For the fans and players who came to watch the Long Island Invitational, something special happened. Johan Du Randt and Mark Parsons won the tournament without dropping a set and they never appeared to be threatened at all.
Although this feat has been achieved many times before but this was not a weak field by any means. There were eleven out of twenty players in the top 10 in the Nation, National Champions and many runners-up at Nationals. The most impressive thing is that it seemed like they never really played at 100%.
The best way to explain it could be in Mark Parsons words:
Now I know how my wife feels when I play mixed doubles with her. There were entire games when I didn’t touch one ball”
What was he taking about? No one else other than Johan Du Randt.
Just to give you an idea of the incredible amount of offense this team has, there was a match when they only played three points from the baseline. Opponents were either giving up the net from the start or they were just taking it whenever they wanted. Did it matter that Johan played on the deuce side? Not really. He likes to play in the middle of the court and take the net as soon as possible.
In the final, Johan and Mark beat Drew Broderick and Guy Moore by 6-2, 6-2. On the way to the semis the 2011 Long Island Champions beat Arraya-Lubow 7-5, 6-4 while Broderick-Moore beat Michael Cochrane and Jared Palmer 6-1, 7-5. Cochrane-Palmer defeated defending champions Brad Easterbrook and Lennart Jonason in the quarters but couldn’t take down the experience of Broderick-Moore.
In preparation for the 2012 Nationals, the Long Island Invitational streamed paddle live for the first time in history. Although there are no results in terms of online viewers, the pilot was a success.
In the B draw, Connecticut’s Michael Chen and Junius Clark IV beat defending champs Ettinger-Sutherland by 7-6, 7-5. Chen and Clark were coming from falling in the Men’s B Sound Shore final only two weeks ago but this time they were able to pull the last match off and went home with the hardware.
All other finals include:
Quarters Reprieve – LeFevre-Stulac def. Falatek-Najdek 0-6, 6-3, 6-1
16s Reprieve – LePivert-Wakeford def. Fischl-Misitrano 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Consolation– Cobbs-Stanton def. Barris-Montalbano 6-3, 6-3
Consolation Reprieve – Kline-Mangan def. Casesa-Dehler 6-2, 6-2
Men’s B– Chen-Clark def. Ettinger-Sutherland 7-6, 7-5
For complete results and draws click here.
