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Sports

Morristown Native Plays for Chance at U.S. Open

Despite valiant effort, Etienne Grasmuck's dream will have to wait another year.

Morristown native Etienne Grasmuck was one of over 100 competitors at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., this weekend, hoping to play with the pros at this year’s U.S. Open.

Despite a valiant effort, his dream will have to wait another year.

Facing Terhemba Makurdi in the opening round of the U.S. Open Eastern Sectional Qualifying Tournament, in which the winner advances to a national event for the chance at a qualifying wild card into this year’s U.S. Open, Grasmuck found himself overwhelmed by the chilly conditions and his opponent’s game. Dropping the first nine games of the match, Grasmuck was ushered out of the tournament with a 6-0, 6-1 defeat.

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“He handled the conditions much better than I did,” said Grasmuck, who is currently a teacher at Mount Olive Tennis Club in Flanders. “It was extremely cold and windy out today, which made it feel like I was never really able to get going.”

Although Makurdi does not have a current sectional tennis ranking, the native of Marlboro, Monmouth County, was once one of the top tennis players in his home country of Nigeria. He used his on-court experience to push Grasmuck around in the baseline exchanges, throwing in off-pace slices to distract Grasmuck’s rhythm, and then following it up with crushing forehand groundstrokes.

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Grasmuck was able to hold his serve while trailing 0-3 in the second set, and had a break point opportunity in Makurdi’s next service game, but the Nigerian saved it with an ace and quickly held. Two games later, a forehand sent by long by Grasmuck ended the match.

“I had never seen him play before, but I was very impressed,” said Grasmuck. “He definitely has a shot at winning the tournament.”

Grasmuck certainly has the experience to gauge talent in tennis, having been a high performance coach for the last seven years. A PTR (Professional Tennis Registry) certified tennis instructor, he has coached players who have competed on the Women's Tennis Association Tour, while also teaching in locations ranging from the Sun Smart Tennis Club in Western Australia, to the La Manga Club in Murcia, Spain.

The U.S. Open National Playoffs are open to any player over the age of 14, and participants can be of any playing level. The winner of each sectional qualifying tournament will advance into a national tournament at Yale University from Aug. 18-22. The winner of the national tournament will receive a wild card into the qualifying draw of the Men’s singles event at the U.S. Open, held from Aug. 23 -Sept. 11.

Tournament play will continue until April 22. To follow results from the rest of the event, visit the tournament drawsheet, tennislink.usta.com/TOURNAMENTS/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=107084&E=1.

 

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