Tennis: Aiming for a Grand Slam

Richard Dunn

While the 2000 Roy Emerson Adoption Guild Tennis Classic set new

standards in numerous ways, event organizers can’t wait for next year’s

40th anniversary when the stakes are raised in the men’s open singles.

The new title this year with the 12-time Grand Slam singles champion,

along with the Adoption Guild’s first-year sanctioning by the United

States Tennis Association, elevated the venerable tournament to an

all-time high.

But next year should be even better with the popular men’s open singles

-- the only singles division in the tournament -- increasing its prize

money from $5,000 to possibly $20,000, according to tournament chairwoman

Linda Winston.

“It depends on the sponsorship, but (the purse for men’s open singles)

could be more or less than $20,000,” Winston said Sunday at Newport Beach

Tennis Club, which hosted the semifinals and finals, and, for the first

time, the players’ party.

This year, only the champion (Brett Hansen-Dent) and runner-up (Michael

Jessup) were paid -- $3,000 and $2,000, respectively. But if Winston’s

hope of a $20,000 purse comes to fruition, all players reaching the

quarterfinals will earn a paycheck if the draw is 32 players or more.

“There have been a lot of people who have approached me about it,”

Winston said. “They want to sponsor the men’s open singles (next year as

a separate entity in the Adoption Guild event).”

The Adoption Guild, one of the oldest continuous sporting events in

Orange County and billed as the largest charity doubles tournaments in

the nation, was once unique in Orange County with its all-divisions

format.

But, now, with other charity tournaments like the Vic Braden/Children’s

Hospital of Orange County at the Racquet Club of Irvine and the Top Gun

at SeaCliff Tennis Club in Huntington Beach, the Adoption Guild faces

stiff competition for attracting top players.

That’s why Winston broke the mold and launched a men’s open singles

division in 1998.

“We wanted to re-create interest in the tournament, so we added men’s

singles,” said Winston, whose crack volunteer tennis committee proved

again this year why the Adoption Guild has been so successful, raising

hundreds of thousands of dollars for Holy Family Services and presenting

a superb event from an operational viewpoint.

This year’s men’s open singles field lured 43 entries, even though the

nationally sanctioned Adoption Guild did not appear in the 2000 USTA Blue

Book because of early printing deadlines.

“But next year, we will be in the Blue Book,” said Winston, who is

convinced that Emerson’s name in the USTA tournament listings book will

entice even more players.

On Sunday at 11 a.m., fans lined up out to the Newport Beach Tennis Club

parking lot to enter the facility to watch the men’s open singles final

between Hansen-Dent, a local product, and Jessup, formerly of Pepperdine.

Emerson lives in Newport Beach only steps from the Newport Beach Tennis

Club, where he was one of the original pros (along with fellow Australian

Rod Laver) in 1967.

“Roy’s just an ideal guy for a signature event like this,” Winston said.

Emerson captured 28 Grand Slam titles in his career, including doubles.

With five different partners, Emerson won six consecutive doubles

championships at the French Open, to go along with two singles titles on

the Paris clay at Roland Garros.

In ‘67, Emerson and Laver played on center court at Newport Beach Tennis

Club, then brand new, in a pro exhibition, and remained as resident pros.

“I’ve lived here now for 32 years, so I feel like part of the woodwork,”

Emerson said. “(The Adoption Guild committee) asked if I’d be interested

in helping out, and I said I’d be glad to do it. To have your name

involved with such a great charity is unbelievable.”

Emerson, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, is tied with

Pete Sampras for the most career Grand Slam singles titles.

“Pete should (break the record) at Wimbledon this year,” Emerson said.

“If he doesn’t, he’s starting to run out of time, although he plans to

play another two or three years and he still has a lot of great tennis

left in him.”

The Palisades Tennis Club, the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club and RCI also

hosted Adoption Guild matches.

“I can’t say enough about the clubs and how gracious they all were,”

Winston said. “They all said, ‘What can we do to help you out?’ That’s

what you want -- a real community feel.”

Palisades member Lindsay Davenport, who turns 24 on Thursday, was awarded

the Prix d’Orange at 2000 Roland Garros, as part of the French Open.

The French media presents the award each year to the men’s and women’s

player it deems most accommodating and sportsmanlike. They also award a

Prix d’Citron to the men’s and women’s player it considers the most

boorish.

The UCI men’s tennis team, coached by Newport Beach’s Steve Clark, held

its awards banquet at the Riverboat restaurant and Nautical Museum in

Newport Beach Sunday night.