and Fayaz Bhanji and Eric Miller (6-3, 6-2) in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
The finals were played Sunday morning under blue skies and a swirling wind. After taking the 1st set 6-3, the defending champions couldn’t pull away in the 2nd set, and Kahler-Riva picked up their level of play to even the match at one set apiece. Early in the 3rd set both teams had game point opportunities, but it was Kahler-Riva who were able to capitalize, jumping out to a 5-0 lead before finishing off the match 6-1.
The rd. of 16 reprieve was won by Greg Aten and Sebastian Glinzler over Tom Weise and Jim Welker. The quarterfinal reprieve was won by Rogers-McFaden over Lowe-McLaughlin.
