Shotgun 21 Three-peats at PTC

What a difference a day makes. Disheartened after losing in the first round of qualifying for this week’s Farmers Classic at UCLA, professional tennis player Alex Bogdanovic was ready to pack his bags and head home to England. That was before his countryman and longtime Palisadian John Lloyd told him about the third annual Shotgun 21 Championships last Sunday at the Palisades Tennis Center. “Yeah, it sounded like fun so I decided to stick around and give it a shot,” Bogdanovic said. “Things couldn’t have worked out any better. I just showed up, paid the $100 entry fee and, well, here I am.” There he was indeed, smiling from ear to ear as he pocketed the winner’s check of $5,000–a healthy payday for one afternoon’s work. Bogdanovic, the second-highest ranked Brit in the world behind Andy Murray, upset defending champion Vince Spadea in the finals of the drop-hit, unisex tournament that sent shockwaves through the tennis world in 2008 when PTC owner Steve bellamy organized the inaugural Shotgun 21, in which Alex Bogomolov beat fellow pro Phillip King, 21-20, in a climactic final. “This is what the Palisades is all about,” Bellamy said. “We had a great turnout and people got to see some world-class tennis for free. We had a 71-year-old man beat an 8-year-old boy. In the very first match of the day, 5-year-old Tsai Driscoll beat a 24-year-old. Where else can you see that?” Once again, many of the PTC’s top junior players showed up at noon for a chance to earn their way into the 32-spot main draw. Alex Giannini, brothers Robbie, Roscoe, Lucas and Lincoln Bellamy, Blake Anthony, Charlie Sherman, Connor Fulgham, Jameson West and Brandon Michaels were among the local kids who participated. Robbie Bellamy, who enjoyed a stellar freshman season at Palisades High, made the main draw and beat Howard Sands, a Harvard graduate and former Junior Davis Cup team member who beat Sweden’s Mats Wilander at the 1980 Wimbledon Juniors. “This is one of the neatest events I’ve ever been to,” said Andy Nelkin, President of Sanyo, who lost to former ATP Tour pro Jeff Tarango in the first round. “How in the world did they get all these famous tennis players, all these celebrities and a packed hillside at public park tennis courts? Pretty amazing!” In the second round, Robbie Bellamy lost to Spadea, 21-9, but gained the respect of his older, much more seasoned opponent. Bellamy lost to top-seeded Sam Querrey two years ago in the first Shotgun 21. “His forehand is as big as anyone’s on the tour,” Spadea said. “I just did everything I could to keep it to his backhand and just tried to stay in the point as long as I could. With a little more experience, that kid is going to be unstoppable.” There were several intriguing first-round matchups, like former USC standout Maureen Diaz taking on actor Vince Van Patten, Spadea taking on Palisadian actress Donna Mills, local pro beach volleyball legend Sinjin Smith against “Undercovers” star Boris Kodjoe and Florida up-and-comer Sloane Stephens trading backhands with actor/singer Josh Morrow. Perhaps the most entertaining, however, was the all-ladies pairing of retired pro Kimberly Po and hometown actress Melissa Rivers. “For the women, this is a great format because taking away the serve is a big equalizer,” said Po, who went on to beat Kodjoe in the second round before losing to Spadea in the quarterfinals. “Melissa played great and she was very competitive. She actually got me twice with clean passing shots.” For the second straight year, Spadea was pushed to the brink in the semifinals. Last year, he trailed 20-18 against PTC junior Clay Thompson before rallying to win the last three points. On Sunday, he outdueled University of Texas All-American Dimitar Kutrovsky to reach his second consecutive final. Bogdanovic made only three unforced errors to eliminate Thompson, 21-14, in the second semifinal. “I’d never played him [Thompson] before but he was a very worthy opponent,” said the 26-year-old Bogdanovic, who turned pro in 2002 and resides in London. “I’m amazed how good the players are here. With these rules you can’t afford to start slow and play your way into the match. Every point counts.” Feeling right at home on the courts where he trains every day, Thompson rallied from 18-17 down to knock out Tarango, 21-19, in the round of 16. Thompson, who played high school tennis at Crossroads in Santa Monica and is headed for UCLA, then edged pro Tim Kpulun, 21-19, in the quarterfinals. “That guy is really good,” Thompson said of the left-handed hitting Bogdanovic. “It was fun just to play him. I didn’t really expect to get this far, but I had the crowd on my side.” Using deep groundstrokes to pin his opponent on the baseline, Bogdanovic took command early in the final, taking the first two points and building leads of 5-3, 9-5 and 11-8. Spadea battled back to go ahead for the first time, 13-12, but Bogdanovic answered with six straight points to regain control. At 16-13, Bogdanovic ended a 22-stroke rally with a forehand winner, Spadea watching helplessly as the ball landed smack dab on the sideline. On the next point, Spadea came to the net, but Bogdanovic hit a sparkling crosscourt forehand passing shot on the dead run to build a five-point cushion. On championship point, the Brit hit a forehand volley winner to the open court to the applause of spectators on the hill overlooking Court 1. “Alex hit some really good shots,” said Spadea, who defeated 12-year ATP Tour pro Ramon Delgado of Paraguay in last year’s final. “But hey, at least I made him earn it.” Asked if he planned to return to defend his title, Bogdonovic said yes: “I was kind of down [emotionally] coming here today, so this is unbelievable. I’d definitely like to come back next summer and see if I can win again.”