Clockwise from top: Lozzi, Leiva, Harris, Sanchez, Williams, Rodriguez
Avalon Park, Florida- A full-field of tennis talent showed up on the East Side of Orlando tennis for Stop #3 of the FTT King of the Courts Round Robin Tournament. Players got a chance to get some neighborhood competition in and test their mettle under tournament pressure. The event was sanctioned and part of the Florida Tennis Tour (FTT) and WSA World Sports Alumni . The neighborhood round robin prize money event is designed for 3.5 level to 4.5 level players to encourage more singles action in the area. The event is organized by Orlando Synergy Marketing and sponsored by Orlando Premiere Cleaning OPCleaning.com and Wingz Wingzz Wingzzz Best Chicken Wings of Orlando.
The round robin format are 6 game pro-sets with no ads played. Tie-break at 5-5. Players are divided into groups of 4. The top #1 in each group with the best record moves onto play the finals. The #2s in each group play for 3rd place while the remainder face-off for consolation matches. The top 3 places are paid prize money depending on the amount of players and every player will receive ranking points.
In the group stages, Group A saw #1 King of the Courts ranked Charlie "Dragon" Williams go undefeated with wins over Oviedo's Noel "Rambo" Rodriguez, a come from behind nailbiter tiebreak win over Omar "Sheriff" Sanchez , and another close one with Casey "Railroad" Harris. Williams ended with 3-0 record, with 18 games won and 9 games lost. Harris finished 2nd in the group with wins over Sanchez and Rodriguez to move onto playing for 3rd place.
Group B saw Alex "Papa" Lozzi go undefeated with wins over Bucky "Firestorm" Parel, Felipe Mr.Smooth" Leiva, and a close tiebreaker win 6-5 over former Timbercreek High #1 Amahn "Taj Mahal Express" Syed. Lozzi ended with a 3-0 record, 18 games won, 9 games lost. Identical records as Williams to set-up the finals match.
Lozzi, a local restaurant owner of Papa Lozzi's Italia, wins his first FTT King of the Courts & some dinner money.
In the match for 3rd place prize money, Leiva improved on his previous 5th place finish with a resounding 6-2 win over Harris. Leiva took home his first tennis prize winnings.
In the finals, Lozzi faced Williams who had now reached 3 consecutive finals. Lozzi took the early lead and never looked back as he cruised to a 6-2 win over Williams to become the new King of the Courts and collect his first place money. With his previous 3rd place finish, Lozzi has now moved into the #2 spot on the rankings with Williams still at #1, Bucky Parel at #3, and Felipe Leiva closely behind at #4.
Sponsors may contact the FTT King of the Courts at 407-782-4978 FloridaTennisTour@gmail.com
1st Alex "Papa" Lozzi 100 pts
2nd Charlie "Dragon" Williams 80 pts
3rd Felipe "Mr.Smooth" Leiva 70 pts
4th Casey "Railroad" Harris Bucky "Firestorm" Parel 60 pts
5th Omar "Sheriff" Sanchez 50 pts
6th Amahn "Taj Mahal Express" Syed 40 pts
7th Bucky "Firestorm" Parel 30 points
8th Noel "Rambo" Rodriguez 20 points
To enter the next FTT Round Robin Tournament, contact 407-782-4978 or email FloridaTennisTour@gmail.com . Entry fee is only $15. Matches start at 8:00am and event finishes typically before noon.
Top: Syed shakes off some tennis rust after not competing for a year while Parel below gets ready for his senior year at East River High.
1st 100 points
2nd 80 points
3rd 70 points
4th 60 points
5th 50 points
6th 40 points
7th 30 points
8th 20 points
9th 10 points
10th 5 points