After taking a considerable lead in the first set then subsequently coughing up four consecutive games, things looked awfully bleak for Nathan Eshmade at the Santa Barbara Tennis Club.
Despite facing a set-point while trailing by a score of 6-5, the former Gauchos standout calmly countered with steady backhand returns to rejuvenate and eventually win the first set tie-breaker, 7-3.
This hard-fought set victory allowed Eshmade to regain his confidence and allowed him to feel at ease for the remainder of the championship match.
Accordingly, the Australian claimed a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory over Connor Hudson to collect his first-ever Santa Barbara Open men’s singles title on Saturday afternoon.
“I feel absolutely ecstatic to win the Santa Barbara Open,” Eshmade said. “It’s a great feeling doing it in front of a lot of really important people and hopefully I can back it up next year.”
With a steady serve, Eshmade built an early 4-1 lead in the first set. After extending his advantage to 5-2, the recent UCSB grad dropped the next four points.
“I have a history of starting slow, so my mentality was to steal the momentum back,” commented Hudson.
Nevertheless, Eshmade bounced back to win the ensuing game and tie it up at six apiece. During the tie-breaker, the 6’3” power hitter used a strong volley game to take the set.
“I kept my head composed and took it point by point,” Eshmade added. “I’m always capable of coming back and I used this momentum going into the next set.”
During the second set, Eshmade used his newly found momentum to set the tone for the remainder of the match.
With an effective backhand and excellent service game, he broke the former Pomona-Pitzer star early on and never looked back during a dominant 6-2 set victory.
“Earlier in the tournament, I was missing tons of backhands but today, it was really on point, Eshmade noted. “I was also serving strong and coming forward to the net effectively.”
— Noozhawk sports reporter Blake DeVine can be reached at bdevine@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
