Falling behind early during the second set tie-breaker and facing a match point against defending champion Dan Goldie, Jeff Greenwald never lost hope on Saturday afternoon in the singles final of the Ted Smyth USTA National Men’s 50 Hard Court Championships.
After pulling out an unforeseen 8-6 tie-breaking triumph in the second set, the former UCSB standout used the remarkable win as a momentum shifter for the remainder of the championship match.
Channeling his newly found energy, Greenwald pulled off the upset victory while claiming his first-ever National Men’s 50 Hard Court title. The San Clemente native defeated Goldie 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 in front of a nice crowd at Santa Barbara Tennis Club.
“The matches that you escape from are always the one’s you feel more satisfied with,” Greenwald said. “I feel really good about the victory and it was nice playing again in Santa Barbara.”
Initially, Goldie used his powerful serve and accurate forehand to jump out to an early lead. The former Wimbledon quarterfinalist and No. 27th ranked player on the ATP Tour also took advantage of Greenwald’s faltering serve en route to a 6-3 victory in the first set.
During the second set, both opponents battled back-and-forth throughout before Goldie took a commanding 5-1 lead in the tie-breaker.
Nevertheless, the former Stanford All-American committed six unforced errors while allowing Greenwald to obtain seven of the next eight points. Consequently, the UCSB grad took the set by a score of 8-6.
“In the second set, I started to loosen up a bit and began to play more consistent,” Greenwald added. “By working a couple of different strategies, I was able to be aggressive and dictate play.”
In the final set, he fell behind 0-2 before overcoming Goldie’s serve to tie it up a two apiece. Effectively guiding his inner competitivness into much-needed strength, Greenwald took the next four sets while winning the set, 6-2.
Greenwald, 49, came into this tournament as an unheralded sixth seed. However, the former Gaucho used his previous experience and familiarity with the local area to upset his way through a talented field.
“It always one match at a time but the confidence builds the more you play,” Greenwald concluded. “I love it here and enjoyed having my family supporting me because it inspired me to dig deep.”
— Noozhawk sports reporter Blake DeVine can be reached at bdevine@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.