TENNIS
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mikael Maatta returned a shot in his semifinal doubles match against Bradley Lum-Tucker and Jesse Paer in the Kailua Men's Night Doubles Tournament at the Kailua Racquet Club last night. Maattas and teammate Jan Axel Tribler won and advanced to tomorrow's final.
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Double Time
Kailua Men's Night Doubles winding down
Tomorrow's final of the Kailua Racquet Club Men's Night Doubles tournament will have a very familiar look.
The top-seeded team of Minh Le and Wei-Yu Su, the defending champions in the 37h annual event, will again face second-seeded Mikael Maatta and Jan Axel Tribler in a rematch of last year's tense three-set final after both teams rolled through their semifinal matches last night.
Maatta and Tribler, co-workers in the financial realm with John Hancock, took care of business with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fourth seed Bradley Lum-Tucker and Jesse Paer. Le and Su then swept past No. 8 Chad Shibuya and Gregg Takata, 6-1, 6-2.
"I'm sure they did (want a rematch)," Le said of their opponents tomorrow night.
The championship match is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. and will follow the third-place match set for 6 p.m.
Just as both teams are familiar with each other after last summer's encounter, the players are better acquainted with their partners' games. Both of the finalists are in their second years together as teams in the annual highlight of the local tennis calendar.
"We kind of know what to expect now," Le said. "I know where he's going to move, he knows where I'm going to move. We can cover each other, which is very important in doubles."
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Bradley Lum-Tucker, right, buried his face in his hand after making an error in yesterday's Men's Night Doubles semifinals. His partner is Jesse Paer.
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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mikael Maatta ducked out of the way of a shot hit by doubles partner Jan Axel Tribler last night.
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In his spare time, Maatta trains as an ultimate fighter at a gym in Waipahu -- more to keep in shape than out of any aspiration of getting in the ring. The rigorous workouts helped him and Tribler fight through the draw to return to the final and earn another shot at their first Night Doubles crown.
"I wouldn't say I'm a fighter. I'm a tennis player," Maatta said with a laugh. "But I enjoy the competition, the training is fun.
"One reason I do it is they push me to a new level of the physical aspect of the workout. You can't slack or you might get in trouble. But it's fun."
More than physical power, strategy and execution proved to be the key for the former Hawaii Pacific teammates in eliminating Lum-Tucker and Paer in the semifinals for the second straight year.
"Tonight wasn't the best tennis match, but it was very tactical. It was a different kind of match," Tribler said.
"They're like machines," said Lum-Tucker, who was denied a shot at a second Night Doubles title to add to the championship he won with Ikaika Jobe in 2004.
The teams stayed on serve through the first seven games when solid returns by both Maatta and Tribler off Paer's serve led to the first break of the match and the only one they would need in closing out the first set 6-3.
After holding serve to open the second set, Lum-Tucker and Paer had a golden chance to take advantage early. Maatta and Tribler staved off a break point when Lum-Tucker mishit a ball floating at the net, sending his shot long. Matta and Tribler went on to hold serve and came back with a break in the next game to take control.
"I think we just kept putting pressure on them on their serve," Maatta said.