Stephane Houdet M2L L2M

19 Apr 2009 - ITF 1 Series, NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour - Pensacola, Florida USA

Photographer: Mathilde Dusol
Date: 13 Nov 2008

Photographer: Henk Koster
Date: 20 Nov 2007

Stephane Houdet (FRA) secured his second ITF 1 Series title in successive weeks on Sunday at the Pensacola Open, while Korie Homan (NED) denied Florence Gravellier (FRA) the chance of achieving the same feat after winning a thrilling women's singles final in a third set tiebreak.
Top seed and world No 3 Houdet, last week's men's main draw singles champion at the Florida Open, was always in control in Sunday's final in Pensacola and went on to beat his compatriot and fourth seed Michael Jeremiasz 62 62.
Homan had to battle hard to win her second ITF 1 Series women's singles title of the season. The Sydney International champion and world No 2 gained the decisive break to move a set up against Florida Open champion and second seed Gravellier, but the French world No 4 snatched the second set. The final set went all the way to the wire, but Homan dominated the tiebreak to clinch a 64 46 76(1) victory and close the gap ever so slightly on world No 1 Esther Vergeer.
The men's main draw doubles also produced an exciting finale as third seeds Martin Legner (AUT) and Stefan Olsson (SWE) edged out Dutch top seeds Maikel Scheffers and Ronald Vink 63 36 75.

Mac Knefely • News Journal correspondent • April 20, 2009

A year ago, Stephane Houdet of France and Korie Horman of the Netherlands paired to win a gold medal at the Beijing Para-Olympic Games.

Sunday, the two won singles championships at the sixth annual Pensacola Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships.

The week-long event at Roger Scott Tennis Center featured 90 of the world's top wheelchair tennis players.

Homan had a tougher time winning the women's singles title. She beat France's Florence Gravellier, the bronze medalist at the Beijing Para-Olympic Games, rallying from three total match points to complete a three-set marathon win for her first Pensacola Open singles crown.

"I think I didn't play my best tennis, but Florence was playing amazing," said Homan, who last defeated Gravellier 6-0, 6-1. "I just tried to fight, and that worked out for me. For the spectators, it was a great match, but for me it was tough.

"It's been a long time since we've played such a long match. It was tough, and I'm very happy that I won."

Despite the loss, Gravellier was upbeat and pointed to the match as a promising confidence-builder.

"This was probably one of my best matches in months," Gravellier said.

Born with hip dysplasia, she has played wheelchair tennis for ten years.

"It was one of the first times I've come so close to beating her," Gavellier said. "I had a moment of emotion, and I couldn't really close out the match, so I'm disappointed about that. But at the same time, I produced great tennis."

In the men's singles final, top-seeded Houdet had little trouble defeating his Para-Olympic doubles partner and fellow-Frenchman, Michael Jeremiasz. Still, it was a competitive match between great friends, as they battled in front of their coach.

"Last week, we had a match together in the semis, but this week was easier and I was feeling good about my game," Houdet said. "I was thinking, "I can't lose this match.' I didn't make a lot of mistakes. When he came back, I just put the pressure on again and kept the lead. I had a good start, and just continued playing well. And his ball was to soft today. I had no problem with his shots."

Houdet said he met expectations the No. 1 seed always has to face in a tournament.

"You see you're number one, and you have to win," said Houdet, who will team with Jeremiasz at the Japan Open next month. "Now it's kind of the feeling, 'OK, now the job is done.' That's what I had to do, and I did it. I felt like the crowd was supporting me, too, so that was nice."

The tournament concluded Sunday with men's open doubles. Sweden's Stefan Olsson and Martin Legner of Austria won in just their third time playing together.

After winning the first set, they had to rally in the third to win the championship.

They upset the second seed Saturday before knocking off the top seed in the finals.

"We've played awesome all week together,:" Olsson said. "I think they started keeping more pressure on us in the second set, and we started hitting shorter balls."

It was another win for Legner, who's now won 171 international events in 20 years of playing wheelchair tennis following a paragliding accident.

"We had a lot of good rallies, and it was a tense match," said Legner, who also went to Beijing. "In the end, we were the better team today."

Pensacola Mayor Mike Wiggins presented awards in the post-tournament ceremony.

"This is an extraordinary event for Pensacola," Wiggins said. "The city of Pensacola is just proud to have these extraordinary athletes here. I have met some of these athletes over the last couple of days, and not only are they good athletes, they are great people who represent countries from all over the world.

"They've given us some extraordinary tennis, and the city of Pensacola is just proud to be a sponsor and proud to be a part of this. We're looking forward to next year."

Wiggins marveled at Houdet's top performance in the finals.

"What a wonderful tennis player—I don't want any part of him. He's too good."

While the tournament had fewer players and scrambled for a sponsor, tournament founder director David Mayo, a Pensacola resident, hailed the event's success. Mayo also went home with a trophy. He won the "B" division title in singles and doubles.

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Korie Homan returns a shot to her opponent Sunday during the women's finals of the Pensacola Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships at Roger Scott Tennis Center. (John Blackie/jblackie@pnj.com)

Mac Knefely • News Journal correspondent • April 19, 2009

The sixth annual Pensacola Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships will finish today with an Olympic flair at Roger Scott Tennis Center.

The singles and doubles finals are filled with medalists from last year's Para-Olympics in Beijing.

Two of those players hail from France. Stephane Houdet and Michael Jeremiasz won gold in doubles in 2008. At the Pensacola Open, the friends must now become rivals, as they face off in the singles championship match today at 11 a.m.

The duo are among the 90-player tournament field, featuring some of the top wheelchair tennis athletes in the world.

On Saturday, Americans Nick Taylor and David Wagner won the quad open doubles title. They both won gold at the Athens and Beijing Para-Olympics. They both look back at their achievements with satisfaction.

"Beijing was kind of an interesting story. We had to play each other for the bronze, and then three hours later, turn around and play for the gold in doubles the same day," said Taylor, ranked third in the world in singles and No. 2 in doubles.

He was born with Arthrogryposis, a neuro-muscular condition. The two have been partners since 2004.

In addition to winning gold, Taylor has won three U.S. Opens, and several ITF tournaments since he started playing internationally in 2000. But he still enjoys competing in Pensacola.

"It's a good tournament. I really, really like the people," said the 29-year old of Wichita, Kansas. "I would've like to have done better in singles, but in doubles, David and I have had a lot of success. I wouldn't say we expect to win, but it's not a far stretch to think we're going to win a tournament, or at least hope we are.

"My goal is to go to London, and next year when they announce 2016, if it's in Chicago, I could definitely see going to that, and being done then.

Wagner credits former No.1 wheelchair player Rick Draney as well as current coach Jason Harnett for his continued success. Harnett recently won ITF coach of the year.

"I've played since 2001, and played a little in college before I got hurt," said Wagner, 34, of Portland, Oregon. He's second-ranked in the world in singles and tops in doubles.

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He suffered a spinal injury while jumping into the surf in California. "I tried my hand at I tried my hand at some table tennis, but it just wasn't enough. I saw a brochure for a tennis camp (with Rick Draney). I was able to pick up everything from him." Wagner enjoys the wins oversees, but also cherishes the titles he's earned in the states.

"I love this part of Florida and David Mayo puts on a top of the line tournament," he said.

"It definitely helps complete the tour for us. Being an American and playing on your home soil always feels good, but just to have the hospitality of the south. I'm not from here, but it feels like home.''

Wagner said winning four medals in two games is a career highlight as well as being a part of the World Team Cup wining team for four years.

"We hope to win the sixth cup and bring it back to the U.S.," he said.

In the women's doubles finals, Korie Homan and Aniek Van Koot of the Netherlands took the title in three sets.

"We had our ups and down, but in the end, we had more ups and downs, which was a really good feeling," said Van Koot.

Homan, who won doubles in Beijing and took silver in singles, will play for the singles crown today.

"In the first set we played real good—we put a lot of pressure on them and didn't make many unforced errors," Homan said. "In the second set they started making less errors, and that way we got more shots and started making more errors.

"In the third set, we wanted to have more fun on the court, and that worked out well for us. We started to play great again." Tournament founder David Mayo won the B division singles and doubles titles on Saturday.

"It may be considered a bad host to win, but it sure feels good," Mayo said. He defeated 'arch-rival' Johnny McGinn 6-0, 6-1, then teamed with him to win doubles, 7-5, 7-6 (7-0 tie-breaker) "I probably played the best match I've ever played in singles. I didn't have that tense feeling."

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Florence Gravellier returns the ball against the doubles team of Korie Homan and Aniek van Koot during play Saturday in the Pensacola Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships. Florence was teamed with Lucy Shuker. (Bruce Graner/bgraner@pnj.com)

From staff reports • April 18, 2009

The sixth annual Pensacola Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships, featuring several of the top players in the world, continues today with semifinal play at Roger Scott Tennis Center.

In the Women's Open division, Korie Homan of the Netherlands, ranked No. 2 in the world, continues her quest for her first Pensacola Open title against Great Britain's Lucy Shuker.

In the other semifinal, Germany's Katharina Kruger faces Florence Gravellier, the 2007 France champion. Both matches begin at 11 a.m.

On the men's side, defending Pensacola Open champion Stephane Houdet of France, ranked No. 3 in the world, will face the 2006 champion and Maikel Scheffers of the Netherlands.

The semifinal is another French-Dutch duel between Michael Jeremiasz and Ronald Vink.

The men's semifinal matches are 12:30 p.m.

There are 88 players from 15 countries entered this year competing for a record $21,500 in prize money.

Admission is free.

From staff reports • April 17, 2009

Men's Wheelchair Open Singles (Round of 32)
Jeremiasz, Michael (4) France def. Egberink, Tom Dalen, United States
6-4; 7-5
Kleckner, Dan Graz, Austria def. Markoja, Jerry Australia 6-3; 7-6(5))
Phillipson, David United Kingdom def. Avila, Jose Luis Mexico 6-0; 6-0
Vink, Ronald (7) W. Graftdijk, Netherlands def. Oquendo, Eliecer
Colombia 6-2; 6-2
Rodriguez, Russell Nashville, TN United States def. Theriot, Shane Baton
Rouge, LA United States 6-3; 6-4
Von Daeniken, Thomas Bellach, Switzerland def. Gilbert, Eric Canada
6-1; 6-2
Legner, Martin (5) Austria def. Consigli, Alessandro Italy 6-0; 6-0
Cattaneo, Frederic (8) , United States def. Becker, John Boca Raton, FL
United States 6-0; 6-0
Mathieu, Yann Trois-Rivieves, United States def. Simpson, Kevin United
Kingdom 7-5; 6-2
Reid, Gordon United Kingdom def. Corona, Rene Mexico 6-2; 6-1
Peifer, Nicolas (6) France def. Polyatykin, Anatoly Leninsky, Russian
Federation 6-0; 6-0
Oosterwijk, Jelle , Netherlands def. Bolhouse, Daniel Caledonia, MI
United States 6-3; 6-2
Anderson, Marty Yorba Linda, CA United States def. Keller, Herbert
Switzerland 6-4; 6-4

Men's Wheelchair Open Singles (Round of 16)
Scheffers, Maikel (3) Helvoirt, United States def. Reid, Gordon United
Kingdom 6-2; 7-6(3)
Olsson, Stefan (2) Sweden def. Phillipson, David United Kingdom 6-3; 6-3
Jeremiasz, Michael (4) France def. Rodriguez, Russell Nashville, TN
United States 6-0; 6-0
Cattaneo, Frederic (8) , United States def. Mathieu, Yann
Trois-Rivieves, United States 6-1; 6-1
Peifer, Nicolas (6) France def. Oosterwijk, Jelle , Netherlands 6-0; 6-1
Houdet, Stephane (1) United States def. Kleckner, Dan Graz, Austria
6-0; 6-0
Vink, Ronald (7) W. Graftdijk, Netherlands def. Anderson, Marty Yorba
Linda, CA United States 6-1; 6-3
Legner, Martin (5) Austria def. Von Daeniken, Thomas Bellach,
Switzerland 6-1; 6-1