SDA
Big Apple Open Semis: Alexander/Bamber Out-Play Top Seeds
Arnold/Cuskelly, Will Face Khalifa/Martino In Final by Rob Dinerman Dateline October 27, 2024---
Holding the initiative --- both statistically and territorially ---
throughout the first two games and fully regaining it in the fourth,
Zac Alexander and James Bamber scored an impressive 15-7, 15-7, 14-15,
15-7 victory Sunday afternoon over No. 1 seeds Ryan Cuskelly and Scott
Arnold in the semifinal round of the Will Hartigan Memorial Big Apple
Open, an SDA pro doubles tournament hosted as always by the New York
Athletic Club (NYAC) in midtown Manhattan. Alexander and Bamber will
face second seeds Osama Khalifa and Kyle Martino, winners of a
back-and-forth five-gamer over Josh Hughes and Tor Christoffersen. This
year the tournament, which has been held since Spring 2004, was renamed
to honor Hartigan, a longtime NYAC member and the 2023 U. S. National
Doubles champion along with Michael Ferreira, in acknowledgment of
Hartigan’s untimely death this past January at age 34.
Cuskelly, pinch-hitting for James Stout --- who teamed with Arnold to
win the 2023 Big Apple Open in a five-game final over Alexander and
Bamber --- and Arnold had been severely challenged one round earlier by
NYAC pros Clinton Leeuw and Jamie Haycocks, who would have converted
their fourth-game 14-all match-ball had a daring Leeuw
backhand-crosscourt drop shot not barely ticked the top of the tin.
Although Cuskelly and Arnold then proceeded to win the ensuing fifth
game 15-12, that match took a toll that appeared to carry into their
semi with Alexander and Bamber, especially during the first two games,
throughout which Alexander and Bamber both out-positioned and
out-scored the top seeds, wedging the court open and making good on
almost all of their point-winning opportunities. Alexander clearly has
added weapons to what was already a formidable game, most notably a
nick-finding backhand crosscourt volley that looks similar enough to
his cross-court lob to keep Arnold off-balance and on the defensive.
Bamber was his usual lightning-quick self, swooping upon everything hit
to the front-right and punishing both of his opponents with his
responses. It wasn’t until the third game, when a brief patch of
Alexander tins enabled Cuskelly/Arnold to gain an 11-5 lead, that the
top seeds carried the play, and they were fortunate to come away with
even that game --- ahead 14-10, they surrendered four consecutive
game-balls before getting their elusive 15th point on a close stroke
call against Alexander.
But, unlike what had happened the day before, this time the reprieve
was very short-lived. Alexander and Bamber regained their very
early-match standard at the outset of fourth game, dominating most of
the exchanges and defending extraordinarily effectively when they had
to. A pair of early-point tins --- first by Cuskelly and then on an
Arnold serve-return ---- seemed to symbolize their exasperation and
expanded the Alexander/Bamber lead to 14-5. Even though Khalifa and
Martino conjured up an excellent fifth game after narrowly losing the
fourth to Hughes and Christoffersen, Alexander and Bamber will be
extremely difficult to beat if they can duplicate their level of
semifinal excellence in Monday night’s final round.
