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Mathias and Musto Reach Quarters

Feb 15, 2002  by Rob Dinerman

Feb 15, 2002          

Quarterfinal Action Set for Tomorrow

Mark Lewis Goes Down: photo © 2002 Ron Beck

The 2002 Westchester Classic, a $5,000 event hosted by Westchester Squash in Mamaroneck, NY and created specifically to aid in the Team USA selection process (and hence open to eligible American citizens), had its opening round tonight.

MATHIAS SKIRTS DANGER
The 10-man draw required only two matches this evening to get to the quarter-final round, with home pro Brian Mathias weathering several fourth-game match-point predicaments (one of which was self-induced) in a rallying win over Meadow Mill pro Paul Brogna and John Musto winning the nightcap in a routine four over junior national coach Mark Lewis, whose career-long frustration against this opponent had another chapter tonight.

As sometimes happens to a young player competing in front of his friends and clients, Mathias tinned heavily in dropping the opening game of his Brogna match, 9-1. He then continued this self-destructive course in falling behind 8-3 in the second, at which stage the match went through the first of what would be several astonishing switches in momentum. A series of high crosscourts to Brogna's backhand flank resulted in loose replies, which Mathias began to punch away for a sufficient number of rail and drop winners to rescue that game 10-8 from its seemingly lost position.

A sloppy and tinny but scrappy third game seesawed evenly along to 7-6, Mathias, at which point he hit a serve out of court, a disconcerting turn of events that touched off a Brogna surge to 9-7 and a two games to one lead.

The fourth game was fascinating in a morbid sort of way, as Brogna exploded to a 6-1 lead after an early-game sequence of "hand-outs" at 1-all. He later led 8-5, match-ball up, prior to a last-ditch Mathias rally to 7-8, whereupon Mathias for the second time in as many games hit his serve out of court, thereby presenting Brogna with another match-point opportunity, this one totally unearned. Then, after staving off this potentially disastrous circumstance and working his way to 9-8, game-ball in his favor, Mathias committed yet ANOTHER service fault, to the murmur of a disbelieving gallery. But Brogna failed to grab any of these free chances, finally surrendered the 10-9 equalizer when Mathias finally kept his serve in play and succumbed to fatigue and a good Mathias run that gave him a 9-2 tally and the victory, the first-ever in main-draw professional competition in his young career.

MARK LEWIS FRUSTRATED AGAIN
The Musto-Lewis match was a replay of several finals between this pair in minor PSA/NA events in the mid-1990's and marked the former's return to professional tournament play after a nearly five-year hiatus. Musto has done fairly well in several of the top amateur events this past fall and early winter, while going undefeated at the No. 1 position for the Yale Club in the MSRA A League, and the attacking style for which he has always been known was on display throughout his match this evening. He took the first game 9-2, frequently forcing Lewis back with good length and following up with deft drop volley winners.

Lewis took an early 3-0 lead in the second, but another strong and extended Musto surge brought him all the way to 9-3. Trailing his nemesis two games to love, Lewis had leads of 5-1 and 8-5 in the third, only to relinquish them both, but mustered up all his remaining energy to escape with a 10-8 win that temporarily kept his hopes alive. But Lewis had shot his bolt in that third-game tiebreaker and the 9-0 fourth was the price he paid.

The victorious Musto will now face '99 S. L. Green champ Dave McNeely in Saturday's quarter-final, while second seed Richard Chin faces Scottish-born American Steve Polli, Jason Jewell goes up against third seed Tim Wyant and top seed Damian Walker, the reigning S. L. Green champion and winner of the recent Trinity Open, will play Mathias.

Squashtalk will provide coverage of this tournament all the way through its Sunday afternoon conclusion.

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