By Scoop Malinowski
As usual, there was an abundance of distinguished competitors this year at the 2025 Masters Clay Courts Longboat Key, a USTA sanctioned Category 2 national tournament contested from Dec. 1-7 at five different venues on Longboat Key.
One competitor was President Jimmy Carter’s tennis coach in Camp David – Kenneth Fugate. Another was a US Senator for Louisiana from 1987 to 2005 – John Breaux. 55s runner up Kenneth Thome was a Davis Cup captain for Costa Rica and a Pan American Games medalist.
One tournament is too much to cover for a player/journalist/author but I will try my best to share a report…
On day one at one of the tournament’s venues, Cedars, last year’s 55s division champion and ITF world no. 1 Oren Motevassel of Delray Beach, arrived in his Tesla early before his first round match to warm up for 20 minutes with the front desk attendant Matt. They hit from the baseline and Oren did volleys and serves. Lefthander Oren won his first match after the hit 60 61 vs. Joe Perdue, who was also his doubles partner. Motevassel rolled through the draw – losing just four games in four matches – but had a struggle in the final vs Thome, which he ultimately prevailed 64 64.
Fugate, who lives in Sarasota, was another rare repeat champion at Longboat as he won the 75s last year and this year as the no. 2 seed he won the 80s by beating top seed Fred Drilling 62 62. Fugate said President Carter was a pretty solid tennis player and liked to play for hours and hours. Drilling defeated Senator Breaux in the second round 60 61.
Maybe the biggest upset of the tournament was achieved by retired attorney and Longboat resident John Devito against Bob Manry of Little Rock, Arkansas. Last year Devito was defeated by Manry 61 61 and the luck of the draw paired the two again in a rematch in the first round. This time Devito turned the tables on Manry with a 62 62 victory, which he credited to all his various hitting partners and coach influences particularly Warren Girle and John Eagleton. Lefty Devito said Girle emphasized starting a match with a mindset to try to hit 40 balls each point. Devito’s patience, consistency, concentration and tactical direction propelled him to the second round where he lost to the 5 seed and also the 75s doubles consolation title with partner Jack Ambrose of Arlington, VA. Girle, who did not compete, is a former ATP ranked pro from Australia and a former Davis Cup player. Girle also one played an exhibition against Rod Laver at the old Islandside Key Club courts back in the 1970s.
Like at all major tournaments, there are always a lot of underdog grinders who make the journey from all over the US. Joe Pearce, a high school tennis coach from Southern Illinois, made the trip again but was eliminated early again in singles and doubles in the 55s. Javier Espinoza, a nurse from Tampa, lost in the first round in the 55s singles main draw and consolation draw. I’ll have to put myself in this category as I lost first round in the 55s 64 64 to Kevin Potts, who drove down from Charlotte, NC. Potts lost in the second round to an outstanding player from France and Boca Raton, Vincent Versier, who I hit with last year at the St. Petersburg Cat 2 tournament. Versier told me his best win of his career was against Yahiya Doumbia, who actually won two ATP singles titles 1988 in Lyon (vs Todd Nelson) and 1995 in Bordeaux (vs. Jacob Hlasek). Versier lost in the quarterfinals to Carlos Lopez.
The 75s co-champion Tony Dawson is from Australia and Irving, Texas, and is said to be ranked no. 1 in the world. He split sets in the final with Marc Mazo 75 36 and the match was declared INC.
The 85s division was won by top seed Robert Anderman vs unseeded southpaw Enrique Vela 63 62. Vela is former soccer goaltender from Spain.
The action of the matches was more varied and creative than most of the pro matches we see on TV. And the doubles was no less stunning to watch, in all age groups.
Another notable player was the 45s finalist Tomasz Borucki of Poland and a teaching pro at the Longboat Public Tennis Center, who still uses the old Head Radical that Andre Agassi used back in the 90s. Borucki was once ranked 1322 in doubles in ATP back in 2002. Borucki played in the same tournament in Sopot, Poland where Rafael Nadal won his first ATP title. Borucki played in the qualifying draw of that ATP tournament. Nadal fortunately did not have to face the lethal serve of Borucki, which one spectator described as sounding like the sound of batting practice at a Major League Baseball game.
The best story told was by Tennessee Michael Rose, who was losing a national 35s final to the junior legend and former ATP no. 7 in doubles and 1983 US Open doubles finalist. Rose was down a set and 3-5 championship point and on the ad court – as a righty – he tried a lunging left-handed forehand return which he made back and then Winitsky muffed. That one improv shot against Winitsky’s jack knife lefty serve, turned the whole match around and Rose ended up winning with a miracle comeback. Rose added that the next time he played Winitsky in a tournament, he got nothing but moonballs in the warmup and lost 06 06. Rose also is a comedian who can perfectly imitate a black crow.
Adam Rosen, who played in the 65s singles and doubles, faced John McEnroe a couple of times in juniors in New York and even trained with him at Port Washington under Harry Hopman, McEnroe was in group A, Rosen was in group B. Rosen said McEnroe’s ascent as a player happened in his mid-teens when he did not want to do the regular basic training like all the other kids, he wanted to play matches which he did with ATP caliber hitting partners like Tony Palafox. That’s when McEnroe’s game improved sharply and then he won the French Open mixed doubles title with Mary Carillo and then reached Wimbledon semis in singles in 1977.
60s doubles player Jim Roemer also played McEnroe in high school in New York City and recalled losing 60 61 and McEnroe threw his racquet for losing that one game,
Another memorable story was a conversation with a 60s competitor on the deck, he said he came from New England and prepared very seriously for the competition with his “mental coach” and “high performance coach.” However his dreams of glory were thwarted in the first round in a 26 57 defeat and a bad line call which he later filed a grievance with the USTA about.
Story told: “(Name withheld) is a top 65s player who lives in Malibu about a mile from John McEnroe. He got John’s phone number and asked him if he would like to play as they live so close. John texted him back, “Lose my number.”
This tournament which was founded in 2009 is worthy of being televised on Tennis Channel or ESPN, or the subject of a documentary film or even a book because there are too many interesting people and stories associated with the event.
Total tournament entries were just under 400 at $110 per player. Singles and doubles were contested in 45s, 50s, 55s, 60s, 65s, 70s, 75s, 80s, 85s. There were discussions about adding women’s events in 2026.
Tournament chair – Rich McGrath. Tournament director – Ron Watts. Tournament referee – Bill Van Mater. Volunteer coordinator – Ron Plashkes. LBK Tennis Center Manager – Kay Thayer. USTA officials: Tom Flint, Clark Higgs, Bob Jackson, Tony Ruggiero, Connor Vierling, Ed Wagner.
Steve · December 8, 2025 at 10:34 am
It’s so cold up here now for my frozen corneas that
“an abundance of distinguished competitors”
became
“an ambulance of disgruntled compatriots”
…I guess, in the end, both statements are true
Scoop Malinowski · December 8, 2025 at 2:06 pm
At last that is better than “an ambiguance of disenfranchised compartments.”
Steve · December 9, 2025 at 5:03 am
LOL
Sam · December 11, 2025 at 2:03 am
What about “an ambush of disemboweled complainers”?? 😉
Scoop Malinowski · December 11, 2025 at 8:29 am
This silliness ends on that note. )