La Jolla, Calif. – (December 4, 2015) – Former touring professional Amy Frazier of Rochester, Mich., capped a great week at the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships as she defeated second-seed and defending champion Dina McBride of Stevenson Ranch, Calif., 6-1, 6-3 to win the women’s singles title.
The top-seeded Frazier, who won eight career WTA singles titles and four doubles championships, was playing in her first USTA National Senior tournament since she retired from the women’s professional tennis tour in 2006.
On a cool, overcast morning at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, Frazier, 43, won the first set of the women’s final in 28 minutes as she broke McBride’s serve four times. Frazier, who played in the singles draws of 71 Grand Slam tournaments during her professional career, continued her solid play in the second set as she held serve at love in the opening game and went on to take a 4-1 lead.
McBride, a tennis teaching professional who was attempting to win her third tournament singles title, came back to win the next two games to close Frazier’s second set lead to 4-3, but Frazier quickly got back on track, dropping only three points in the final two games to close out the match in 64 minutes.
“Yesterday really helped me, having such a tough match. Today I played the big points better,” Frazier said. “It was great. I had a really fun week. It was a fun event and everyone was so nice. I’m thrilled. It was kind of special that my husband and my daughter were here.”
During her professional tennis career, some of Frazier’s fondest memories came in the San Diego-area as she defeated Steffi Graf in 1999 and Martina Hingis in 2000 at an upper-level WTA tournament in nearby Carlsbad, Calif.
Frazier now has another fond memory in San Diego after adding a USTA Gold Ball to her tennis resume for winning the USTA National 40 Hard Court women’s singles championship.
The men’s singles semifinals are set for Saturday. Top-seeded Tony Bujan of Tustin, Calif., will play third-seeded Oren Motevassel of San Jose, Calif., while fourth-seeded Marcio Carlsson of Las Vegas, goes up against ninth-seeded David Smith of San Francisco. Both matches will begin at 10:30 a.m. (PST).
Sunday’s men’s singles final is scheduled for 10 a.m. (PST).
Matches on Saturday, Dec. 5 and Sunday, Dec. 6, will begin at 9 a.m. (PST). Spectator admission is free and on-site parking is available for a nominal fee.
The USTA National Father/Son and Grandfather/Grandson Hard Court Doubles Championships began on Friday and concludes Sunday. The Father/Son championship has been held continuously at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club since 1959, and attracts the top father and son tennis teams in the nation. The Grandfather/Grandson Championship is a relatively new competitive division that started at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club just a few years ago.
By Fred Sidhu
USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club La Jolla, Calif. Friday’s ResultsWomen’s Singles Championship
Amy Frazier (1), Rochester, Mich., def. Dina McBride (2), Stevenson Ranch, Calif., 6-1, 6-3Saturday’s Schedule Men’s Singles Semifinals
10:30 a.m.
Tony Bujan (1), Tustin, Calif., vs. Oren Motevassel (3), San Jose, Calif.,
Marcio Carlsson (4), Las Vegas, vs. David Smith (9), San Francisco
