STL Forgotten Courts

The Battle at Bunker Hill

2018-09-05T20:08:00.000-05:00

Earlier this summer we became aware of the efforts of two young boys to rehabilitate their hometown tennis courts in Bunker Hill, Illinois. Bunker Hill is a small community consisting of 1774 people that was founded in 1837. It is located only 40 miles from St. Louis and 20 miles from the tennis hotbeds of Alton and Edwardsville.

Through the efforts of these two young men, Will and Ethan, who were motivated by poor conditions of the tennis and basketball courts at this park a grass roots movement has taken hold in this community. They have been at it for three years and so far have raised a total sum of about $11,000 to be used to restore these courts to usable condition.

This summer they were having a fundraiser and we decided that we should attend and while in town we played a match on the courts. Due to Stan Angelov's busy weekend schedule of representing buyers and sellers of homes we arrived a little later than planned. Since we were short on time we decided to limit our match to a 15 point tiebreaker.

The courts are located next to Bunker Hill High School and a field that had a nice family of sheep. The profession of playing on Forgotten Courts is dangerous and as we stepped on this court Scott said, "Be careful you do not twist an ankle". The courts are full of wide cracks which have lots of thick grass growing up through them which could impede lateral motion.

The good news is the courts had nets and although they were set a little high they appeared to be playable despite the aforementioned grass. A quick warm up completed under the watchful eye of the sheep and we got down to business.

Scott won the toss and elected to have Stan start . A great decision as Stan promptly double faulted due to the high net. Scott won the next point for a 2-0 lead. Stan started hitting deep and down the middle to bring it back to 4-4. On the next point court condition came into play as one of Stan's serves hit the crack and skidded low under Scott's racket.

The match became a real battle back and forth with both players hitting some great backhands. Scott hit a short ball on one to an open patch of court and Stan stepped up and drilled it down the line for a winner. On another point Stan came to the net and hit a short volley and Scott stepped in and hit a short, sharp angled topspin winner off the backhand side.

Eventually the score worked its way to 13-12 in Stan's favor and then Kaboom Stan hit another crack with a serve and the ball this time jumped up high over Scott's head. 14-12 Stan. Then Scott went for a hard cross court forehand and shanked it wide to give Stan the victory. But...... Stan was having such a good time he wanted to extend the tiebreaker to 21 and give Scott a chance.

So it was agreed to continue to 21 pts. Scott won the next point on a hard down the line shot to Stan's backhand and then on the next point ripped a sharp angled cross court shot that looked like a sure winner..... at this point the adrenaline was flowing and the speedy Bulgarian dashed across the court and slid into what looked to be a down the line forehand winner and just as he was about to hit the shot his shoe caught the grass and folded his ankle under.

Stan down! Stan down! In over 55 Forgotten Courts matches we have never had an injury but this one was pretty serious. Stan's ankle immediately began to swell and walking was difficult. We gathered up our stuff and retreated to the cars to discuss proper treatment of a sprained ankle. After a few minutes we decided Stan should head home to begin treatment of the ankle injury. After all of this Scott headed over to the fundraiser hosted by The Bunker Hill American Legion This was a true grass roots event involving the entire community. Ethan and Will welcomed guests into a large hall where there was a silent auction and volunteers served hot dogs and sloppy joes. One of the silent auction items was some Cardinals tickets sponsored by our friends at McConnell and Associates.

To Scott's surprise a 9 piece volunteer band took the stage and played some great tunes for the large group of guests. The event was a smashing success and raised $4,562 for the court repair efforts. If you are reading this and want to help the Bunker Hill Tennis Court effort you can do that by sending a donation payable to :

Bunker Hill Tennis Court Project
c/o Will Manar
4 Heritage Lane
Bunker Hill, Illinois 62014

Court location is a 10 and condition only a 3 for a rating of 6.5. Play these courts in their current condition with extreme caution or you could end up like Stan. Speaking of Stan's ankle, he solicited much advice on proper treatment and received the standard RICE, Arnica and even wrapping the ankle in cabbage. Ultimately RICE, Arnica and some treatment by Dr. Laurie at Mestdagh Chiropractic was employed. We hope to have him back on a Forgotten Court in no time.......

Legal Weed at Ivory Crockett Park

2018-07-28T14:32:00.000-05:00

On a very hot afternoon in June we headed to Ivory Crockett Park in Webster Groves, Missouri. This park was very convenient for Scott since it is located a few blocks from his office. Ivory Crockett Park is the center of a primarily African American section of Webster Groves and is named for the famed sprinter Ivory Crockett who still holds the record for the fastest manual timed 100 yard dash in history.

At this point Scott has given up on trying to beat Stan straight up and so for this match a new challenge was devised. Jason Mathes donated a Weed racket to The East St. Louis Community Tennis Association Library so we decided that each player would play a set "on" Weed before the racket went into the Library. This was thought to be a disadvantage as the Weed Racket is the largest legal racket at 135 sq. inches and is primarily used by senior players.

As got out of our cars we noticed a police car adjacent to the courts - steeped in our own privilege we walked right up to the car to show the officer we had some legal Weed. The cop unimpressed told us to lock our cars implying this was a "bad" neighborhood. As we walked to the court we immediately noticed that although Webster Groves is an affluent community this single court needed some attention. However the park does have bathrooms right next to the court which is always a plus.

We began the warm up and each of us tried the Weed for the first time and noticed it had a lot of firepower and less control. Short warm up completed we then spun the racket for serve and Scott won and made the decision to have Stan play the first set with the Weed and serve first.

Stan responded by blazing an ace right off the bat and won the first game at love with beautiful modified strokes. Scott remained dazed and confused during the first set as Stan hit a myriad of beautiful shots to win the first set 6-0. So much for the Weed penalty.....

Meanwhile our friendly police officer who kept a watchful eye over us for the first set as well as a group of folk under a nearby pavilion finally moved on.

So Scott's turn to have a hit with the Weed started inauspiciously as Stan again fired off an ace to win the first point of the second set. Stan went on to hold but then Scott inhaled deeply and unleashed the a flurry of Weed bombs to finally win a game. 1-1. All of the sudden a competitive match was in the offing with each player holding serve until 4-3 Stan.

Scott was using the magic of the Weed to take control of the points and put Stan on the defensive. Then Stan got the break he needed and was ready to serve out the match. Scott sparked up a powerful barrage of ground strokes to get 3 break points. Stan serving at love-40 looked like he was going to let Scott back in the match. Stan resolved to beat the Weed responded with some great points to come back and win the game, set and match at 6-0,6-3

Now that we were finished with the Weed we got out some beer and enjoyed Chomo-Lungma, Seventh Son, Zwickel and Budweiser Freedom Reserve while the sweet smell of herb wafted across the court from elsewhere in the park. Although we decided not to eat when we finished if we did the only choice after this match would be Pizza and there are many great choices within a mile of these courts including Farrottos, Katies, Racanelli's, Deweys and Jets Pizza.

Court condition was a 5 with surfacing needed, net straps, net adjustment however we really did not experience many bad bounces at all. Location is a 10 for a 7.5 average. As we left the courts we noticed the cops had never left but had just moved location and continued to keep a watchful eye over this park and its people.

Washington University - a game called Horse?

2018-01-04T20:17:00.000-06:00

Our blog has long had a tradition of playing an annual Thanksgiving match. 2017 was no exception - Climate Change/Global Warming or just plain fate had arranged for the weather to be in the high 60's and sunny in late November.

We decided to test our luck at the fabled Washington University Tennis Courts. The official courts of the fabled Washington University Bears Tennis Teams. These courts are among the oldest in St. Louis if not the oldest. The 1904 World's Fair Tennis Championship was here as was the 1904 Olympics. Dwight Davis, Karl Kammann, Butch Buchholz, Ted Drewes, Wray Brown all played for Wash U's teams.

Arthur Ashe practiced on these courts. Carol Hanks Aucamp played on the mens team in 1963. The great Pat Purcell played on these courts in her college days. These are serious courts with incredible history. On this day the men of Stlforgotten courts decided to add to this storied history.....

As you might expect these courts are in tip top shape and even include a tennis scoreboard on the east end of the courts. Since Stan has been drubbing Scott of lately Scott devised a game of racket skills instead of a traditional match to see if he could shake the Bulgarian. The game was a tennis version of the basketball game called HORSE. In a very original move we named our game TENNIS and utilized an igloo 5 gallon round cooler as our basket.

Prior to getting started we decorated the court with some owls, Thanksgiving tablecloth and our favorite festive beverages. We uncorked a couple Samuel Smith Ciders - Stan picked the apple and Scott went with the pear and began our warm up.

Scott made the first call - The cooler was placed on the service T and we stood on the opposite service T. The ball had to be hit into the bucket on the fly. After exhausting an entire hopper of balls nobody had succeeded. We moved on and Stan set up a deep cross court forehand shot with the call being you had to hit the bucket on the fly.

About halfway through the hopper we had bounced over, hit on the bounce but nobody could get it on the fly. All of the sudden Scott launched one and boom a T for Stan! The next shot by Scott was a down the line short drop shot which had to land in the bucket on the fly. This was bread and butter for Scott and he scored quickly sprinting out to a TE lead. Next shot by Stan was a cross court backhand that had to hit on the bounce.

Again after both players being all around it Scott finally scored for a TEN lead. Stan was in trouble - Scott called a short cross court forehand from service box corner to corner and Stan desperate added a caveat that in the bucket would add two letters. Scott smelled victory and started lofting for the two points while Stan did the same. Stan got nervous when Scott started closing in and unleashed a hard line drive to hit the bucket and get on the board. TEN to T. '

Stan then chose a wide serve to the Ad court and used a six pack container to mark it right in the corner. About a third of the way through the hopper Scott nailed it on the fly to go to TENN to T. Emboldened Scott called a short wide serve to the deuce side - a serve both players utilize and moved the six pack about halfway up the service sideline. Literally just a few balls in Scott nailed it again on the fly to TENNI to T.

Stan was really in trouble and called a down the line backhand deep with in the bucket being 2 points. Stan's backhand is on point and this was a sure winner for him. About a third of the way through with neither player hitting anything Scott was shanking most of his wide of the target. Stan was zeroing in and then it was over as Scott not only hit the bucket but landed a backhand inside on the fly. Game over. A stunning defeat in a duel of racket skills for the Bulgarian.

Scott opened up an Urban Chestnut Stammtisch to celebrate...... Meanwhile the Bulgarian stewing over his loss threw out a challenge. The challenge was another tennis first - The 17 point tiebreaker, switching sides every two points with a shutout at 9-0. Scott enjoying his beer and feeling the exhilaration of victory of course said "Its on"

5 points into the tiebreaker Scott was in deep Kimchi. Stan was up 5-0 and on a mission to end this thing quickly. It was at that point that Stan double faulted giving Scott the point he needed to stay in the tiebreaker. This tiebreaker was just not meant to be for Scott. Stan was focused and raining deep shots to the corners and generally exploiting his better court movement.

Scott managed to get back to 5-16 with a great pick up of a drop shot but then Stan finished it with a deep down the middle shot that Scott fouled off like a baseball pitch. Victory for Stan in possibly the worlds first 17 point tiebreaker!

We loved these courts. Condition and setting are both 10's. They are in first class shape and a great place to play when not in use by the Tennis Teams.

Stan was preparing to play in a Pat Purcell tournament later that night and needed some nourishment so we headed to the DeMun area to Seedz a great vegetarian restaurant where we downed some great stuffed peppers and an OM Marzen Beer. Not wanting the fun to end we headed next door to Pull for some espresso and a fabulous Honey Mama's Peruvian Raw Chocolate. Fully prepared Stan continued his tennis that evening and finished second in the singles tournament!

The Forehand Challenge

2017-10-28T09:13:00.000-05:00

Social media posts can certainly cause some controversy. In the spring of 2017 Scott made a Facebook post stating that nobody could beat him playing to his forehand. Immediately Mark Zolman who has quite the forehand stepped up and said he was up to the challenge. Stan wanted in on this battle as well since of course Bulgarian forehands are the best.

A period of negotiations began which labored on for months. Which court?, can you hit a backhand?, what parts of the court?, how many people playing at once?... The final decision was made to play on clay at the Highlands with the rules being as follows:

Regular scoring and serving.
Balls could only be hit as a forehand
Court definition was the deuce side including doubles alley.
All points served and played to the deuce side.
Winner is the first to win 10 games with everybody playing same number of games
2 players at a time with one rotating out after every two games

On a perfect Sunday evening in July we assembled at the Highlands and completed a short warm up on the green Har Tru surface. A quick spin of the rackets determined that Mark and Scott would begin the Forehand Challenge.

Mark started serving and won his game at love by breaking out the serve and volley tactic. Scott fired back on his serve by winning his game at love. Stan stepped in for Scott and split games with Mark. As Mark stepped out he had a 2-1-1 lead.

Scott came in and split with Stan leaving everybody tied at 2-2-2. We remained on serve until 4-4-4 at which time the crafty Bulgarian began to formulate a winning strategy. Even with the narrow court Stan began to serve to the T for an automatic winner and then in rally mode he would go wide to the forehand and then blast the next ball to the middle of court forcing his opponent to hit a backhand and automatically lose the point.

Using this strategy he vaulted out to an 8-4-4 lead. Mark and Scott both won two games each off of Stan using some extremely deep long and physical rallies to get to 8-6-6 putting Scott on the court with Stan. Stan promptly broke Scott following his new strategy.

Stan then closed out the match by firing a couple serves right up the T forcing Scott to hit backhands. The Bulgarian Forehand was victorious and will forever rule the Highlands!

We have previously covered The Highlands in our blog Bulgarian Down! A great after match spot nearby is one of our favorites Layla located in The Grove just a short drive from here.

Terre Battue in the Lou

2017-10-28T09:07:00.000-05:00

Red Clay....also known as Terre Battue is the stuff tennis players dream about but rarely if ever do United States players get the opportunity to experience this most rare of surfaces. Recently we became aware of a local facility that has installed a red clay court. An opportunity arose for us to play on this court and we of course jumped at the chance!

On a beautiful October day we arrived at the facility along with Justan Vaughn and Bob Faust. The court itself is a new hybrid system consisting of a fabric mat which is then covered with the red clay.

The result is a lower maintenance court with the qualities of the red clay. We found the court to be very consistent of bounce - especially when compared to Har Tru at the Highlands. The lines are permanently fused into the court eliminating any trip hazard common to clay court lines.

As we began to warm up we could see that drop shots would be particularly effective as the balls just died in the soft clay. Sliding into your shot was also a skill which could be used on this surface. You definitely had to move towards the ball on every shot instead of waiting for it to come to you.

After a quick warm up set we paired off with Scott and Bob Faust against Justan and Stan. Justan is the least experienced player in the group so he had the benefit of the speedy Bulgarian as his partner. Scott and Bob play together often on their USTA team while Stan and Justan were playing together for the first time.

The racket spin was won by Scott and Bob. Scott grabbed the balls and stepped up to the line to serve. Right off the bat Stan took the first serve and angled it cross-court for a winner. Justan returned a deep ball over Faust's head and it was love -30. Stan returned another deep ball in the corner which just ate Scott up and he could not get into position to hit it. Scott hit a tough serve to Justan and Justan was able to throw up a lob which Bob hammered into the net.

The newbies win the first game at love. Stan held his serve easily and then Bob held for a 2-1 lead to Justan/Stan. Scott and Bob thought they would easily break Justan but instead hit both of their returns long and Justan with that lead held for a 3-1 lead. Scott needed to hold and started out by hitting a wide serve to Stan's forehand which he ripped down the line past Bob for a winner... A deep serve to Justan's backhand resulted in a weak lob which Bob put away. 15-15.

Another serve to Stan's forehand brought an error and another serve to Justan yielded another Bob put away. Scott served down the T to Stan and Stan ripped a backhand at Bob which he easily volleyed away into the corner. Stan held his serve after a tough game which ended when Bob blasted a forehand at Justan and he reacted quickly with a drop volley at an impossible angle which died in the soft red clay. 4-2 Stan/Justan. Unfortunately for Justan and Stan that was the high point of the set as the experienced team fought their way to victory in the set by reeling off the next four games to win 6-4.

The second set started out much the same as the first with Stan and Justan sprinting out to a 4-1 lead. Scott and Bob were trying to pick on Justan and he kept startling them with his quick reflexes and speed on the court. Backs against the wall Scott and Bob fought their way back to 4-4 when Bob hit one of his patented forehand return of serve drop shots that was so good not even the speedy Stan could do anything with it.

Scott and Bob needed to close the match out and Justan and Stan were not having it. Stan served the next game and a key point was played with Bob returning serve and Stan pounding Scott down the line 3 times in a row and each time Scott volleyed back to Stan.... frustrated Stan took a mighty swing and went down the line a fourth time and Scott stabbed a defensive volley that went up high in the air and landed mid-court where Stan could put it away.... but instead he hit the easiest shot into the net and Scott and Bob were able to go up 5-4.

Scott promptly lost his serve to bring the set to 5-5 with Justan again getting back some balls that most humans would not be able to retrieve. A quick break of Justan's serve set Bob up to serve the match out. He did just that with Scott poaching a Stan return and picking off Stan's baseline overhead with a drop volley to win the match! 6-4, 7-5.

These courts are a 10 in condition and location. We really enjoyed getting to play on the red clay.

To celebrate the victory we retired to the newly expanded Village Bar for a couple beers and a Better Burger!

Two guys walk into a bar.... after playing at Kaufman Park and the Highlands

2017-08-01T10:09:00.000-05:00

A tip came in to the Stlforgotten hotline that University City had just completed the renovation of Kaufman Park's courts with state of the art post tension concrete. Scott thought this would be the perfect place to test out Stan's hot weather stamina on a steamy June day. The courts are part of a larger park and adjacent to The Green Center. The courts are in perfect shape - we quickly warmed up and decided to play a match utilizing the Fast 4 format.

Scott won the toss and quickly won his serve at love.

Stan followed suit and did the same for a 1-1 score. Stan broke Scott by taking a slow kick serve on the backhand and blasting a winner down the line. 2-1 Stan who then proceeded to stretch his lead to 3-2. With Scott serving on a 3-3 point Stan has his first set point but Scott denied it with a down the line backhand followed by a vicious cross court backhand winner. Stan served at 3-3 game score and held at love to take the first set.

The second set started with Stan going up 3-1. Scott started fighting back highlighted by a point with a great cross court rip followed by a short angle volley winner. Eventually Scott gets back to 3-3 and Stan found himself at the net on set point and took a hard gut shot like a pro and volleyed it away to win the second set.

Scott who thought the heat was his friend now found himself down 2-0 in sets. Unbelievably out of nowhere a flash thunderstorm appeared saving the day for Scott. We decided to get some lunch and postpone the match finish for a quick trip to La Pizza.

We had some outstanding Calzones and decided to finish the match on another day. Scott now had a much needed chance to rest and regroup. Fast forward a couple weeks to mid-July and we found ourselves on the clay at the Highlands and decided to finish the match before another tennis engagement. We had only played on clay once before and Scott was victorious.

The set started and Stan quickly found his drop shot and took advantage of the slow clay to go up 2-0. With his back against the wall Scott fought back to a 3-3 game and a 3-3 point on his serve. Scott put a first serve in and Stan shanked the return for a 4-3 Scott set and a match score of 2 sets to 1 in favor of Stan. Our tennis partners showed up so we agreed to postpone this match to finish on a third day.

This is when things get really interesting. A couple weeks later Stan meets a gentleman randomly in a restaurant bar and the discussion gets around to tennis and our blog. The gentlemen says his he grew up in a house with a private court and suggested we play it for the blog. A couple questions later Stan determined the house was for sale and closing in just a couple days. Of course we had to finish this match on the private court.

So in late July we found ourselves on a private court in Creve Coeur and the residence of the late Dr. Edward Graviss and his wife Joan. They were both accomplished tennis players and well known in the tennis community. Dr. Graviss was a longtime player on the old West County Tennis Ladder. The court was in a beautiful setting in a quiet area with a nice seating area to accommodate spectators. We did not bring spectators as we were already worried with an unoccupied house that somebody would call the police....

We warmed up and found the surface to be very consistent and began to play. Temperature at match time was 102 degrees and sunny.

Scott held to start and then Stan held in a tough sun serving situation and then broke Scott to go up 2-1. Stan goes up 3-1 with a spectacular down the line backhand winner. Scott gets to a 3-3 point on his serve with a let cord winner only to see Stan hit a sharply angled backhand to finish the game and the match pulling out a 4-1 set victory and a 3 sets to 1 match victory.

This match took almost 30 days and three different courts to complete. We are grateful to the Graviss family for letting us play on their family court literally one day before the final sale. We really wish we could have met Dr. Graviss and played on the court in its heyday. Kaufman Park is a 10 all the way around with great work by the guys at McConnell and Associates once again to rebuild them. The Highlands we have covered elsewhere in the blog.

Stan wins again...... the question now is can Scott get his mojo back or will the name of this blog be changed to.... Stan beats Scott Once Again. Stay tuned.

We don't need no stinking warm up! - Heman Park

2017-05-04T10:49:00.000-05:00

The month of April 2017 was mostly a deluge of rain and ended with massive flooding throughout the area. However on one Thursday afternoon we found a bit of sun and decided to play at Heman Park in University City. University City is an early suburb bordering the City of St. Louis. It was founded by Edward Gardner Lewis and has a very unique history. Heman Park is home to the most active grassroots tennis groups in the area. It is the one place in St. Louis where you are almost guaranteed to get a pick up game. If you are sitting on the bench with a racket, the odds are very good someone will walk up and ask you to play. Heman also acts as the home court for the University City High School Tennis Team the Lions and The Heman Heathen's Racket and Beer Club. It is also University City's largest park at 85 acres and is full of other amenities which are listed here. Heman was named after University City's second mayor August Heman and is built on the site of a former landfill. Mr. Heman was President of both the Heman Construction Company and Trinidad Asphalt Company and died at the age of 64 from a bout of indigestion.

Scott arrived first and while waiting for Stan sure enough a gentleman walked up and offered to hit some balls. There are no tennis strangers at Heman Park! On this particular day we had to squeeze the match in between some home showings for Stan and work around a meeting Scott had in Clayton. The result of that is we agreed for the first time ever to start the match with no warm up. Although warm and sunny the conditions were windy with air so thick with pollen you could see it.

The no warm up led to an interesting start to the match. After 4 games the score was Stan 3-1 with no point going more that two shots and Stan winning all 8 points on his serve. The wind was really a factor with many balls sailing long on both ends of the court because it was swirling and changing directions. On the next game Scott served and fought to an ad point which ended with Stan at the net hitting a drop shot which Scott retrieved and deftly flicked a lob over his head for the game. 3-2 Stan who answered the challenge with a strong service game which included a ace out wide to Scott's backhand to finish it and go up 4-2. Scott won his serve by serving and volleying to Stan's backhand and then hitting a volley behind Stan.

On Stan's serve a couple double faults led to a break and a tied score at 4-4. Scott held serve easily to go up 5-4 and Stan did the same by taking an excellent down the line slice ball and ripping a forehand winner to tie it up at 5-5. Stan followed up by breaking Scott on the next game to go up 6-5 and put himself in a position to serve out the set. Scott was able to hit some deep hard returns and finish a couple points at the net to tie it up at 6-6. A tiebreaker was played and Stan was able to stay on top and prevailed 7-4 for a 7-6 first set victory.

About halfway through the first set we had completed our warm up and the points started to get longer as we settled into the playing conditions. The longer points were also starting to test footwork and endurance for both players. Taking confidence from the first set Stan fired off an ace and held the first game and promptly broke Scott's serve with a great forehand winner to go up 2-0. Scott was able to break Stan with a flurry of mishit wobbly shots and one hard deep return. Scott held his serve by trying the can opener play hitting a wide serve to Stan which was returned about 2 feet wide.......but no the wind blew it back in the court it hit the line and Scott drove it down the line to Stan's backhand he was able to float up a cross court lob which should have landed in but the wind blew it 2 feet out this time. 2-2 Stan served efficiently and went up 3-2 and then broke Scott on a long, physical high ball rally which ended with Scott trying to hit a winner which sailed long. 4-2 Stan.

Scott quickly held and broke back to get to 4-4 again. Stan's service game had six deuces with two break points for Scott which he could not convert allowing Stan to finally hold and go up 5-4. That set up the most dramatic game of the match with both men determined to win Scott's serve. Right off the bat Stan took a second serve and ripped a cross court winner. Scott got the second point to get to 15-15. Scott decided to sneak a second serve in on his first to surprise Stan.

He was not surprised and hit a perfect backhand drop shot winner. 15-30 brought a serve and volley winner for Scott. 30-30 - Again Stan rips a forehand cross court winner to get his first match point. At this point Scott the match began to look like a late inning baseball game. Scott was hitting his hardest out wide serve to Stan's strength the backhand. Scott fired off a serve and Stan shanked it wide. Deuce. Scott hit a wide serve to Stan's forehand and had his first ad - Stan took the hard serve to the backhand and hit a cross court winner. Deuce. Stan earned another ad with a long rally. Scott fired another fastball to Stan's backhand and he fouled it against the fence.

At this point Scott was serving like the fabled Mad Hungarian of the St. Louis Cardinals. Deuce - Stan again wins a long rally and has a third match point. Another fastball to the backhand by Scott brought another error. Deuce - Finally Scott earned a second game point with a sharp angled forehand winner. But he missed his first serve and Stan stepped around the second serve and blasted an inside out forehand winner. On the 6th Deuce Stan came to the net and after Scott retrieved three overheads he finally put the ball away. On his 4th match point Scott hit another cannonball deep into the backhand corner and this time Stan had the answer with a cross court out wide winner to take the match. 7-6, 6-4.

Post match we just sat in the sun for awhile as we were both exhausted. Stan eventually had to leave for another home showing and Scott found his way to OR Smoothie & Cafe to refuel. Heman Park is a great place to play tennis and has a 10 for location and a 9 for condition for a 9.5 rating. Our only ding is the surfacing of the courts either needs a good cleaning or possibly a resurfacing at some point.

Stinson destroys Angelov 6-0,6-0 at Tilles Park

2017-04-26T15:22:00.000-05:00

Fake News or the truth..... read on and you shall find out!

On a beautiful March afternoon Stan and Scott decided to take a break from their respective real estate duties at ReMax Select and Central Realty and play a match at Tilles Park. The name Tilles Park in St. Louis commonly means a large park in St. Louis County off McKnight road. We have played there before and discussed Andrew Tilles history in our blog The Quest for the Golden Set. However on this day we wanted to explore the other Tilles Park in St. Louis City. This park is located at the intersection of Hampton and Fyler and was created by the City of St. Louis selling the Tilles Park in St. Louis County to the County and using the proceeds to buy these 29 acres in the 1950's. Additional funding for this project came from a massive 110 million dollar bond issue passed in 1955 by Mayor Raymond Tucker.

Upon arrival we quickly made notice of a couple things. This Tilles park is much smaller but cements together its Tilles Park Neighborhood. Right outside of the courts was a large playground which was in heavy use the entire time we were playing.

The next thing we noticed is that these courts have recently been resurfaced as part of a comprehensive program the City of St. Louis parks and recreation dept has been implementing. For tennis players the bad news is where there were once three courts there is now only one. The remainder have been converted to very nice pickleball courts.

The park packs a lot of amenities and also includes a roller hockey rink, 3 soccer fields, a soccer kick board, 3 softball/baseball fields, a basketball/volleyball court, 2 racquetball courts picnic pavilion, an exercise station and walking path.

As we began our warm up we noticed this new surface was very slow and theoretically would be an advantage for Scott. We completed our warm up on one of the pickleball courts and then moved to the remaining tennis court to start the match. After warming up on the pickleball court we both noticed our perspective was off on the normal court. It took a couple minutes of hitting to get our normal tennis strokes back.

As the match began it was a tug of war with both players winning their serves until the score got to 3-3. At that point Stan's backhand was dialed in and he really took control of the set winning the next three games by stroking winners from almost any position on the court.

After the first set Scott realized his only chance was to try to blow Stan off the court with aggressive shotmaking. Implementing this new strategy did not seem to make a difference as Stan's defense was rock solid and eventually Scott would wear out during the points. Finally at 0-3 Scott had a great game where at 30 all he ripped a cross court backhand winner.

The next point with Stan at the net Scott ripped a hard backhand right at him
which was dumped in the net. He was on the board and thought he had some momentum. He did not - Stan focused even harder and kept returning the barrage of hard hit balls eventually closing out the second set 6-1. Another win for the Bulgarian 6-3, 6-1.

This court was in excellent shape and receives at rating both in location and quality of 10! After the match we headed across Hampton to the highly regarded Salume Beddu which prepares artisan cured meats. We enjoyed a quality lunch of soppressata sandwiches, Billy Goat Chips and an appetizer of Lonza Ends.

Return to North County! Dunegant Park.

2017-03-15T14:33:00.000-05:00

Winter 2017 has been really mild in St. Louis this year and recently we found ourselves with a Thursday morning with predicted weather of sunny and a high of near 70 degrees. By coincidence this day was also tennis legend John McEnroe's birthday. As we began researching courts we found that our first 3 choices of courts appeared to be relegated to the dustbin of history. Those were Jackson Park, Frostwood Park and Musick Park. Personal inspection of all three showed courts either abandoned or in unplayable condition.

We finally settled on Dunegant Park in Florissant. Dunegant Park is a large park that includes multiple amenities such as Tennis, Handball, Frisbee Golf, Ball Fields, Soccer, BBQ and Restrooms. Who was Dunegant you ask? Well that is where things get really interesting. Francois Dunegant was sent to North County in the late 1700's to found San Fernando which later became the City of Florissant. He was granted a significant amount of land and we wonder if this park was donated by his family at a later date. Here is good history of Francois Dunegant. The tennis courts come in two varieties - 4 astroturf courts with light poles literally in between the courts - slightly dangerous if running to get a ball and 2 courts that were hard courts where the nets shared a middle pole. We decided to play the match with one set on each surface and then if split sets the third set surface would be determined by a racket spin.

Scott broke out a can of pink "Hope" tennis balls which support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Stan brought out for the first time in this series a pair of Volkyl tennis racquets switching from his former brand Head. Warm up was quickly completed and then Scott won the racket spin and chose to serve. Stan quickly broke Scott and then Scott broke right back. Scott's next service game was tough but Stan found his range and quickly hit down the line winners to both sides and took a 2-1 lead. Scott broke Stan again with some aggressive returning.

At 2-2 Scott had an excellent service game punctuated with a rare ace down the T to Stan. 3-2 lead Scott. On Stan's next service game he started off by hitting the line on his serve which created a high kicking bounce that Scott
could not handle. He finished the game for a 3-3 score. Scott held a tough service game by hitting a great passing shot past the speedy Bulgarian and then broke Stan for a 5-3 lead.

Closing out the Bulgarian is always tough and Stan went to work and in a few short minutes worked the score back to 5-5 with some excellent volleys and a wicked drop shot. Scott served out a service game with a couple deuces and took a 6-5 lead. Stan's first serve on the next game was ripped cross court by Scott at a sharp angle and kissed the line for a winner. Scott parlayed that shot to a break and took the first set 7-5.

We packed up our stuff and headed over to the hard courts. The hard courts have a plaque naming them the John Schneider Memorial Courts. Scott remembered a former John Schneider who was a Missouri State tennis champion from the now defunct Rosary High School. John also appeared in a tennis movie and was a teaching tennis pro. The John Schneider plaque honors a former state politician from Florissant. Unfortunately the courts are not honoring him very well as they are completely devoid of any surfacing at this point.

We elected to start the second set with no warm up on the hard court and immediately got to work. These courts were faster but also had more grip since the balls were basically bouncing on bare asphalt. There were some major cracks which also might be a factor at some point. Quickly the score got to 3-3 and then Stan ran away with the second set for a 6-3 win.

Stan was getting much more consistent while Scott seemed to struggle to hit a clean ball. As a third set was required the racket was spun and Stan chose to stay on the hard courts but to switch to the other court. This match would now be played on 3 different courts. This last hard court had even more cracks which could
affect the match at any point in time.

New yellow balls were opened for the third set. Things really started to look bleak for Scott as Stan quickly pulled out to a 5-1 lead. Scott served to stay in the match and Stan tried to finish it quickly. Stan reached his first match point and Scott played a long defensive point lobbing Stan who finally tried to hit an overhead from the baseline which landed in the net. Stan won the next point and match point number two was saved with another deep shot to Stan's backhand which he pulled wide. Finally Scott was able to save the game and get to 5-2.

Stan served and quickly got to his 3rd match point which Scott saved with a backhand stab dropshot which was held up by the swirling wind. Scott won the game by charging the net on a weak ball from Stan and angled it off the court to get to 5-3. Again on Scott's serve Stan got another match point opportunity #4 and Scott saved it with a monster cross court forehand winner.

It looked like an amazing comeback was in the making at this point. Stan had other plans however and quickly unleashed two great shots one a down the line winner to Scott's backhand side the the second was an amazing return of a Scott angled backhand return causing Scott to put the ball over the middle of the net only to find a smiling Bulgarian there who cashed in on his 5th match point with an easy volley. Match to Stan 5-7, 6-3, 6-3

The location of these courts is a 10 being in a relatively quiet setting. Although we did not really have many bad bounces these courts need some serious attention. The carpet courts were in better shape than the hard so we will give an overall score of 5 for a 7.5 average. Florissant has been spending money on their tennis courts at other locations so hopefully these are due for a makeover.

After tennis we drove a few miles east for a great BBQ lunch at the Ferguson Brewing Company located in downtown Ferguson.

Within two weeks of this match John McEnroe's father John McEnroe Sr. passed away as well as politician John Schneider. Both left long and proud legacies.

Park Closed - Harold Evangelista Park

2017-01-04T15:28:00.000-06:00

On the first day of Winter 2016 the temperature was projected to reach a balmy 46 degrees in St. Louis. Based upon that forecast and a rumor of some forgotten courts receiving a rebuild we headed to North County to the City of Black Jack and Harold J. Evangelista Park. Evangelista Park is named in honor of the former Mayor of Black Jack for 25 years and a city official during the United States vs City of Black Jack Fair Housing Case.

Harold J. Evangelista Park is on Old Jamestown road just a stones throw from the abandoned Jamestown Mall a place where Scott spent many hours in his teenage years. We both arrived at the park at exactly the same time only to be greeted with closed gates and big sign that said Park Closed. Many people of course would be deterred by this situation but we considered it a problem that needed to be analyzed. We left our tennis gear in the car and hiked a good distance to reconnoiter the tennis courts. The rumor was true!

We gazed upon four pristine courts that looked like they were 90% complete. One end was missing some fencing and had tape around the remaining construction area to keep folks out. The courts were truly a beautiful sight with brand new surfacing, new nets, etc. In fact, it appeared the entire park was getting some investment with new basketball courts and LED Lighting being a couple items we noticed. We were surprised to discover this park. It is a very large park located on a long narrow strip of land surrounded by lots of open acreage. We are always amazed at the amount of land and trees in North County, although close to the City of St. Louis it has a more rural feel.

Finding conditions satisfactory we hiked back to our cars and decided to move them away from the gate so we did not attract attention and then retrieved our equipment and hiked back to the courts. We exchanged a few Christmas gifts - Truffles, Nike Long Sleeve Shirt, String Theory Tennis Book and of course a Stan Angelov ReMax Calendar! Then we unpacked our equipment which on this day included Hats, shirts, tights, gloves in addition to our tennis gear.

This match was highly anticipated with Scott coming off several good wins over strong singles players and Stan continuing his practice of Yoga along with playing with the "Morning Wood" group at Creve Coeur Racquet Club several times per week.

As we began our warm up the first thing we noticed is we believe we were the first humans to play on the redone surface of these courts. We picked one of the middle courts which was dry and clear since the shaded courts still had patches of snow and ice. The courts were supremely grippy and balls with spin really held up short especially if the swirling wind was blowing the right way. After a quick warm up we began to play.

What a glorious day it was with the Sun shining and nobody around to disturb our focus on the match. Scott won the toss and elected to serve. Scott started out quickly winning his serve but the points were really short as both players were struggling with the wind and the grippy surface. Several balls by both players were missed as we lunged at balls that weren't where we thought they should be.

Stan battled back to 2-2 as we began to settle down and get a feel for these courts. The first four games all had multiple deuces with each player fighting hard to stay in the game. Stan looked like he was getting the hang of it as he started to hit winners down the line on both sides wrong footing Scott each time.

The fifth game was where we knew we had something special going on today. At 30-30 we had an amazing point that lasted about 20 balls and featured almost every shot in the book. This point featured drop shots, wide angles, hard shots and finally after a brilliant Scott drop shot bringing Stan to the net with a great get Scott hit a perfect lob over his head for a sure winner.... except it wasn't because somehow Stan ran back and was able to hit a ball in play which a stunned Scott promptly dumped into the net with a backhand volley.

Scott fought back to get an Ad in this game and then the second great point was played. Scott hit a drop shot which Stan dropped back and Scott got it and tried to push a ball down the line which led
to a 6 volley exchange with both players at the net finally Stan hit a great cross court volley but Scott anticipated it and punched a backhand volley winner down the line to go up 3-2!

Stan held serve easily for 3-3 and then Scott held a deuce service game sneaking in with a great volley to cut off a Stan cross court shot. 4-3 Scott. Again Stan held for 4-4 powered by a great wide angle ace to Scott's forehand side. Scott's serve was again a battle and after multiple deuces the speedy Bulgarian came to the net and Scott fed him a weak lob which he easily put away to go up 5-4. Stan was finding the mark on his serve and closed out the set easily for a 6-4 first set win.

The second set continued to provide more great tennis with many excellent points by both players but Stan was gradually winning a higher percentage and Scott's normally reliable first serve began to falter. Stan took advantage and moved out to a 5-1 lead. The next two games were huge with Stan going up 40-15 in each. Scott started hitting some powerful ground strokes and played amazing defense and was able to win both to get to 5-3.

Stan served for the match and again went up 40-15. An error by Stan made it 40-30 and gave Scott a little hope that he could continue his run. Stan served and Scott returned with a strong cross court backhand which Stan looped deep back to Scott's backhand. Scott tried to change direction and hit a down the line backhand which curved and landed about 1 foot outside the line to give Stan the victory 6-4, 6-3. A hard fought victory for our last Forgotten Court match of 2016!

After we packed up and hiked out of the park we headed to a nearby O' Charley's for some ribs and beverages. On the way we drove past the abandoned Jamestown Mall and the former indoor Jamestown Racquet and Swim Club which featured indoor courts and a swimming pool now converted to a church facility.

Honestly these courts and location on this day warranted a 10 on both counts. The location was quiet and we were able to focus and the courts and nets are in perfect shape. There is a also a nearby BBQ grill so this would be an ideal location for a small tournament!

New Rules for a New Age - Fast4 Tennis at McNair Park

2016-10-10T08:15:00.000-05:00

While the 2016 US Open was getting started we took a trip out to a park in St. Charles, Missouri called McNair Park. McNair has four tennis courts and is part of a much larger park which features ball fields, concession, volleyball, shelters, soccer and a braille trail.

The courts are on top of a hill and on first appearance could use some work. We also noted right of the bat that they are striped with pickleball lines which is becoming a common sight on area tennis courts. We have played on similar courts and find the pickleball lines to be a distraction when calling serves making it confusing when you have a white service line and a yellow pickleball line within a foot of each other.

As we warmed up we decided to play a new tennis format devised by Tennis Australia known as Fast4. Fast4 is designed to play a 5 set match but with rules in place to make it move along faster. Sets are to 4 games with a tiebreaker at 3 all. Scoring is no-ad.

We warmed up quickly and began the match. Stan was really motivated after his loss in the last match and come out firing some backhand winners and quickly moved to take the first set 4-1. Weirdly enough in the first set we did not encounter any 3-3 points to be decided by the no-ad system.

The second set was a different story as there were several 3-3 points with Scott taking the first one and Stan hitting an incredible forehand from an off the court wide position which rolled right into Scott's backhand corner striking the the lines to give Stan the game while Scott watched with incredulity. The set went to a 5 point tiebreaker which Scott was able with win 5-3 to even up the match.

Stan did not want to be denied this match and came up with a dizzying array of drop shots, backhand winners and some sneaky volleys to win the third set 4-2 and left Scott questioning his dedication to the game.

The fourth set was tough - this time it was Scott feeling a lack of energy while Stan kept making him work for every point. Back and forth it went until 3-3 at which point another tiebreaker was played. This one was all Stan as he prevailed 5-2 to win the set and the match 3 sets to 1. Final score 4-1, 3-4, 4-2, 4-3.

Our take on this format was we liked it a lot. Surprisingly the match took over two hours and we both felt like we had played a substantial match. The new rules made for some interesting scenarios which we liked. We will use this format again for sure on a future forgotten court.

As we were leaving a squad of pickleballers arrived and we had a quick chat with them about the game and watched them play for a few minutes.... a future forgotten courts subject maybe....

The courts are in rough shape and we will give the condition a 6 and location a 10 for a 8 overall. The location is nice and quiet.

The food choices nearby for an after match meal are endless with Main Street St. Charles just a few miles away. One of our favorites is Trailhead Brewing which has cold beer and good food.

Bulgarian Down..... aka The Highlands

2016-08-12T08:23:00.000-05:00

After our last match where Stan twice almost completed his quest for the golden set and blew Scott off the court, Scott got to thinking about what he could do to turn the tables. He quickly settled on the idea that if he could get Stan to come to the clay courts in Forest Park it might give him the edge he desperately needed. Forest Park is well known to all St. Louisans and receives over 12 million visitors per year. It hosted the 1904 World's Fair and is surrounded by turn of the century mansions.

The clay courts in Forest Park are contained in a little known facility known at The Highlands formerly the AAA tennis club. The courts are tucked away in the southeast corner of the park near the McDonnell Planetarium. Most of the courts we play are public but these are quasi-private. They are open to the public but charge either an annual membership or a daily court fee of $10. However - for those "in the know" two of the courts are open to the public "free of charge" but you must ask for them.

Scott plays in a USTA mixed doubles league at the Highlands and over the past 8 years has compiled a 30-11 record and a 73% winning percentage. This may be because he has excellent partners but still there seems to be something about this clay( Har- Tru) surface that works for his game. Clay can be a tricky surface for some. Click here for some good tips on clay court play.

On this early August day it rained in the morning and at match time at 12:30 pm the temperature was in the mid-80's with 80% humidity. As we stepped on the courts you could not only feel the humidity but the presence of the greats who had played on these courts before. Jimmy Connors, Dwight Davis, Pancho Gonzalez, Pancho Segura, Ken Flach and Ted Drewes are just a few of the great men who have played on these courts in their 100+ year history. Scott arrived a few minutes early and had a nice chat with Head Pro - Mark McPhilips about the successful and growing summer programs at The Highlands.

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As we stepped on court 8 we noticed a bank of trees along one side of the court and deemed them to be in play if a ball hit one of them. Warm up was quick and so was the sweat. The temperature may have been in the 80's but the humidity was going to make this match a challenge. Scott knew in addition to the clay factor that heat had helped him in the Westminster Christian Academy match. He quickly decided to make Stan hit as many balls as possible and see if the heat would take its toll. Stan won the toss and the first set was on.

Scott immediately broke Stan's serve. Stan broke right back to even the set at 1-1. On Stan's next service game the clay became a factor. Scott first hit a sidespin backhand which jumped sideways as it bounced causing Stan to make an error. On the very next point Scott hit a sharp cross court serve return which Stan scrambled to retrieve then Scott blocked his shot back into the open court.... the speedy Stan quickly got to the ball but the clay just deadened the bounce. 2-1 Scott.

The three broken service games were followed by holds by each for a 3-2 Scott lead. Then two more breaks. 4-3 Scott. Then a hold by Scott put him in a position to break Stan for the set. In Stan's service game Scott played the two best points of the match. The first was a 20+ ball rally which had drop shots, moonballs and finally off of a deep ball by Stan, Scott unleashed a monster forehand into Stan's backhand corner which overpowered him and resulted in an error.

Two points later Stan drove a mid court ball into Scott's backhand corner for a winner but somehow Scott stabbed at it and produced a perfect lob over Stan's head into his backhand corner for a winner. BUT..... Stan persevered and won the points that mattered to stay in the game and more importantly the set. 5-4 Scott.

On the next game Scott served for the set and Stan unleashed a barrage of shotmaking with a backhand winner, a forehand down the line winner and an inside out forehand to tie the set at 5-5. Unknown to Scott his plan was beginning to work. Stan fatigued from the effort to get even lost his service game at love and Scott was able to serve out the set at 7-5.

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A battle was shaping up but on the changeover Stan retired due to heat exhaustion. A cheap victory perhaps...but Scott was willing to take it! We quickly retired to the clubhouse for some air conditioning to cool Stan down and then walked over to Keagan's Restaurant for a couple beers and some appetizers. Our server Sarah took great care of us. Not long after we arrived the skies opened up again and we realized how fortunate we were to have a few hours of great tennis amidst the rain.

For convenience we went to Keagan's which is the club eatery, however, The Central West End is nearby and features an amazing selection of places to eat and drink after a match. Court condition - in clay court terms not perfect - courts could use a little more topping but Folks this place is a close as it gets to Tennis Heaven in St. Louis so it receives a 10 all the way around!

The Quest for the Golden Set - Tilles Park

2016-07-28T15:09:00.000-05:00

Its been a couple months since the last match. On a warm June morning we headed over to Tilles Park for a singles match. Stan has been playing a lot of early morning tennis at Creve Coeur Racquet Club while Scott is playing a lot of World Team Tennis at Dwight Davis Tennis Center and USTA League Tennis on clay at the Highlands. Scott was eager to test out his new Yonex Vcore Duel G Racket against the Bulgarian.

Tilles Park has four nice courts which are surrounded by really beautiful stone walls built during the "Great Depression" by the Works Progress Administration. The park is named for Rosalie Tilles the mother of Captain Andrew Tilles a fascinating St. Louis figure who dominated the horse racing industry in his day. The courts are in good shape but probably do not have the requisite distance
between baseline and fence for proper maneuvering. Tilles is also home to the very popular Winter Wonderland Light Show each year.

After a short warm up we were ready to start the battle.... or at least one of us was.

Stan won the racket spin and elected to serve. He quickly made a statement winning four points in a row and hitting two winners off the backhand wing. Scott served.... Stan won four more points in a row again unleashing a barrage of backhand winners. At this point the Golden Set jokes started - a golden set is 24 points in a row by one player. Stan served again and reeled off four more points for a 3-0 lead for 12 points in a row - he was halfway there.

At this point Scott was just looking to win one point to spoil the Golden Set. It was very apparent that Stan's backhand could fire off a winner from anywhere on the court. The strategy would be hit to the forehand from here on out. Boom - Scott hit a serve and Stan pulled it wide on his forehand side. Miraculously Scott went on to win that game but it proved just a bump on the road for Stan as he reeled off three more games in a row to win 6-1.

The second set got underway with Scott serving and would you believe it Stan reeling off another 12 points in a row to take another 3-0 lead and again have a chance for the golden set. Finally in the 4th game Stan's concentration faltered - lets be clear Scott did not play better just was able
to keep the ball in play enough to win 2 games before Stan finished the set
at 6-2

Stan was in top form and administered probably the most one sided victory in the history of Stlforgottencourts. Court condition is a 9 and location is a 10 for a 9.5 rating. If you are looking for some food after tennis here there is only one place to go - The one and only Carls Drive In!

Dinner for Four - Bolm Schuhkraft Park

2016-05-02T18:14:00.001-05:00

As is common in springtime the St. Louis area was blanketed with thunderstorms on this late April day. We exploited a gap in the storms and met our two friends Charles and Ben at Bolm Schuhkraft Park in Columbia, Illinois for an evening match on some lighted courts. You might be asking where is Columbia, Illinois? Its right across the Mighty Mississippi from Jefferson Barracks. It is literally a 12 miles from downtown St. Louis to Columbia.

Columbia is an old community first populated by the Mound Builders then by the Kickapoo, the French and later populated by German immigrants. The city itself was laid out in 1820 and incorporated in 1859. Columbia has a rich history that you can read in detail at this link

Bolm Schuhkraft Park has many amenities besides tennis courts including ball fields, trails, pavilions, and bathrooms The tennis courts are unusual because there are four courts with two different surfaces. The first surface is Plexipave a cushioned surface and the second were traditional hardcourts recently resurfaced by McConnell and Associates. The courts are lighted and have bathrooms and a grill just across the parking lot.

After taking the court situation into consideration we decided that we would grill the St. Louis specialty of Pork Steaks and then play our match on both court surfaces. We quickly browned some pork steaks which were pre-rubbed with Ropers Ribs Rub( We discovered Ropers at Dwight Davis Park). The steaks were then placed in an aluminum pan filled with a combination of Uncle Joes and Maull's sauces and left to simmer over the coals.

Stan opened up a can of Robin Soderling Balls... yup. Robin Soderling has his own balls.........

The match began on the Plexipave court and Stan and Scott won the toss and elected to have Scott serve. Scott took his first serve out wide and Charles(USTA 4.5) ripped a vicious down the line winner past Stan's outstretched racket.

Next serve to Ben(USTA 4.0) who ripped a sharply angled backhand shot that Scott could not handle. The next point Charles hit a nice return and then volleyed away Scott's shot. Love-40 after 3 points - things were not looking good.

Scott served Ben a knuckleball serve which somehow scooted under Ben's racket. Then Stan hit a beautiful drop volley winner. Scott served down the T and got Ben to hit a forehand wide. Deuce - The battle was on. This was the first of six deuces and finally Scott served into Ben's body to force an error and the comeback from Love-40 was complete. 1-0 good guys!

As we were playing a group of young folks were hanging out in the parking lot watching a quality tennis match. Scott and Stan then broke Charles to go up 2-0 and then Stan was broken right back. Ben was broken and then Scott was broken. 3-2 Scott and Stan.

Charles was broken again. Stan held and Ben held putting Scott into position to serve for the set. Unlike the first game Scott raced out to a 40-0 lead. But then two great points were played by Ben and Charles and Scott thought... could this be the opposite of the first game where they come back from 40-0.

Nope a return error was coaxed out of Ben and the first set belonged to Scott and Stan 6-3. The Plexipave was an interesting surface - a little slow and
with high bouncing balls.

The second set was started on the hard court with no warm up. It became apparent right away that this was a faster court. Charles dominated his first service game at love including an ace out wide to Scott's backhand. Stan then had a great game with multiple deuces but could not hold on.

Scott held easily and then Ben was broken for a 2-2 score. On Charles next serve Scott and Stan were able to elicit a break and played a crazy point retrieving at least 6 overheads and finally getting the point. Stan was broken following that for a 3-3 score. Ben held and Scott held for 4-4.

After Ben poached one of Scott's sliced backhands Scott sliced a ball down the line which caught Ben off guard because it skipped off the net. Ben volleyed it back but Scott took it up the line again and it hit Ben's racket frame and went out of the court.

5-4 with Stan serving for the set. Stan hit some great sharply angled serves to go up 40-0 and then Ben and Charles got back to 30-40 but were unable to finish the game. Scott and Stan emerged victorious this time with a 6-3, 6-4 victory.

We immediately retired to the pavilion where our pork steaks, snacks and some adult beverages were waiting for us. Great to spend time with and catch up with good friends. Charles shared his story of how he got into tennis by taking free lessons provided by the Lion's Club in rural Oklahoma.

If we had not prepared our own food on this beautiful spring evening, Reifschneider's Grill and Grape or Bullys BBQ are all within a mile of these courts.

These are really nice courts. Good location. Nice Park. The nets could use a little attention with net straps correctly installed. Both court surfaces were in great shape. Lights are older and probably could use some updating. We would give the location a 10 and the condition a 9 for a score of 9.5. The Soderling balls played very well although pretty fuzzy by the end of the match!

Endicott Park - The Hungarian Bulgarian?

2016-02-25T08:12:00.000-06:00

On another 60 degree January day in St. Louis we managed to find some time to head to another area Forgotten Court. Our pick was Endicott Park, a facility that was purchased from the Terminal Railroad Company in 1961.

The park is 24 acres and has a Shelter, A Disc Golf course and of course two Tennis Courts. The tennis courts appear to be little used, one was missing a net and the only playable one was missing a net strap. The Disc Golf course appears to get heavy use - there were a lot of cars in the parking lot.

The park is located within the City of St. John a municipality of 6400 people incorporated in 1945 on the site of John Ferguson's farm Eminence. The people of St. John successfully fought off attempts from neighboring Overland to annex them and have remained independent ever since.

We set our match time and 1 pm and invited our friend Mark Zolman to join us as he had on two previous matches, The Flogging in Florissant and Tower Courts Part Deux. Scott got their early at 12:30 and found Mark and Stan conducting an "illegal warm up".

In the last match, Scott totally destroyed them both with his lethal forehand so it was understandable that they needed a little practice. Scott brought with him some singles sticks and they were placed in the correct position on each side of the net. The format was decided to be 10 point tiebreakers with the winner being the first person to win six of them.

Stan and Scott started first and Stan dominated the tiebreaker. Mark took on Stan and lost a close one. Scott and Mark played and Scott won easily. The second round was very interesting Scott came back from 5-1 down to play a close tiebreaker. At 4-5 the best point of the day was had.

After a long rally Stan hit a deep high ball to Scott's backhand - Scott took it on the rise and hit a deep angled slice causing Stan to hit a short ball which Scott angled off the court to Stan's forehand side. Stan chased this ball into the adjacent court and hit a ball that never was in the court until it hit in the backhand corner for a winner.

At this point a few spectators had gathered and started clapping in appreciation. Scott then lost the tiebreaker by double faulting at 8-9 to give Stan the victory. Mark and Stan went for round two. Mark took the lead early and then another great point was played. During this long point both Stan and Mark were grunting loudly... as Scott watched he began to notice a group of kids watching the point and grunting in unison with them.

Stan eventually won the point and the tiebreaker. Scott and Mark then played an epic tiebreaker with Mark going up 5-1 and Scott coming back and getting in position to win only to be denied a down the line winner by the singles stick. Mark fought back and had a chance to win only to also hit the net on a down the line ball which Scott retrieved and put away.

Eventually Scott won the tiebreaker 14-12. Stan was now 4-0, Scott 2-2 and Mark 0-4. Stan swept the last round to win with a 6-0 record and never had a tiebreak point against him. Stan had experienced a day similar to Al Hrabosky's (The Mad Hungarian) 1975 season. Scott got the last tiebreaker leaving him 3-3 and Mark 0-6.

The court had a few dead spots, poor net and one court missing a net so we give the courts a 6.5 condition rating. Location was a 10 for an average of 8.25. One of the best things about this match was the spectators enjoying our tennis - we believe that for tennis to grow on public courts it must be seen and in this case heard!

Lots of classic food choices nearby Chuck A Burger and Woofies both legendary. We opted to head to El Porton on Woodson Road where we enjoyed some Sol Beer and some great mexican food and discussed our match and how to keep tennis alive on the forgotten courts of St. Louis.

Tower Park Part Deux - Canadian Style

2016-01-15T06:10:00.001-06:00

One year ago Scott, Stan and their friend Mark Zolman played a 6 set match that was known as the Battle of Boxing Day. The location Tower Courts in Florissant was a set of four carpet courts with sand base. In 2015 the City of Florissant made a major investment in these courts hiring Vee-Jay Cement and McConnell and Associates to rebuild the courts with post tension concrete - the gold standard in new court construction.

Lets start with the project. The project began by removing the existing sand-filled carpet and the fencing. Some minor remediation was done to the existing surface in preparation of the new slab overlay.

A layer of stone screenings were installed to help provide the proper slope, fill any depressions or cracks, and create a slip sheet for the new 5 inch PT slab. After the slab was installed, a new fence was installed.

This work was all completed by Vee-Jay. Once the concrete was cured McConnell and Associates took over and The surface was acid etched, power washed, and checked for low areas prior to any material being installed. The courts were first primed with a two-part epoxy primer to help adhesion to the concrete surface.

Then one application of acrylic resurfacer and two coats of texturized color were installed. The sand in the surface gives the court a medium pace of play. Last the lines were taped and painted. In total it took almost three months to complete the project and it received a Quality Concrete Award from The Concrete Council.

Of course you are here to read about the match so here is what happened. When we arrived to the courts we of course noticed the excellent condition and consistent play of the ball off the surface. It was a sunny January Day with a high temp of 45 degrees. Surprisingly while we were there two other players came out to play.

We decided to play a different format - The Australian version of Canadian Doubles with each player counting all games won and the victor being the first to win 21 games. Australian style is a format where two play against one and singles lines are in effect on the single side and doubles on the double side.

Mark started out on the singles side and promptly lost the first three games to Scott and Stan. Everybody was a little off as it was our first hit outside with wind and sun factors. However a quick poach by Scott and a down the line forehand winner served notice that the oldest player of the three was here to play.

Stan took to the singles court and lost 2 of this three games with Mark hitting some excellent volleys. This put the early score at 5 for Scott, 3 for Stan and 2 for Mark. Scott went over to the singles side and won 2 of 3 and it was during this time that it became apparent that his forehand was on fire.

Scott's shots were landing deep with spin and often bouncing off the court for a clean winner. At one point the Florissant Fire Truck went by with sirens blaring and we wondered if they were coming to put out Scott's forehand.

The match went on with Scott maintaining a commanding lead. Mark had a run and passed Stan with some fantastic topspin lobs and short angle volleys. The score crept up to 15 Scott, 10 Mark and 8 Stan and then Stan got a boost with Scott as they won 3 more games from Mark - these were probably the peak points of the match.

Mark was playing well to no avail as he was victimized by a circus point with dropshots, lobs, volleys that finally ended when Mark hit a hard volley at Scott which Scott stabbed and produced a lob volley winner over Mark's head.

On the next point Mark drove a deep topspin ball to Scott's forehand which landed right on the baseline at Scott's feet. Mark smartly followed this ball to the net and somehow Scott timed Mark's ball and blocked it back with a rocket down the line ball which clipped the net and landed in.

Scott could do no wrong and had the lyrics of the famous song by the Texas band Clique "I am Superman and I can do anything" playing in his head as he outduelled Stan with a couple forehands and then when Stan finally got the ball to Scott's backhand he sliced a winner behind stan crosscourt. After about two and a half hours of tennis Scott prevailed 21 to 16 for Stan and 14 for Mark. A truly great afternoon for tennis and a rare victory for Scott.

Hats Off to the City of Florissant, Vee-Jay and McConnell for a job well done. These courts rate a 10 in all respects and are now among the best in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area.

Last time we played here we went to Old Town Donuts and this time we headed over to Hendels Cafe for a post match beverage and some appetizers. Hendels is a great family run business in Old Town Florissant with beautiful ambiance.

We were in luck and it was both Happy Hour and Wine Wednesday. A bottle of wine was shared, great conversation and a lot of discussion of ideas on how to keep tennis alive on the forgotten courts of our beloved city. Stay tuned tennis fans......

The Changeling aka The Secret Garden

2015-10-20T14:50:00.000-05:00

In the spring of this year, a loyal reader commented on our facebook page about court with a tree growing up through the net. This was a perfect forgotten court.... the idea of playing a match with the tree in place was too tempting and we commenced further investigation. Upon arrival we discovered the court was carpet and the carpet was pulled back off of one side of the court.

This did not appear safe so we started to organize a doubles match thinking we could use the extra bodies to help get the carpet playable. Scott went out a second time to reconnoiter and found a bulldozer on the court and the tree and everything else tennis related destroyed.

We assumed this was another lost court and moved on to another tennis adventure. In mid summer, we drove by and saw a flash of blue...... did they redo the court? Stan stopped by to check it out. Not only did they redo the court but they resurfaced it with plastic!

Since we have only played one match on a plastic surface we had to play this facility. This court is a private court though so not knowing how they would feel about us playing we scheduled an early morning match thinking nobody would notice us.

To add to the excitement, our friends at Racketman have been offering us the use of the Sony Tennis Sensor to chart our match statistics. Stan picked up the Tennis Sensor and installed its app on his phone and came to the courts with the technology ready to go. Racketman also gave us a racket to use that is engineered to fit the Sony product. Most new rackets will accept the technology.
Wilson Burn

Stan started out with the Burn and we began to warm up. Bounces were pretty good but there was some inconsistency based we think upon the surface underneath the plastic tiles. The first set was pretty close but Scott got an early break and held on to win the set 6-4. The points were pretty short as we acclimated to the court speed, bounces and the Wilson Burn.

After the first set Scott took the Burn and Stan went back to his regular racket. The points got longer in the second set but Stan dominated the second set. He began hitting lines, great dropshots and a great down the line backhand winner from deep in the corner. Set went to Stan 6-1.

a USTA 10 point tiebreaker seemed the right thing to do. We scrapped the Burn since we both lost the set with it and went to regular rackets. Stan jumped out to a 3-1 lead.

The next point was pivotal with both players fighting hard.... eventually Stan came to the net and Scott lofted a beautiful lob over his backhand side to make it 3-2.... wait... somehow Stan reached back and hit a backhand overhead winner crushing Scott's hopes. After that point Stan cruised to a 10-4 win to claim the victory.

What did the Tennis Sensor tell us? A couple things - the first being we think in our format it was a hindrance because we were thinking about it while playing. Each of us lost the set playing with the sensor and the Wilson Burn. We did learn our forehands were both averaging in the mid 60 mph range with a high of 67.

Stan imparted slightly more spin on the forehand with a +4.1 average. Backhands were similar but a slower average in the 40's with slice and Stan again with slightly more backspin at -8.5 and topspin backhands averaging in the 50's again Stan slightly higher in spin with a +3.8. Serves average around 68 with a max of 79 from Stan.

So the question is - was the new technology useful. In some ways it gave us information - our averages were right in line with the world averages. If you had it on all the time you could practice things and
see effects on speed, spin etc.

The two biggest drawbacks are you cannot download data to a computer and it does not have ability to track winner, unforced errors etc which are key stats. The cost is $199 for the unit. In summary probably not a lot of folks will buy but we can see this tech becoming integrated into rackets as a standard item in future.

The location is a 10 nice and quiet with the surface an 8. Average of 9. The surface has a few funny bounces due to the fact it appears to have been laid with almost zero surface prep.

Nearby places to eat are the always great Spiros and the quirky upstart KimCheese.

Scott and Stan's Excellent Tennis Adventure - Alton High School

2015-07-30T10:49:00.000-05:00

Finally the rain that has enveloped the St. Louis region all summer has abated and the forecast has called for a bright, clear, hot and humid day. We met at the Central Realty HQ and headed to one of our favorite breakfast spots the Kolache Factory before we headed to Illinois to begin our tennis odyssey.

As we crossed over the Clark Bridge into Alton we noted the passing of Eddie Sholar founder of the legendary Fast Eddie's Bon Air which had occurred two days earlier. We headed up to Lewis and Clark Community College to take in a slice of the $15K Futures tournament. This tournament is in its 18th year and is a great free way to see some high level tennis in our area.

We got to see a great match between University of Illinois Jared Hiltzik and Vanderbilt's Gonzales Austin which Hiltzik won. Hiltzik ultimately went on to the final of this tournament and lost in a three set thriller to Michael Mmoh. Mmoh is a Saudi Arabian born player who lives in the U.S. and is a student athlete at the IMG Tennis Academy. He competed in the 2014 US Open doubles
with up and comer Frances Tiafoe.

We then headed north to Betsy Ann Park in Brighton where it appeared there were two courts we could play on.Betsy Ann Park is home of an annual picnic where they feature a curious Midwestern dish called Burgoo. When we arrived at the park we saw no courts. We kept driving around until finally we realized the remains of the courts were right next to our car..... they were truly forgotten and slowly returning to nature.

We headed back south and ended up at Alton High School. The home of the Redbirds has a nice facility in the rear of the school painted in a red and gray scheme which is unusual and represents the school colors. By this time it was 12:30 pm and we knew the heat was going to be a factor. A quick warm-up was had and the match began with Scott winning the racket spin and choosing to serve.

Boom! Scott started off with an ace out wide to win the first point. Stan won the next four points to get a break right away. The balls really had a serious bite on this court and Scott was having trouble with Stan's deep high bouncing returns. Stan served to start the second game and again Scott started off with a winner down the line.

This game was closer with Scott having a break point which Stan denied and then won the game with a drop shot. The set continued on this way with Stan ultimately winning 6-0 but Scott having game points in 4 of 6 games. Stan was dialed in and his defense was amazing.

Set #2 started out with Stan serving to win his 7th game in a row. The next game Scott went up 40-love on his serve and then missed an overhead by about an inch. Determined, he served and volleyed out wide to Stan's forehand and nailed a perfect cross-court backhand volley.

He was on the board! Back and forth to 4-3 Stan on serve and then Stan was able to break Scott for a 5-3 lead with a series of shots that included a lob, a deep ball in the corner, and a forehand angled slice impossible looking winner. Scott broke right back to get to 5-4 and then served to stay in the set. Stan was not having it and broke right back to win the match 6-0, 6-4.

At this point we had each gone through about 64 oz of water and were famished. We emerged from the courts to the sound of the Alton High School Drumline rehearsing near our car. As we headed to St. Louis we noticed an establishment called the Regal Beagle and turned around for some beer and sustenance.

The Regal Beagle turned out to be an excellent choice! Great craft beer selection along with wood fired pizza's and chicken wings. After a short discussion with a local about politics we decided to leave before things got weird...

We weren't done yet - we made a short drive up the Great River Road to Elsah where we stopped by the Elsah General Store and had some nice conversation with the owner and we both bought some of his selection of fresh vegetables, coffee, local breads and craft sodas.

Alton High School courts are a 10 for location and a 10 for condition. They are in great shape, secluded and have a nice shaded area for seating. A porta-potty is also nearby in case the need arises.

Fireman's Park Wentzville - There is a Fire on court 1.

2015-07-02T15:33:00.000-05:00

For our first match in six months time with just the two of us we decided to explore the western fringe of the St. Louis region and picked Fireman's Park in downtown Wentzville, Missouri. Although now a thriving suburb of St. Louis, Wentzville was founded in 1855 with a train depot for the Northern Missouri Railroad. It has grown from a population in 1990 of about 5000 to almost 30,000 today. We met at 6:30 am just as the sun was rising for the drive to the park.

When we arrived we were happy to see the two courts at Firemens Park are astroturf. Since Wimbledon starts this week it was an appropriate grass like surface for our match. The two courts sit behind a fire station and feature a porta
potty and not much else. One court was playable and the other had half the court covered in sand. Curiously across one side of the court was a power line running over the court about 15-20 feet in the air. We declared this to be a permanent fixture and as such would count anything that hit the power line. We were also joined by a small rabbit who stayed to watch most of the first set.

Scott started the match testing out a new Wilson Hyper Hammer oversize racquet while Stan had his usual four or five racquets. After a short warm up the match was underway. Scott started serving and promptly served and volleyed and won the first point. That was the highlight of the first set for Scott as Stan was on fire and promptly bageled Scott with a combination of keeping the ball in play and
hitting numerous backhand winners.

The second set started in the same way with Stan continuing to roll out to a 4-0 lead. At this point Scott stopped to switch racquets. He pulled the old trusty Yonex RDis 100 out of his bag and stepped up to the line to serve. Boom - the very first serve was an unreturnable serve up the T. Scott went up 40-30 and closed it out with a tough kick serve out wide to Stan's backhand. With the Yonex in hand and the fighting spirit of Lleyton Hewitt Scott went on to reel of five games in a row to take the lead 5-4 to get back on serve. Stan held serve to get to 5-5.

Scott held his by hitting a stunning cross court backhand on the run that kicked off the court past Stan's outstretched racquet. Scott 6-5 and Stan serving to stay in the set. Stan came up with three brilliant shots to hold serve. A lob winner, a sliced backhand which curved away from Scott and last but not least Scott crushed a return of serve to Stan's backhand which Stan turned into a perfect dropshot winner to tie the set at 6-6. At this point we agreed that a tiebreaker would be played and if a third set was needed it would be wimbledon style with no tiebreaker.

The tiebreaker would prove to be as epic as the set. On the second point Stan served and volleyed to Scott's backhand. Scott sliced a beautiful down the line winner. Back and forth until Scott obtained a set point at 7-6 and Stan responded with a angled cross court winner. At 10-9 Stan had a match point and both players were rallying and Scott went to hit a deep topspin forehand as the ball went up in the air it hit the aforementioned powerline, hung in the air for a second and then fell right on Stan's side of the net for a winner!

At 11-10 Stan had a second match point and stroked a backhand down the line which was headed out..... it clipped the net and fell just outside the line to save Scott once again. At 11 all Stan served and after a short rally Stan hit a ball into the net. Scott now had a second set point. A hard serve into the backhand with a volley behind Stan bagged the set for Scott to tie the match at one set all. This was probably the most hard fought set in the history of this blog. Great hitting, very physical and both players fighting for every point.

The third set started slow again for Scott with Stan running out to a 5-0 lead. Both players were exhausted and Scott was trying to finish points quickly since he knew he could not outrun the spry Bulgarian. At 5-0 Scott served in a do or die situation and after going down 30 love was able to serve his way to a 5-1 score. At this point both players were thinking "could he do it again" Stan wanted to make sure that did not happen and served two good points to go up 30 love. Scott kept fighting and got to deuce. Stan got the ad and had match point number 3. Scott denied it with a deep slice backhand that just landed on the line for a winner. Again Stan got an ad for match point number 4. Again denied on a disputed cross court winner..... Finally after 3 hours Stan got match point #5 and finished at the net to win the match.

This location is a good one. There were a couple issues - trains run nearby causing some noise and the maintenance of the courts needs attention. There were gaps in the carpet, one unplayable court, sand concentrated in some areas, some lines were dark and hard to see and last but not least that power cord over the court. Location is a 9 and condition is 4.5 for a 6.75 average.

If we were inclined to eat after the match the nearby Tattooed Dog looks like an excellent choice!

Battle of the Sexes - Willmore Park

2015-06-05T15:16:00.000-05:00

The last large park to be developed in the City of St. Louis was Willmore Park on 70 acres of land donated by Cyrus Crane Willmore. Willmore Park has extensive amenities including lakes, ball fields, soccer fields, pavilions and a dog park. The focus of our attention on this sunny Saturday in May was the four little used tennis courts situated near one of the park entrances.

These courts were the setting for STL Forgotten Courts first tournament which was eclectic both in format, rules and courts. The format was singles with the contestants being four 4.5 women and four 4.0 men. The contestants were Jenn, Trina, Ilona and Toni on the women's side and Scott, Stan, Mark and Jimmy on the men's side. The other unusual rules were 7 game set with no-ad scoring and let cord serves in play. In addition, this was a double elimination format so a player could lose and still come back and win it all.

We also brought a grill and cooked burgers, brats, chicken and veggie dogs while the matches were going on. Trina brought homemade chocolate chip cookies and Kimchi to dress the brats.

We drew out of a hat so that all first round matches featured men against women. The first round was tough for all with two women advancing and two men. Ilona almost became a third woman to advance losing to Mark 6-7 in a tiebreaker. However, in the second round of the main draw, Stan defeated Jenn and Mark defeated Trina to set up a Men's main draw final.

Meanwhile in the losers bracket Scott advanced two rounds easily over Toni and Trina while on the other side Ilona beat Jimmy 7-6 after being down 5 match points! Jenn and Ilona played and Ilona had her third tiebreaker match of the day falling to Jenn 6-7. Jenn had beaten Scott in the first round so a rematch was in the cards.

Back to the main draw - Stan and Mark played the main draw final and the speedy Bulgarian prevailed 7-5 dropping Mark into the losers bracket. Due to Jenn's grueling match with Ilona, the draw was shuffled so that Scott played Mark first.

The match between Scott and Mark was dead even at 4-4 when Mark came up with some big shots to win 3 games in a row to take it 7-4. Mark played his 5th match against Jenn to get into the Final. The tough schedule, sun and heat were beginning to take their toll as Jenn faltered against a cramping Mark. Mark prevailed 7-1 and earned a chance to play his 6th match and earn eternal glory.

An exhausted Mark and a fresher Stan took to the court for the final. Stan got out to an early break and ended up serving for the match at 6-4. Mark continued to fight and finally broke Stan and served to put the
final into a tiebreaker. Stan put a quick stop to that and broke right back to become The Battle of the Sexes Champion!

The courts really were decently playable. Not many bad bounces. The nets were missing straps and the surface really needs a coating. The fence also needs a bottom bar and is curling up. Restrooms were nearby which is always a plus. Rating for court condition is 7 and
location is a 10 for an 8.5 rating.

Two nearby places for after match refreshments are Sybergs for wings and local legend Ted Drewes for frozen custard. ( Ted Drewes was a big tennis player back in the day)

Tower Park - The Flogging in Florissant? Battle of Boxing Day?

2015-01-07T11:42:00.000-06:00

The day after Christmas 2014 in St. Louis was a great one for tennis. The forecast was sunny with a high of 48 degrees. The court we selected was Tower Park in historic Florissant, Missouri. Florissant is one of the oldest communities in the St. Louis area and was founded in the 1700's as a French settlement. The courts are in a great location at the intersection of New Florissant and Washington.

The courts are literally surrounded by food options with Delish Cheesecake which is located in the historic train station building attached to the courts, Fritz's Frozen Custard and Old Town Donuts across the street. Restrooms are available but were locked during our match. In order to add a little variety, a call was placed to our friend Mark Zolman who is a 4.0 rated USPTA certified teaching professional.

We weren't sure if Mark was coming, so we prepared to start without him. Stan showed up to the courts wearing a bright red "Stan the Man" shirt which is a phrase that started in St. Louis with Stan Musial but has now extended to tennis great and Australian Open Champion Stan Wawrinka.

The courts are covered with an astro turf and sand combination. They are generally in good shape with a couple of repaired areas and some areas with large sand accumulations. The bounce was consistent. We noticed in warm up that the turf proved very favorable for slice shots as the bounces were very unpredictable. It was time to see if Stan was really "The Man"

The match began with Stan winning the toss and electing to have Scott serve. This was effective as Stan promptly broke Scott easily. Stan's service game was a little tougher with a few deuces but he held and continued to roll. Stan was not missing many shots and just completely dismantled Scott shackling him with a bagel. 6-0.

At the end of the set, Mark Zolman appeared and after a quick warm up went after Stan. Mark has a big forehand and big serve. Stan continued his ways by breaking Mark and holding his serve for a 2-0 lead. Mark began to fight back holding serve and pushing Stan around the court. At one point, Mark missed an overhead but was able to run back and retrieve the ball on the bounce and win the point. Stan shrugged that off and finished out with a 6-3 victory.

Scott then played Mark while Stan went to take pictures of his nearby listing. Mark started out serving and his very first serve hit a repaired service line bouncing the ball 10 feet over Scott's head for an ace. Mark held his serve easily as Scott had trouble adjusting to the big spin Mark puts on his serve.

Scott held his game after several deuces finally coming in to hit a serve and volley winner to finish the game. In the third game, Scott thought he hit a cross court winner only to have Mark blister a forehand winner cross court. Mark was playing tough and won the set 6-3.

Stan had vanished so Scott and Mark decided to play another set. This time Scott kept the ball away from Mark's dangerous forehand and was able to keep the ball deeper. That resulted in a 6-3 win for Scott.

At this point, Stan returned and was 2-0 against Mark and Scott with Scott and Mark each with 1-2 records. It was decided, Stan was going to have to play two more sets to prove he was really "Stan the Man". By now the 48 degree forecast has been surpassed and the temperature had risen to a balmy 61 degrees.

Stan played his second match against Mark by starting off sluggishly. Mark went up 3-0 only to have Stan fight back to 3-2. Mark held to go up 4-2 and they remained on serve with Mark pulling out a 6-4 victory.

This left Stan with one match to play against Scott who he had bageled earlier. If he beat Scott, he would own the day with a 3-1 record. Scott did not want that to happen. Stan started out this time by serving first. This time Scott broke - no bagel this time. Stan broke back the next game with a couple of clever backhand slice balls that stayed low and slid out of the court. Back and forth until the score was 5-3 Stan with Stan serving. Stan held his first match point in this game but Scott was able to save for a 5-4 score. Scott served needing a win to stay in the match and went down 40-Love. On the next point, Scott hit a down the line winner to stay alive. The next one was an inside out forehand winner that kissed off the line.

Still with one match point to go, Scott approached the net and Stan let loose a topspin lob..... it looked like game over but the wind pushed Stan's lob barely out. Scott was then able to win the game and was back in the match. 5-5 Stan served and faced a barrage of forehands from Scott allowing Scott to go up 6-5 with the match on his racket. The first serve of the game hit the seam and bounced off Stan's racket over the fence. A lucky break for Scott. The second point, Scott hit a hard forehand getting Stan to net a return. Finally Scott worked his way to match point 40-15. The final point was a good one with Stan retrieving a hard forehand hitting it to Scott's backhand allowing Scott to hit behind Stan with a sideways spinning sliced backhand for the win. Everybody won Scott, Stan and Mark each playing 4 sets and each going 2-2.

We took the opportunity afterwards to join the regulars at Old Town doughnuts for coffee and donuts! Court location is a 9 ( only drawback is traffic noise) and condition is a 7 for a rating of 8.

Covenant Park - Turkey Day Surprise?

2014-12-03T08:27:00.000-06:00

Our blog has developed a tradition of having an annual Thanksgiving week match. Most years we have been surprised with surprisingly warm weather. This year that was not the case as the temperature hovered just above 30 degrees at game time. Our court of choice was Covenant Park in St. Peters thanks to a suggestion by blog reader Austin Diehl.

St. Peters was originally occupied by the Mississippian Mound Builders and as recently as 1970 was a small farming community of less than 500. In the last forty years St. Peters population has grown to over 52,000 making it the 10th largest city in the state of Missouri. Covenant Park was convenient as Stan has a listing just down the street that he and his Remax Select team are in the process of selling for a client. You can view Stan's listing right here if you are so inclined.

Covenant Park is located west of the Missouri River in St. Peters, Missouri. The Park offers two tennis courts with a synthetic grass surface. We have played on these types of courts many times and they are usually a slow surface.

There were no bathrooms available but the park featured a king sized porta potty which proved perfect for Scott to use to change his clothes. The courts are in good condition with the exception of a slight accumulation of sand in one corner.

As we began to warm up we noticed that these courts were a little faster than normal and the balls stayed pretty low. That may be attributed to the near 30 degree temperature making the surface a little harder and the balls less bouncy.

Stan won the toss and elected to serve and held his serve easily. Scott had a more difficult time fighting through a couple of deuces before finally holding. Stan again held easily to go up 2-1. On Scott's next serve Stan was able to break and then continued out to a 5-1 lead. Back against the wall Scott finally broke Stan by hitting a lob over his head which landed right on the baseline. He held his serve to get back to 3-5 and then Stan closed it out with an excellent service game punctuated with an overhead winner.

The next set started out well for Scott as he held his service game and won a fantastic point of hard hitting tennis. The point was complimented by a jogger who stopped to say that he enjoyed watching it. Unfortunately that was the highlight of the set for Scott as Stan rolled the rest of the set to take the match 6-3, 6-1. Outside of Stan slipping a couple times in the sand these courts were a fun place to play. We decided to go nearby and enjoy some nourishment from the nearby Great Harvest Bread Company which also happens to be for sale if you are in the mood to be a baker. Court ratings are a 10 for location and a 9 for the court condition for an overall 9.5

Match postscript - Scott had his singles league match later that evening at Frontenac Racquet Club and recovered thrashing his opponent 6-1,6-0.

Bridgeway Park - The Battle in Bridgeton

2014-10-21T12:45:00.001-05:00

After what seemed like 10 straight days of rain, we finally received a break in the weather so Scott and Stan took a midday break from Central Realty and ReMax Select to head to Bridgeway Park in Bridgeton for their first match in over a month. Bridgeton is a St. Louis community with a long history, but grew to be a significant suburban city in the last 40 years. Bridgeton was first platted in 1794 as part of a Spanish Land Grant to Robert Owen, a utopian socialist.

Its location was on the primary road between St. Louis and St. Charles, Missouri. The population waned over time and in 1950 was only 276. As suburbanization began, the population exploded with over 8,000 single family homes being built in the 1960's. It is during this period that Bridgeway park was built. The park is difficult to find as it is located in the middle of a neighborhood. It is really a nice and quiet park with bathrooms, ball field, volleyball, tennis courts and a shelter/bbq area. The courts have seen better days and are missing most of the surface on the outer edges. One court was playable while the other was not.

Stan is physically in the best shape of his life completing an 11 mile Tough Mudder 6 days prior to the match. Scott knew this was going to be tough and selected his lower tension racquet to give him a little more firepower since he knew outrunning the Bulgarian was not an option.

Both players held serve until 3 all with Scott winning 12 of his first 13 service points. Stan's serves were a little tougher for him but he managed to hold on by striking winners repeatedly to Scott's forehand side. On Scott's next serve he went down 0-40 but managed to come back and win to go up 4-3. Scott was doing a great job mixing up his serves and keeping Stan a little off balance, but Stan held and then a 4-4 Scott was derailed when Stan ripped an inside out forehand winner off a serve up the middle to break Scott. Stan held his serve easily and the first set was in the bag, 6-4 Stan over Scott.

The second set started out all Scott as he went up 3-0 with great defense turning Stan's winners into defensive lobs. Scott extended the lead to 4-2 and then Stan went on a tear winning 3 games in a row to go up 5-4 and put himself in position for a two set victory. After losing a 25 stroke rally, Scott held his serve on the next point by hitting a delicate lob over Stan's head for a winner. Scott then followed that up with another perfect lob on Stan's serve to break him and finally held his own serve by hitting 4 volleys in a row at the net culminating with a drop volley that the speedy Bulgarian could not quite get his racket on. Second set to Scott at 7-5.

At this point, it was decided to play a full third set to decide the match rather than the traditional tie breaker. Stan started out by breaking Scott to go up 2-1, but Scott broke back with a vicious down the line return of Stan's serve. Scott; now playing with confidence, won the next three games to get to a 5-2 lead. Stan held for 5-3 punctuated with the only ace of the match and then probably the best game of the match was played. Scott went up 40-0 with some good serving. With the match on the line Stan played two amazing points. The first was a point where Scott had Stan running from corner to corner with heavy forehand balls that Stan somehow kept getting back. After about 10 balls, Scott tried to rip a ball down the line over the high part of the net which ended with the ball on Scott's side of the net. The next point, Scott came to the net volleyed three times and finally caught Stan going the wrong way but Stan somehow reached back and flicked a lob over Scott's head into the backhand corner for a winner. Scott decided to go for it on his next serve and went up the "T" to Stan's forehand. Stan pushed his return about 6 inches wide and the match belonged to Scott. 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Location is a 10 as this is a quiet secluded place to play but court conditions at this point are only a 4 for a combined rating of 6. A great nearby place to eat after you play here is the India Palace which has a great lunch buffet and an awesome view of Lambert Airport. A nearby tourist attraction is North County's most haunted house, the Payne-Gentry House. Thanks for reading!

Rock Spring Park - When in doubt change your racket?

2014-08-27T08:44:00.003-05:00

Finally we are starting to get some summer heat. St. Louis has enjoyed a spectacular summer from a weather perspective. This match was our first of the year in the heat. We decided to head over to Alton, Illinois to find a forgotten court. Alton is located just across the river from St. Louis and to the north. It is a city full of history dating back to the early 1800's.

We found a park called Rock Spring Park. The Park is famous for giving the upper Alton area the name Pie Town. During the 1840's an encampment was located on the park site for soldiers departing for the Mexican-American War.

Local ladies would deliver pies to the soldiers hence the name. The park is rather large and slightly worn. It features golf course, disc golf, baseball, tennis and is home to Alton's annual Christmas Wonderland.

There are six tennis courts of which two are totally unplayable or forgotten as we like to say. The remaining four have been recently refurbished thanks to a Pepsi Refresh Grant. On first appearance the courts are in good shape. As we walked up four ladies were finishing a match so the courts appear to be used regularly.

We broke out the X-Balls and started to warm up. As the match started Stan immediately took a 2-0 lead. Then Scott held serve and Stan changed rackets. Scott broke Stan and Stan changed rackets.

Scott held serve and Stan changed rackets. Now up 3-2 Scott Broke Stan again and he again changed rackets. Scott was now up 4-2 and Stan was on his fifth and last racket. Unbelievably it worked Stan won four games in a row to win the set 6-4.

The best point of the set was a great corner to corner lob at full stretch by the Bulgarian for a clean winner. Both players were having trouble with a mysterious wind. No wind was visible or apparent but yet it appeared wind was affecting our shots. Our best guess was the courts are in a valley that forms a wind tunnel.

Scott decided to change rackets to one with looser strings. Heck if it worked for Stan maybe it would work for him. By now both players were warm and the points were better and longer. Scott started out using the looser strings to overpower Stan for a 2-0 lead.

Unfortunately the heat and the effort to get there were starting to take a toll on Scott. Stan won another four games in a row to go up 4-2. Scott won a game for 3-4 and Stan held to go to 5-3. On Scott's serve he hit a tough first serve that knocked Stan's racket out of his hand but the return went over the net. Scott had an easy sitter and an open court but still managed to dump the shot in the net.

Somehow he recovered and won the game to get to 4-5. Stan saw the finish line and served a great next game to win the match 6-4,6-4. These were some nice courts in a quiet location.

Location was a 9 and courts a 9 for an average of 9. We did not count the two unplayable courts in our rating. Afterwards Alton's one and only Fast Eddies was visited for lunch and cold beer. If we had wanted to sample PieTown we could have gone to My Just Desserts or to Elsah for The Cultured Table Bistro

On our way home we drove through the town of Ferguson which was in its 5th day of unrest. We saw quite a few boarded up buildings, peaceful protesters and some law enforcement. Little did we know how big an event this was going to be for St. Louis and our national conversation.

Spartan vs Spartan - The Brentwood Swim Club

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This lovely August weather has been great for tennis. Unfortunately Stan was out of town after working very hard to get Scott's father in law's house under contract he took a much needed vacation to Florida. While he was away we brought in a USTA 4.5 sub, Dan Wyland who happened to not only be from North County but was a Hazelwood East Spartan along with Scott and local pro Steve Wall who hangs his hat at Creve Coeur Racquet Club.

The Brentwood Swim Club is a hidden gem located in of all places Brentwood. It is an old style swim and tennis club with two tennis courts. It is a membership only club which Scott has belonged to for many years. Memberships are available here. http://brentwoodswimclub.camp8.org/

The courts sit behind the swimming pool and are secluded and surrounded on three sides by trees. For our third blog in a row mixed doubles was the format. Dan played with Toni and Scott with Laura. Scott and Laura won the racquet spin and elected to have Dan and Toni serve. Dan broke out the X-Balls and immediately won his service game. So much for strategy.

Dan and Toni were on fire. Dan was poaching at net and Toni was taking any ball in the air and putting it just out of Scott and Laura's reach. Toni hit a great lob that found a crack just as Laura thought she had tracked it down. Down 0-4 Scott was finally able to hold his serve to eliminate the bagel.

New strategy was formulated to keep Dan and Toni off balance with loopy, slow shots mixed with good lobs. This seemed to work as the score went quickly to 5-5 as Scott held his serve again. Laura was able to hold for a 6-5 lead and after a tough game they finally broke Dan to win the set 7-5

The second set started out with a circus point that lasted about 10 shots with Laura and Scott finally winning the point when Toni made a rare miss and hit a sitter into the net. This set stayed very close with really good points.

At 4-3 Scott served and after several deuce points finally won a point by chasing down a great Dan drop shot and ripping a winner up the middle. At 5-4 Laura and Scott finally won the match when Laura who is not known for mobility chased down a ball over Scott's head and took it in the air saving a sure winner.

The courts are in pretty good shape with a few cracks that did come into play. A basketball net is placed on one court which really could impede play and cause a potential injury. Court condition is an 8 and location is a 10 for an average of 9.

A great local place nearby to grab a bite to eat is OB Clark's a Brentwood favorite.