Net Result
Quality Abounds Mt. Lebanon Tennis Tournament
National Clay Court/West Penn Tennis Championships Something Special
By Scott Robertson

Eight years ago, Dr. Don Mercer saw an upswing in golf leading to a downhill slide for tennis in Pittsburgh.

He and his family, who hail from Mt. Lebanon, decided to do what they could to change that direction.

The net result has been a revival of the National Clay Court/West Penn Tennis Championships, which began June 29 and run to July 7 at the Tressel Tennis Center in Mt. Lebanon. Admission is free.

"I was part of the tournaments back in the '70s when we got great players in here like Roscoe Tanner and Vitas Gerulaitis," said Mercer, who has been the tournament's director for the past eight summers. "I thought we had something pretty special then. I wanted to get it back to that level."

A revitalization has occurred, in part due to the introduction of the United States Tennis Association's $10,000 Men's Futures of Pittsburgh tournament, which takes place along with the National Clay Court/West Penn championship. The Future Tournament, which took place for the first time last year, has brought up-and-coming stars back to Mt. Lebanon.

"We've tried to do a lot of new things over the past few years to revive interest," Mercer said. "But the Futures Tournament has been a big help. It's a professional event - the players are playing for money and for ATP points, so if they play well, they move up in the computer rankings."

Mercer had been trying to secure the Futures Tournament for several years before finally succeeding last year. Current pro star Andy Roddick cut his teeth on the Futures, which usually boasts some of the top college players in the country.

"What was happening was that we were losing some of the top college players because they wanted to turn pro," Mercer said. "We used to get them, but once they started to become interested in turning pro, they weren't coming as often. Now, the way the tournament is set up, college players can come here and try to qualify for the Futures Tournament. If they don't make it in, they can still play in the National Collegiate (Clay Court) tournament. That way, their trip is not wasted."

It was not long ago that Pittsburgh almost wasted the opportunity to host the tournament. Mercer said the "tennis boom" of the '70s brought all kinds of crowds to the tournament each year. But growth of another sport seems to have dulled interest in tennis both locally and nationally.

"It's not just Pittsburgh, it's the same all over the country," Mercer said. "There are not as many people participating in tennis as there used to be. More people are playing golf. It's been a struggle to keep fans interested in tennis."

Mercer and his family, including wife Beth and sons John, Tom and Ron, all three local tennis pros, are doing what they can to revive interest. In addition to the Futures Tournament, special events have been tied to the week of play. This year, the schedule includes The Bijou Tennis Show, billed as "the craziest tennis lesson in the world," on July 5 and 6. The show has been part of such tournaments as the Australian, French and U.S. Opens and includes a combination of sports and trick shots featuring Bijou the tennis clown.

In the past, the tournament has hosted clinics featuring some of the game's top stars, including Joanne Russell, formerly of World Team Tennis' Pittsburgh Triangles, former U.S. Open champion Tracy Austin and more. Exhibitions featuring former Wimbledon champ Vic Seixas and star Pancho Gonzalez also have been part of the program. In 2000, Mercer added a health symposium that detailed ways to combat aging through tennis. Nationally renowned speakers included Harold Koenig of Duke University and Mike Wallace of "60 Minutes" fame, who sent in a taped message.

PNC Bank is one of several area companies involved, bringing inner city kids to the tournament for Kids Day each year. Anywhere from 90-100 children are brought in to have lunch, learn the game and see some matches. Another key recent development was the addition of banners around the fences at the tennis center. Those banners include sponsor names and allow admission to the tournaments to be free. All of those things - the clinics, crazy tennis lesson, exhibitions, symposiums, etc. - are designed to heighten interest in a tournament that has been a large part of Pittsburgh's sports history.

This year will be the 115th incarnation of the championships, making it the oldest continuous national tennis tournament in the nation. The West Penn Championships started in 1889 with men's competition only. Women's singles were added in 1910 and the National Clay Court Championships in 1975. Trophies are awarded in four categories in the National Collegiate Clay Court/West Penn Tennis Championships - The David L. McCahill III Trophy for men's singles, the Vee S. Toner Cup for women's singles, the Eaton-Short Trophy for men's doubles and the Betty Rae Gray Trophy for mixed doubles. Each trophy is engraved with the names of past winners. Perhaps the biggest name on any is "Big Bill" Tilden, a hall of fame singles player and one of the early winners of the McCahill Trophy. Mercer has seen his share of history with the tournament. The late Gerulaitis, one of tennis' top stars of the '70s and a former standout with the Triangles, is one of his favorite players. Gerulaitis chose a visit to the tournament to announce he had agreed to play with the Triangles. Other memories are of performances by Mt. Lebanon natives including Don Johnson and Gretchen Rush-Magers.

"I originally was involved in the scheduling of matches and things like that back in the '70s," said Mercer, an associate professor in biochemistry at Wheeling Jesuit College. "I used to have to take my vacation during the tournament because I was down there all day and night working out the scheduling and handling the draws. "It was a big event. You would have players like Gerulaitis, Roscoe Tanner and Peter Fleming. These are players who turned out to be superstars, and this always was the last tournament for them before they turned pro."

Mercer is trying to get the tournament back to that level of competition. It is a testament to its recent growth that the finals matches are televised by WBGN-TV, and that Dick's Sporting Goods, PNC Bank, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Adelphia Cable have become title sponsors.

"The tournament was going downhill, there's no question," Mercer said. "But we're on our way back. I don't think we are all the way back yet. We still have a lot of work to do. But we definitely are on the way back. This is an outstanding event."