By Anthony Bosco
Florida’s Alex Bogomolov Jr. captured the first ever Forest Hills Tennis Classic championship Saturday at the West Side Tennis Club, defeating Argentinean Mariano Delfino in three sets, 1-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Bogomolov, originally from Russia, defeated Zack Fleishman in the semifinals, 7-5, 6-3, to make it to the final round, while Delfino slipped past Tripp Phillips, 6-4, 6-3.
“I think it went great,” said Tournament Director Dina Ingersole of the USTA Pro Circuit $50,000 Men’s Challenger event. “The reception that we got from the community, the club members and the players was great. They were thrilled with it.”
Former French Open champion Michael Chang, now on his farewell tour, was ousted in the second round of play, losing to Phillips.
On the doubles side, established professional player Justin Gimelstob and partner Scott Humphries defeated Huntley Montgomery and Phillips in three sets, 7-6 (6-1), 3-6, 6-4 to capture the crown.
Gimelstob and Humphries beat Juan-Pablo Guzman and Anthony Russ, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 in the semifinals, while Montgomery and Phillips ousted Frederico Brown and Ignacio Hirigoyen to make the finals, 6-3, 6-4.
The doubles team of Bill Goodman and Guillermo Oropez, who played their way into the tournament by winning the West Side Tennis members’ draw, failed to make it out of the first round of play, losing decisively to Delfino and Serio Roitman, 6-1, 6-0.
The Forest Hills Tennis Classic, the first of three professional tennis tournaments to be played in New York City this year, including the GHI Bronx Tennis Classic and the US Open, consisted of two preliminary draws before the main draw began play May 12.
This was the first pro tournament to be held at the Forest Hills facility since 1989. The West Side Tennis Club is also the former home of the US Open, which bolted from the club for the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in 1978.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
