The match finally took place on Sunday, starting at 2 pm, before a small crowd of enthusiastic spectators. Jonathan Kaminsky beat Francis Llecholch in a hard-fought, three hour marathon, by the score of 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Under a hot sun, with Kaminsky off to an erratic start, the steady Llecholch, using a strong serve and a well-placed forehand, jumped out to an early 4-1 lead. Kaminsky, finding his range and fighting his way to the net, tied the score at 4-4 before Llecholch buckled down and won the final two games of the first set, taking it 6-4.
In the second set, it was Kaminsky’s turn to jump out to an early lead. Relying on his slice serve and his topspin forehand, Kaminsky charged out to a 4-0 lead in the second set, which he held on to win, 6-2.
In the final set, it was a battle of serves, forehands, and passing shots, as each player tried to pin the other to the backhand side, both players’ weaker wing. Llecholch went up an early break, but serving at 2-0, 30-all, he felt a pain in his knee and had to take an injury timeout. After five minutes of massage treatment, he was able to retake the court. Kaminsky, coming to net at every opportunity behind his down-the-line forehand to Llecholch’s backhand, powered his way back into the match, breaking Llecholch’s serve and then holding easily, tying it up at 2-2.
From there, both players hunkered down on their respective serves, with no breaks until 4-4. After Kaminsky held serve to level the match, Llecholch hunched over with a leg cramp and was forced to take a second injury timeout. At this point, the match had been going on for nearly three hours, and the heat was taking its toll on both players.
After receiving a few minutes of treatment, Llecholch resumed play. But his mobility was limited, and Kaminsky took advantage by moving him from one side of the court to the other, making him run. Llecholch managed a couple of powerful forehand winners, but it wasn’t enough, as Kaminsky broke Llecholch’s serve, then held his own to take the final set, 6-4 and eventually grabbed the Singles Tennis Tournament Champion.
