by Lisa Duckers
Getting back into tennis wasn’t easy for Andrew Eklov, who had returned to the sport last fall after a long absence. And yet, Eklov managed to secure victory in the Men’s Open singles finals of the Manhattan Beach Tennis Open Sunday at Live Oak Park.
“I was feeling tight in the match, but I managed to pull through,” Eklov said.
No. 1 seed Eklov advanced to the finals after beating Hosep Orojian in the quarterfinals and No. 3 seed Alan Chang in the semifinals. Eklov beat both in two sets.
Eklov’s competitor for the finals was Andrew Chang, who had previously won the mixed doubles section of the Lakewood Open tournament.
This was the first year that tennis coach David Paradzik was the tournament director for the Manhattan Beach Tennis Open. The turnout for the finals was less than what the directors expected, but that didn’t dampen the spirit of the competitors or the staff.
“The finals match for the men’s open between Andrew Chang and Andrew Eklov is sure to be an exciting one,” Paradzik said before the match. “Both of the players are very well matched for each other.”
And well matched they were. Many of the games in the match came to deuce. The first set came to a 6-6 tie breaker, which Eklov won. In the end, Eklov came out with a two-set win of 7-6, 6-3.
In the men’s 3.5 singles competition, Nicholas DiNiro of Manhattan Beach scored a 6-4, 6-2 victory in the finals against Seitaro Ishida of Gardena. In the men’s 4.5 singles, Christopher Winkler of Palos Verdes defeated Nicholas Cote in the finals.
In the men’s 40+ tournament, the tournament directors were proud to have former tennis champion Jeff Tarango join the competition. Tarango won the Legg Mason Tennis Classic Doubles Title in 1995 with partner Oliver Delaitre and in Manhattan Beach Sunday, Tarango won the finals against Daniel Margolis of Santa Monica in a stunning 6-0, 6-0 victory. Margolis upset second-seeded Sanah Chung in the quarterfinals.
“We’re really glad to have Jeff in the tournament. It wasn’t surprising that he won” Paradzik said.
Meanwhile, for the women’s 3.5 singles finals, Julie Housman of Beverly Hills achieved a three set-win of 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 over Gigi McMillian.
In the Women’s Open Singles, No. 1 seed Amira Massi lost to 15-year-old Megan Manasse of Redondo Beach in the semifinals. Manasse, a sophomore at Mira Costa High School, secured the championship by defeating Synde Kelter of San Pedro with a 6-1, 6-0 win.
“I felt very nervous in the first part of the finals, but I came through somehow,” Manasse said shortly after her win.
In the men’s double tournament, the victory went to the duo of Yasuhiro Matsuoka and Mizuki Kitamura who won against Bruce Dizzenfeld and Jack Waterman of Manhattan Beach.
As for Eklov, the men’s open singles champion feels “more relieved than happy. I’m very happy that I won, but I’m mainly glad that all the tension of the tournament itself is gone.” ER
