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Fedderly outlasts Dawson to capture Men's 45 Hard Court title
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More from TennisDuring the previous six days of the K-Swiss USTA Men's 45 Hard Court Championships, Mike Fedderly displayed a lot of his shot-making ability. In Friday's championship match at the Westlake Tennis & Swim Club, the Palm Desert resident displayed some of his toughness, too.
The fourth-seeded Fedderly rallied from one set down to defeat Steve Dawson of Carlsbad 6-7 (3), 6-2, 7-6 (4) in a 3-hour, 4-minute match that had plenty of twists and turns.
"I needed to return well today if I was going to win and I thought I did," Fedderly said. "Whenever (Dawson) missed his first serve I knew I would be in the point every time."
Fedderly only broke Dawson's serve three times in the match, but pressured his opponent in several service games, especially late in the third set. Fedderly had eight break-point chances.
The third-seeded Dawson entered the match having not lost a set, dropping only 17 games. But he needed more than an hour to take the first set in a tiebreak against Fedderly.
But Fedderly, 48, quickly regrouped. He broke Dawson's serve in the second game of the second set to seize control and broke again to win the set and level the match.
Early in the third set, both players had opportunities to get a crucial service break. Dawson squandered three break points in the opening game and two more in the third game. Fedderly built a 15-40 lead on Dawson's serve in the sixth game, but Dawson managed to hold.
After those tense moments, both players continued to hold to set up the deciding tiebreaker. Fedderly, aided by a backhand error by Dawson on the second point, grabbed a 4-1 lead and finally secured the tiebreaker 7-4 when Dawson netted a forehand.
"My conditioning was key," Fedderly said. "I was hurting (in the third-set tiebreaker), but he was too. I knew if I could get two or three balls in I would be OK."
Fedderly, who received a $1,200 check for his singles victory, teamed with Vallis Wilder to win the doubles championship — 6-4, 6-4 over Ross Hessler and Jon Tyrell.
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