New York Buzz vs. Hartford FoxForce
by Christopher Gerby
The New York Buzz lost a heartbreaking match in their season opener,
but help was on the way as three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker joined
them for match # 2. Playing in sleepy Schenectady, NY may not have been
the most glamorous endeavor for a legend to engage in mere days before
his Hall of Fame induction, but it's an experience Becker was looking
forward to. "I haven't been playing and that's exactly the reason
why I'm going to play now. I've heard a lot about it and I have been
speaking with John and Patrick McEnroe about it, and they like it a
lot, and that's why I wanted to be a part of the team this summer... I
stopped playing professional tennis in ' 99; I took a three-year break
where I didn't play at all. I also have never played for an American
team and I thought it would be fun for me."
Looking to spoil Becker's fun were the visiting Hartford FoxForce,
fresh off a win over New York's other WTT franchise. Hartford boasted
an eclectic lineup: a hard-working member of the American Fed Cup
team (Meghann Shaughnessy); a veteran of 27 ATP doubles finals (Jeff
Tarango); a reigning Wimbledon mixed doubles semifinalist (Milagros
"Millie" Sequera); and a youngster from Down Under (Stephen Huss).
They even had an extra member, Martina Muller, who will see playing
time when Shaughnessy ends her stint with the team. There wasn't even
a chair available for Muller when she first arrived, but she was a
good sport throughout the evening, laughing with her teammates and
even fraternizing with Don Johnson of the Buzz.
First set: men's doubles -- Becker/Johnson vs. Huss/Tarango
Becker's WTT inexperience showed on the evening's very first point.
After a Johnson serve skimmed the tape and the ball came back, Becker
absent-mindedly blocked it into the net, forgetting that lets are played
in Team Tennis. Johnson put a comforting arm around Boris, who declared, "I'm
ready now!" But the rust of not playing on a regular basis was evident
as Becker punched a volley long to end a break of Johnson's serve.
Still adjusting to the raucous atmosphere, Becker asked Tarango to hold off on serving until
some late arriving fans sat down. Sensing that movement in the stands
was no big deal in WTT, the German asked, "Is that allowed? Oh,
everything's allowed." A couple games later, when the umpire warned
against flash photography, Becker exclaimed, "It's Team Tennis!" He
was obviously having fun, but Hartford's doubles team saved multiple
break points en route to a 3-1 lead.
Becker ended Game 5 with a mighty overhead smash, now fully warmed up
and looking like his old self...save for the new spiky, Petr Korda-ish
hairdo, which earned him quite a bit of ribbing from the fans. The
Buzz finally converted a break chance against Tarango, Johnson
authoritatively putting away an overhead for 3-3. Jeff's vintage
temper boiled over as the momentum shifted. He argued a line call in
Game 7 and violently slammed his racket after missing with a forehand
on game point. Huss calmly held serve for 4-all, though, and the
evening's first set would have to be settled in a tiebreak...
- DJ serving: Winning forehand volley by Becker -- 1-0 BUZZ
- DJ: Becker angles off another very nice volley -- 2-0 BUZZ
- JT: Becker's return catches the line. Huss argues while Tarango
defiantly places the ball where he thought it landed. Tarango proceeds
to whack another ball off the back fence, picking up a code violation
warning for ball abuse. -- 3-0 BUZZ
- JT: Johnson nets a forehand return -- 3-1 BUZZ
- BB: Great get by Johnson; Huss misses a smash -- 4-1 BUZZ
- BB: Becker thumps an ace down the T -- 5-1 BUZZ
The strains of AC/DC's rock anthem "TNT" blared over the PA system
as the Buzz celebrated their win of the opening set. Tarango,
meanwhile, had a heated discussion with Hartford coach Peter Bradshaw,
who hadn't backed him up much in the line call arguments.
OVERALL SCORE: BUZZ 5, FOXFORCE 4
Second set: men's singles -- Boris Becker vs. Jeff Tarango
In all my years attending World Team Tennis matches in
Schenectady, I can never recall a player being booed when introduced
at the start of a set. Of course, this is Jeff Tarango's first WTT
campaign. The 34-year-old does pride himself on thriving in the face of
a hostile crowd, though, and he came up with a nice inside-out forehand
winner to clinch the first singles game of the night. What he didn't have
an answer for was the vaunted Becker serve. It looked good as ever
when "Boom Boom" launched two aces in an easy hold for 1-1. Becker
promptly broke for 2-1 and rocketed three consecutive aces on the way
to 3-1. A frustrated Tarango wondered aloud, "Can't you fire some of
these linespeople?"
Becker did a carefree boogie to the Jerry Lee Lewis classic "Great Balls
of Fire" during the mid-set changeover, while a considerably more
serious Tarango huddled with Stephen Huss. Jeff held for 2-3, but
was back to his exasperated antics in the following game, asking
umpire Candy Pantano "what are you smoking?!?" (The call in question
there is one I can vouch for -- a Becker shot sailed past the baseline
and was called good.) Serving to stay alive at 2-4, Tarango felt he
got hooked on yet another call ("3 inches in, both lines") and demanded
of Pantano, "Who are you paid by?" None of the bluster could quite
overshadow the skillful play of Becker, who took the set 5-2 when
Tarango muffed a backhand volley. Particularly on his serve, the
"Lion of Leimen" was in unquestionably good form.
OVERALL SCORE: BUZZ 10, FOXFORCE 6
Third set: women's doubles -- De Villiers/Perry vs. Sequera/Shaughnessy
Having played nervously in doubles on Monday night, Shenay Perry looked
no better in her first game of action against Hartford. She netted a
volley on break point to give the FoxForce an early edge. Nannie de Villiers
(sporting funky new glasses) was just as hopeless, bouncing her racket
in despair after blowing a routine volley to trail 0-3. After Sequera
held for 4-0, all the Buzz women could hope for was avoiding the
dreaded bagel. With the help of a timely overrule, they rallied from a
0-40 deficit on Perry's serve to get on the board.
Becker got out of his seat and gave his teammates a positive double
fist pump, urging them on. Across the way, Tarango pulled some money
out of his wallet and yelled "Hey, Boris!" I thought Jeff was offering
a friendly wager on the outcome of the set, but he explained his real
intent to me later on. "I was wondering what was going on with all
the line calls!" Paying off the officials would prove unnecessary:
Shaughnessy and Sequera continued playing very sharp doubles, locking
up a 5-1 set when Meghann deftly fielded a high forehand volley.
OVERALL SCORE: BUZZ 11, FOXFORCE 11
Fourth set: women's singles -- Shenay Perry vs. Meghann Shaughnessy
After looking lost in doubles, Shenay Perry did her very best to make
up for it in singles. Meghann Shaughnessy was serving big and
overpowering her in some of the rallies, but Perry did commendable
scrambling to stay on serve. She got to 2 games all by ending a nice
rally with a beautiful running forehand. Becker was so impressed, he
imitated the stroke during the changeover. Meanwhile, Stephen Huss
continued to support his team with shouts of "c'mon Hartford!" which
sounded like "c'mon Hot Foot!" in his thick Aussie accent.
Dead even at 3-3, Shaughnessy coughed up a pair of double faults and
found herself in a dangerous 15-40 hole. Perry failed to convert
the first break point, pushing a backhand long and wincing. Meghann
followed with a forehand winner, forcing a winner-take-all game point.
This also went to Hartford, when Perry couldn't dig out a nifty little
slice backhand Shaughnessy had inventively struck. The lanky lass
from Arizona was positively beaming after that point, but Perry served
very well to 4-4, necessitating a critical tiebreak...
- MS serving: Perry is long with a backhand -- 1-0 FOXFORCE
- MS: On the dead run, Perry nets a forehand -- 2-0 FOXFORCE
- SP: Shaughnessy's forehand return misses the sideline -- 2-1 FOXFORCE
- SP: Perry bricks a low forehand volley -- 3-1 FOXFORCE
- MS: A defensive lob by Perry lands long -- 4-1 FOXFORCE
- MS: Shaughnessy stumbles and makes a forehand error -- 4-2 FOXFORCE
- SP: Perry dumps a fairly innocuous forehand volley -- 5-2 FOXFORCE
Her tenacity notwithstanding, Perry's inexperience and very sloppy net
play cost her in the tiebreak. Trailing by four games after the
men's events, Hartford had stormed all the way into the lead.
OVERALL SCORE: FOXFORCE 16, BUZZ 15
Fifth set: mixed doubles -- Becker/Perry vs. Tarango/Shaughnessy
After choking away a potential New York victory on Monday night, the mixed doubles
tandem of Don Johnson and Nannie de Villiers was scrapped altogether
by coach Jolene Watanabe. Instead she sent Boris Becker back onto the court
with Shenay Perry, who's young enough to be his daughter. Before
long, the set was tied at 3 games apiece, with neither Jeff Tarango
nor Meghann Shaughnessy having faced a break point. Becker began
doing exaggerated knee bends and leg kicks, trying to spur his body on
for one last push.
Game 7 started off promisingly enough for Hartford. Out of position on
an overhead, southpaw Tarango switched his racket over to his right hand and
hit an ugly-but-effective smash that way. It was the last point
Hartford would win in Shaughnessy's service game. The double fault bug
bit her again -- she served up two in a row to trail 3-4. All of a
sudden, with the overall score tied, New York only needed a service
hold from Perry to score a come-from-behind victory. Not so fast.
Looking oh so nervous again, Shenay committed three unforced errors in
a love break. The FoxForce were back even in the set, leading overall,
and hoping to end matters in a climactic tiebreak...
- JT serving: Perry badly shanks a forehand -- 1-0 FOXFORCE
- JT: Shaughnessy powers home a smash -- 2-0 FOXFORCE
- BB: Becker asks the umpire if it's his turn to serve. "C'mon, Boris,
we grew up with 9-point tiebreakers," Tarango chides him from across
the net. Becker replies with a service winner. -- 2-1 FOXFORCE
- BB: A sterling forehand pass from Tarango handcuffs Perry -- 3-1 FOXFORCE
- MS: Clutch service winner from Shaughnessy -- 4-1 FOXFORCE
- MS: Tarango leaves no doubt on an overhead, smashing it into the stands -- 5-1 FOXFORCE
FINAL SCORE: FOXFORCE 21, BUZZ 19
For the second match in a row, the New York Buzz let down their home
fans by falling apart in the deciding set of mixed doubles. Fans who had
paid up to $36 didn't seem all that disappointed, however. They came
to see one of the all-time greats, who'd delivered a lively
demeanor and some stellar serving. "Boris was great tonight," said
Jolene Watanabe afterwards. "He brought some electricity to the
match and he played very well." For his part, Becker put a similarly
sunny spin on the effort. "We gave it a good try...I thought
the whole team played well." Asked if he felt any nerves in his WTT
debut, Boris explained, "You don't feel nervous, but you have a
responsibility -- for all the people who paid tickets and came out
here -- that you give a good performance. So this is a positive
pressure, I'd call it." In spite of the loss, he summed up the
evening as "good fun, good team spirit, and a good event."
Hitting the final shot in a tense victory had left Jeff Tarango in an
affable mood, so I flagged down the fiery Californian for a one-on-one
interview. "I was really surprised he played that well," Tarango said
of his singles loss to Becker. "I hope I can play him again someday, because that was a
great match. He's beaten me twice now, so that's life." The incessant music
and boisterous fans of World Team Tennis might not seem a natural fit with Jeff's touchy
on-court disposition, but he enjoys the atmosphere. "It's a lot of fun,
isn't it? The crowd's into it. I mean, I'd rather have them be into
it and me get upset. For me, at the end of the day, it's more fun.
Even though I might not seem like I'm having fun at the time, I'm
still having fun."
Now in the twilight of his playing career, Tarango has made some news
as a coach. He guided Younes El Aynaoui to the Australian Open
quarterfinals, but the pair parted ways in late April. "I'm coaching
Vince Spadea for a little bit," Tarango confirmed, before admitting he's hesitant
to pursue that line of work full time. "I'm trying to decide right
now. I don't think so." He'll be plenty busy on court for the rest
of the month anyway, aiding the as-yet-undefeated Hartford FoxForce
with his competitive spirit and wily gamesmanship. They appear to be
on a much better track than the New York Buzz, who'll be hard pressed
to avoid a third consecutive home loss when Andy Roddick and the St.
Louis Aces breeze into town on Friday.
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Last updated 26 September 2015
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