Exactly one year ago, an injury in the final prevented Michael Cochrane and Scott Estes from winning the Short Hills Invitational. No one could stop them in 2012. In the final the champs beat Drew Broderick (winner last year) and Mike Stulac by 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Cochrane-Estes were playing in their first tournament together since they played Nationals in Chicago. Although Estes already signed up with another partner to play in Long Island, the chemistry and paddle that took them to the top is clearly still there.
The 2007 National Champs beat two “new” teams in the quarters and the semis. Sebastian Bredberg and George Wilkinson went down the quarterfinals by 6-4, 6-3 while the Brazilian duo of Marco Grangeiro and Guga Goncalves fell 6-1, 6-1 in the semis. Grangeiro-Goncalves had a great run into the semis with wins over Derose-Lubow in the 16s and Ruppert-Wright in the quarters.
Drew Broderick was planning to play with his partner Chris Gambino but an injury prevented him to make the trip from Chicago. Champion last year with Denny English, this time Broderick choose National Champ Mike Stulac to join forces with. They obviously had a great tourney. In the quarters the defeated Rothschild-Schmitt and later took down Arraya-Bancila 7-5, 6-4 in the semis.
With back to back BIG NRT tournaments in the East Coast (last Saturday Boston loaded their draw with lots of great players), most teams are already thinking about Nationals. The teams that made it to the final in Short Hills will not play together in March but a lot of teams in New Jersey will. The countdown to Long Island has began.
To check all scores from Short Hills click here.
