Pavia advances in U.S. Open qualifier

By Ken Sugiura

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Eduardo Pavia proved himself the best player at the U.S. Tennis Association Southern sectional qualifying tournament for the U.S. Open. A college tennis star and a member of the Puerto Rico Davis Cup team, Pavia bested a 69-player field that included a 14-year-old, a 65-year-old and a couple of beginners.

His opponent in the Tuesday finals, held at the Racquet Club of the South in Norcross, was John McLean, a 27-year-old former pro who now coaches at North Carolina Central.

"I thought [the level of competition] was going to be a little bit better, especially the first couple of rounds," said Pavia, who plays at Ball State and was the Mid-American Conference's player of the year and is in town training with his Davis Cup team in advance of a July tournament.

Noteworthy among the 20 or so in attendance was Bill Oakes, the Southern section's director of sales, marketing and professional tennis, as well as the tournament director for the Atlanta Tennis Championships, the new ATP Tour event in July in Johns Creek at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

Oakes began advocating for a nationwide qualifying tournament for the U.S. Open with USTA officials in 2002. The organization finally went forward with it in January.

Though he hopes more top college players will play in coming years, Oakes said the wide range of abilities represented at the Southern sectional event was what he had in mind.

"I thought what would make it great would be to make the U.S. Open truly an open [tournament]," Oakes said.

More than 1,200 players entered qualifying tournaments nationwide. The 16 sectional winners will advance to U.S. Open National Playoffs championship in July. The men will play at the Atlanta Athletic Club during the ATP event.

The women's event will be held in conjunction with the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, Calif., in late July. Samantha Powers, a 21-year-old professional from Rome, beat Alabama recruit Alexandra Clay of Grayson in the women's Southern sectional final Monday.

The winners will earn spots in the 128-player qualifying tournament at the U.S. Open. They can make the main draw by winning four rounds.

"I think it's real good," McLean, the finalist, said of the format. "It gives a lot of people who see the top pros like [Roger] Federer and [Rafael] Nadal and Serena and Venus [Williams] a chance to try to make it to the U.S. Open and go as far as they can. It makes it that much more exciting."