Tiebreakers in the third set are the ultimate thrill for Kalamazoo tennis fans, and they were treated to a classic in the 18s singles fifth round on Wednesday. In a match that spanned three hours, tenth seed Kean Feeder of Portland OR defeated his lefthanded counterpart, seventh seed Wayne Odesnik of Weston FL 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Feeder, who played in the 18s in Kalamazoo last year even though he was eligible to play 16s, won the 2001 Winter Super National title. Odesnik, who is just 16, lost in the 16s semifinals here last year and has been playing Futures and Challenger events this summer. Their clash featured a formidable array of penetrating ground strokes and culminated in a memorable tiebreaker.

Neither player ever enjoyed a lead bigger than one point, as the tiebreak seesawed back and forth until Feeder got the first match point at 6-5. Odesnik promptly hit a service winner to get even at six but lost the advantage on his next serve when Feeder hit the back line on his approach shot then put away a volley. With the match on his racquet, Feeder appeared to hit an ace up the middle, but a let was called by the umpire, requiring that Feeder regroup. This time he kicked a serve wide, pulling Odesnik out of the court and stroking a forehand down the line for the win.

Another exciting round of 16 match in 18 singles featured second seed Prakash Amritraj of Encino CA and thirteenth seed Ryler De Heart of Tampa FL. Amritraj had a memorable freshman year at USC as his team won the NCAA title this spring and he was named tournament MVP. His confidence was evident throughout his match with De Heart on Wednesday, as he never dropped serve. De Heart hung tough throughout with his powerful lefty serve and volley game and had an opportunity to send the match to a third set. At 4-5, Amritraj serving, De Heart had three set points, but each time Amritraj survived. De Heart?s pace would have overwhelmed many other players, but Amritraj counterpunched aggressively on De Heart?s serve and was able to raise the level of his serve and volley game when required.

Top seed Brian Baker of Nashville TN advanced with little difficulty, beating sixteen year old Nestor Briceno of Pembroke Pines FL 6-4, 5-1 (retire injury). For other fifth round results in 18 singles, click here.

Source: Colette Lewis (Tournament Office)