Beating idol 'dream come true'
Winnipeg, MB (Winnipeg Sun, Glen Dawkins) – When Alex Gravina was a young tennis player in Toronto, he would go over to Adam Baranowski's house just to admire his mentor's various trophies and medals. To Gravina, it seemed that every weekend Baranowski would be off to another junior tournament and bringing home the top prize.

Yesterday, Gravina kept his childhood idol from adding to his list of accomplishments at the 101st annual $12,500 Arby's Manitoba Open Tennis Championships at the Kildonan Tennis Club.

"On a personal level, it was definitely a match that was bit of a dream come true," said the 26-year-old Gravina, who claimed his second consecutive Manitoba Open men's singles title by beating Baranowski 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4 in a two and a half hour marathon final. "Everything sort of came together in the moment. I was able to forget about the past and everything worked for me."

Meanwhile, Kyla McNicol claimed her fourth Manitoba Open women's singles crown and second in a row, beating 15-year-old Carlene Leyden from Houston 6-4, 6-3.

Gravina pocketed $2,500 for his victory while McNicol took home $1,500.

McNicol also teamed up with Alexa Zayac to win the women's doubles final yesterday with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Anita Paskvalin and Kate McKenzie. On Saturday, McNicol and Sean LaCap won the mixed doubles title with a 6-2, 7-6 victory over Zayac and Patrick Millican. It marks the second year in a row that the University of Central Florida junior has won all three Manitoba Open titles.

LaCap also won the men's doubles crown as he and Doug DeVriendt beat Baranowski and Geoff Kirbyson 6-4, 6-1. It is LaCap's third consecutive men's doubles title, each year with a different partner.

Seeded second despite being the defending champion, Gravina took control of the men's singles final in the first set. Baranowski battled back in the second set before winning the tie-breaker.

"The tie-breaker's a heartbreaker," said Gravina, who was at match point once in the second set. "Sometimes one point makes all the difference because it can change the momentum of the match. You just try to battle through it."

But in the end, Gravina's overpowering serve and light touch along the lines was too much for Baranowski, ranked 18th in Canada -- three places higher than Gravina.

"I couldn't keep up in the first (set) but I slowly got back into it in the second one," said the 30-year-old Baranowski, the tournament's top seed. "In the third, he just kept hitting close to the line. It's tough to beat him."

Next up for Gravina is the $50,000 Men's Challenger event next weekend in Granby, Que.

"Going into it, I've played three weeks (in a row) and I made the finals in Calgary at the Alberta Open and the week after I won (the Rosedale Open in) Toronto and now this one," said Gravina, who also won the Circuit Canada Saskatoon Open in April. "I'm feeling pretty good and my chances are pretty good."

GOLDEN OLDIES: In a tradition that began last year to help celebrate the Manitoba Open's 100th anniversary, tournament organizers brought one of their former champions back to present the trophy to the men's open singles champion. Don Leydon, the 1951 men's singles champion, did the honours this year.

} More on Arby’s Manitoba Open

Winnipeg, MB (Winnipeg Free Press, Allan Besson) – THE student took on his mentor and won yesterday as Alex Gravina of Toronto successfully defended his Arby's Manitoba Open Tennis Championship at the Kildonan Tennis Club.

Gravina, 26, defeated Adam Baranowski, 30, also of Toronto, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4 in the final, but admitted that victory didn't come easy.

"Adam is a great competitor," he said. "He's won many tournaments, and I knew going in that it was going to be a fight to the finish.

"He was my mentor when I was growing up," Gravina said. "I remember going to his house and seeing all his trophies and medals and stuff. Every time he would play a tournament, he would win, and in Canada there are not too many players who can win on a regular basis. He knows how to win the final, so I was definitely looking up to him. On a personal level, it was a dream come true."

Defending her Manitoba Open women's singles title, Kyla McNicol, formerly of Winnipeg but now living in Orlando, defeated Houston's Carlene Leyden 6-4, 6-2.

McNicol also won the women's doubles title yesterday playing with Alexa Zayac. They defeated Kate McKenzie and Anita Paskvalin, 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Yesterday's wins made it three open titles for McNicol. On Saturday, she and Sean LaCap won the mixed doubles by beating Zayac and Patrick Millican 6-2, 7-6 (6).

In the men's doubles final yesterday, LaCap repeated as champion for the third year in a row with a third partner, Doug DeVrienet. They beat Baranowski and Geoff Kirbyson 6-4, 6-2.

Baranowski was flattered that Gravina thought of him as a mentor. "It feels good, but it is sour, you know. It's tough when you lose to someone who was looking up to you all the time, but that's the way it goes. You can't win them all."

Gravina said his strategy was constantly changing throughout the match, played in 33 C heat. "I wanted to try and force as many errors by him as I could, and try to keep him moving. It's hot out here and I wanted to make it a physical game, but I also had to stay concentrated on my game, because the more he moved, the more I moved and the strategy kind of changed with every set. He was mixing it up and he never gives you the same ball twice."

} More on Arby’s Manitoba Open

McNicol Claims Triple Crown; LaCap Wins Doubles Again
Winnipeg, MB (TM) – While the temperature kept rising at the Kildonan Tennis Club on Sunday, reaching 35 C, the action on the court was heating up as the top players stepped up their games for the crowd and the viewers on Shaw TV.

Alex Gravina and Adam Baranowski played one of the best tennis matches this province has seen in many years, exchanging fantastic ground strokes in a 3-set battle that eventually ended in a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 win for Gravina. The defending champion claimed the Men’s Singles Championship in front of a very appreciative crowd, and earned the top prize of $2,500 in the process.

Kyla McNicol won her second consecutive Women’s Singles Championship defeating Carlene Leyden of Texas 6-4, 6-3. The young Texan fought hard and kept pace with McNicol throughout the match, eventually succumbing to the University of Central Florida Junior, who has now won the Women’s Singles title on 4 occasions.

McNicol then capped off a second consecutive Triple Crown, earning the Women’s Doubles Championship with partner Alexa Zayac. The duo upended Kate McKenzie and Anita Paskvalin 6-2, 7-6(5) for the victory.

Sean LaCap won the Men’s Doubles Championship for the third consecutive year, and with the third different partner! He teamed up with Doug DeVriendt to defeat Baranowski and Geoff Kirbyson 6-4, 6-1.

Tennis Manitoba would like to thank Arby’s for the fantastic support they have shown to tennis in the province. Arby’s will be back as title sponsor again in 2007! Thanks also to the Kildonan Tennis Club and its great volunteers for serving as hosts for the second straight year.

} More on Arby’s Manitoba Open

DOUG SPEIRS - THE DOUG HOUSE
Winnipeg, MB (Winnipeg Free Press) – As the official spokesperson for men the size of major kitchen appliances, I think it's about time we started getting serious about this whole physical fitness thing.

What I'm saying is, there comes a time in every man's life when he has to step up to the plate and accept an invitation to become "The World's Biggest Ball Boy."

For me, that time arrived Thursday.

Under a blazing sun, I joined a dozen kids at a clinic to learn how to be an "official ball person" for the 2006 Manitoba Open Tennis Championships, which wrap up today.

Now, your traditional "ball person" is a young girl or boy between the ages of nine and 13 who can race around a tennis court like a tiny heat-seeking missile.

In contrast, I am a person between the ages of 40 and 50 who possesses all the natural athletic ability and grace of a large propane barbecue.

So, as you can imagine, things worked out pretty well.

Fortunately, it was only about 400 degrees when I joined the kids at the Kildonan Tennis and Canoe Club to be put to the test by club pro Peter Otto.

I was immediately thrown into a fun drill in which a talented 13-year-old tennis player named Alex Minuk began flinging balls in my general direction.

I was expected to stand in one spot with my hands behind my back, then zip out and snag an incoming ball, then gracefully dart back to my original position.

Within seconds, I was reduced to a puffing blob that resembled 260 pounds of melting lard, my legs turned to rubber and my eyes were blinded by gallons of stinging sweat.

If you had been there, it would have sounded something like this:

Me: "Ouch! Hey! Wait a minute! OK, Alex, take it easy! Ouch! I'm not kidding, Alex."

Alex: "Ha ha ha!" Anyway, Peter explained we'd need to be proficient in a variety of skills, including crouching by the net, whipping a ball really fast, understanding the general concept of the game ... and avoiding getting beaned in the head by a ball travelling at 100 km/h.

This will come as a surprise, but the ability to sweat profusely is not as highly valued as you might imagine.

On the upside, apparently I can crouch with the best of them.

Despite being unable to roll a ball as well as a nine-year-old child, I was given a brief shot at being "Ball Man" during an actual simulated game of tennis.

Before going further, let me pass on one important tip: Would-be ball persons really should remember to bring their sneakers because dress shoes leave unpleasant marks on the court. I'm just saying.

The thrilling highlight of my "Ball Man" experience involved the following critical steps:

1) Looking around and yelling: "SHOULD I GET THE BALL NOW???"

2) Getting s-l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-w-l-y out of my near-professional quality crouching position and running toward a dead ball in mid-court.

3) Experiencing some manner of heat-induced seizure and, in an effort to avoid sustaining a crippling knee injury, staggering like Frankenstein about eight feet past the ball. 4) Eventually picking up the ball, frowning at it and yelling: "OK, WHO DO I THROW IT TO???''

Judging by the stunned looks on their faces, Peter and my fellow classmates were mighty impressed with my natural ability.

In the end, I found myself really looking up to these amazing kids.

I looked up to them because they are talented, hard-working kids ... and because I was lying on my back like a tub of goo at centre court as they jumped over my prostrate body like small, sweaty gazelles.

"It's a lot harder than it looks," laughed Peter, who is also director of the 101st Manitoba Open.

The crowning touch came when a Free Press photographer had the brilliant idea for a picture in which the kids lined up and fired tennis balls en masse at my upper body.

Apparently, the schools have not been doing a good job of teaching biology because most of the kids seemed to think the upper body is located somewhere near the lower extremities.

In fact, as I sat trying to recover near the clubhouse, one of the moms explained that her son was boasting he'd been able to hit "The World's Biggest Ball Boy" squarely in, and I quote, "The Special Region."

Still, I came away from the clinic with a great respect for these hard-working youngsters. I didn't make the cut, but I had a great time. In fact, I loved it.

And I think we all know what "love" means in tennis.

} More on Arby’s Manitoba Open