As the Men are playing on one coast, the ladies are clear across the country, about as far away as one can get from Fullerton, visiting Severna Park, Maryland for the 33rd annual Christmas Classic. This event is being held at the venerable Severna Park Racquet club, one the last old-school hold out venues anywhere. The championship court is sunken and features stadium seating, there remains at least 6 functional courts (at least there were the last time I attended an event there), and this 33rd annual event is now one of (if not THE) longest running pro events in the sport.
R2 Sports App link:https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=51202
9 of the top 10 ladies are here, and most of the rest of the top 20 is present as well. We’re missing a couple of veteran regulars, which will give us some interesting doubles teams, but more on that in a moment.
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Let’s preview the draw. Here’s some notable qualifying matches that i’m looking forward to:
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In the 32s,
– Erika Manilla returns; the former top 4 player has struggled to get back to form since her hip issue; she faces the Canadian #2 Parent in the opener.
– Synhorts faces the ageless Brandt in the play-in to #2 Mejia.
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round of 16:
– Manilla plays into #1 Vargas: normally this would be a semis-quality match. Vargas holds the career lead 5-1 and seems the favorite to make it 6-1.
– @sheryl Lotts celebrates her career high ranking with a juicy matchup against #8 Centellas: great “show-me” match for Lotts to see if she can make the quarters.
– 5/12 Mendez-York could be upset city.
– Gaby has to play her doubles partner MRR in the opener; hate it when that happens. I once entered an out-of-town event with my partner and roommate at the time @Ben Hale; we both played open singles and open doubles. I called for start times; they forgot to put us in. So the TD gives me a start time … I ask him who i’m playing and he slowly says… Ben Hale. I’m like, “absolutely not. You forgot to put us both in and now have us playing each other in some play-in to a top seed; make the draw right, and make us play someone else.” This is TD 101; never, never have out-of-town doubles partners playing each other in the singles first round. Of course, in teh Pros … its all by points, and this happens all the time.
– Munoz-Laime is a great match in 6/11: both players play classical drive and shoot ball.
– Herrera-Parrilla is a frequently seen matchup both home and abroad
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Projected Qtrs:
– Vargas vs Centellas; doubles partners and Argentina team mates face off. Vargas should cruise here.
– Gaby-Mendez: the Guatemalan shouldn’t have any issues advancing.
– Longoria-Laime: there’s danger here for the GOAT, as Laime has put losses on her in the past. Laime is Jeckyl & Hyde: you just never know if you’re getting someone who can cruise into the finals without breaking a sweat, or a one-and-done loser.
– Mejia-Herrera: more doubles partner action, though Mejia has taken a step forward in this singles rivalry over hte past few years.
Semis: Vargas over Gaby, Longoria over Mejia.
Finals; Vargas over Longoria, though honestly these days on tour any one of the top three ladies can and will win events. If Mejia gets hot, forget it. If Longoria is “on” this weekend, she can’t be stopped.
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Doubles review
Longoria is missing Salas here, so she picked up Manilla, who has no points, and they’re seeded 7th out of 8. Taht means we get Longoria/Manilla vs Mejia/Herrera in the first round. wow. I’ll say it now; whoever wins this, wins the event.
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Look for Timothy Baghurst, Sandy Rios, Jerry J Josey Jr., and Tj Baumbaugh on the mike, calling the shots!
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