Event enjoying its moment in the sun
On a dreary, damp Thursday exactly one year ago, Max Purcell was in the middle of what surely became, from start to finish, the longest match in the history of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships.
It had begun on Wednesday, when Purcell took the first set from Daniel Altmaier 6-4. Altmaier responded with a 6-3 second set victory on the next day, but they only made it through 4-all and deuce with Altmaier serving in the eighth game of their third set before the heavens opened again. They were on the court for 41 minutes, off the court for almost 3⁄2
1 hours, then back on the court for 34 more minutes before tournament officials waved the (sopping) white flag. Play was done for the day.
A pelting rain kept them from resuming until midafternoon Friday. Fortunately for everyone except Altmaier, Purcell quickly broke him, then served out the match, finally completing the first round. But the drizzle returned as they retired to the locker room, and there wouldn’t be another point played for the rest of the afternoon and evening. That left the ATP and River Oaks officials with no choice but to schedule both the second round and the quarterfinals for Saturday, with the semis and the final following on Sunday, the latter to be played under the lights for the first time.
This spring? Paradise by comparison. The only thing brighter than the sun in the blue sky above has been tournament director Bronwyn Greer’s smile. The weather has been splendid, “warm during the day and delightfully cool at night,” Greer said, beaming.
The court conditions have been perfect. The tennis has been excellent. And the crowds, both in terms of size and enthusiasm, have been exceptional. It was literally standingroom-only in the stadium Wednesday night for the top-seeded Ben Shelton’s Houston debut, which became a dramatic 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Zizou Bergs.
“That was great to see, especially for early in the week,” she said. “And we saw the same thing Tuesday night.”
It didn’t come as a surprise, however.
“Our individual tickets go on sale Dec. 1,” Greer said. “Within two weeks, I remember sitting in the office with Haley (Wallace, the tournament manager) and saying, ‘We have no tickets left.’ Demand is at an all-time high. I would guess some of that comes from what happened last year, everyone’s pent-up energy of just wanting to be back. If you were out here in the middle of the week (in 2023), you didn’t get to watch any tennis.
“Honestly, it was one of the hardest weeks of my career and I’ve been working in events for more than 20 years. It’s was hard because you feel like you’re letting people down, even if it’s not your fault. The weather is the one thing you can’t control. Still, you feel like you’re somehow doing something wrong.” But,
what don’t kill you …
“Only makes you stronger,” she said, laughing as she finished the sentence. “You come back and learn from it. But people were very understanding.”
Including the players, who can be a demanding lot even under perfect circumstances. But because they so appreciate the hospitality they receive at River Oaks, which also happens to be one of the most elegant and intimate host venues on the ATP Tour, there was surprisingly little grumbling during the interminable rain delays. When asked if the starting and stopping — and, much of the time, just waiting and waiting and waiting — was getting to him, eventual champion Francis Tiafoe shook his head.
“I’m staying in a nice house across the street, with nice people,” he said. “I’ve been relaxing and
having a good time. I like to chill. I’m a pretty relaxed guy.”
Still, there was reason for concern that some players might think twice about returning to Houston when they could be getting an earlier head start on the European clay court season at Estoril in Portugal, with Monte Carlo following next week.
But “if anything,” Greer said, “we’ve got a stronger field this year.”
Case in point: Tiafoe, who prevailed last year as the No. 1 seed, returned to begin his title defense Thursday evening against Australia’s James Duckworth as only the third seed, behind Shelton and Francisco Cerundolo.
There were discussions after the tournament concluded about purchasing a tarp to cover at least the stadium court, but the ultimate conclusion would be
that, given Houston’s humidity, a flat tarp would stick to the clay and create arguably worse playing conditions when it was removed, while a domed tarp system was too expensive for at most a single week’s use annually.
“We looked at a lot of options,” Greer said. “If you put something directly on the surface, it picks up the whole top layer of clay and that’s definitely not what you want.”
Greer also pointed out that four consecutive, truly disruptive days of rain was a total aberration.
“I’ve been here since 2008 (when the ATP took over the tournament from River Oaks) and tournament director since 2015,” she said, “and we hadn’t had anything like that happen. I can count on one hand the number of rain days we had (before 2023).”
The unsung superheroes of a year ago were, of course, head groundskeeper Roberto Cardoso and his tireless 10-man team, who may have spent more hours on the court than Tiafoe did in claiming the championship. That’s why Cardoso’s and the other’s names are now engraved for perpetuity on the plaque under the north grandstand that honors the annual winners of the Ernie Langston Sportsmanship Award.
“Nobody deserved it more,” Greer said. “Those guys honestly got us through last year. I couldn’t do this job without Roberto.”
Ironically, Purcell, eighth-seeded in singles and a twice-reigning doubles champion, might have been the only person on the grounds Thursday who failed to appreciate the perfect weather vis-à-vis the almost daily quagmire 12 months ago. This time his match done in barely over an hour and a half, and it didn’t go his way. Michael Mmoh advanced to quarters at his expense 6-2, 7-5.
Mmoh, in turn, couldn’t have been a happier camper. He scrawled on the TV camera as he left the court, “Love H-town!!” River Oaks’ atypically fast — at least when dry — red clay is well-suited for his game, particularly his big serve, and the amenities/ambience can’t be beat. Interviewed in front of the fans afterward, he called the tournament “the best 250 (level tournament in) the states,” adding in an interview later, “Easily. Hands down. Everything you do is absolutely on point.
“We really do feel the hospitality. I’ll be coming for years to come.”