Local Tennis Pro Advances at US Open Playoffs

Local tennis pro Charl van der Merwe hadn’t played a competitive match in four years prior to this week’s US Open Eastern Sectional Playoffs, but the chance to compete in the sport’s biggest tournament prompted him to lace up his sneakers once more.

Facing off against 14-year-old James Wasserman, Van der Merwe overcome the chilly conditions at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, and a determined opponent to advance into the second round of the event with a 7-5, 6-3 victory. The winner of the qualifying tournament advances to a national event for the chance at a qualifying wild card into this year’s US Open.

“I just kept thinking that there was no way I was losing to a 14-year-old,” said a laughing Van der Merwe. “The conditions weren’t allowing us to play our best tennis, so I just tried to mix up the pace of my shots and that got him frustrated.”

Using off-speed backhands to derail the pace of Wasserman’s shots, the South African native raced to a 5-3 lead in the opening set. A series of strong forehands from Wasserman leveled the match at 5-5, but the teenager was unable to hold on to the momentum. A forehand sent well long on Van der Merwe’s first set point wrapped gave him a one set lead.

The second set was a much more dominant affair from Van der Merwe, who began to find the range on his shots as his opponent because visibly flustered. Van der Merwe grabbed an early break of serve and held on to it for the rest of the set. A routine backhand into the net from Wasserman sent the Stamford native into the next round.

“I felt a lot better as the match went on,” said Van der Merwe. “I was getting a sense of the kind of shots he didn’t like, and was able to stay mentally tough throughout.”

Van der Merwe is in his fifth year as a teaching pro at Shippan Racquet Club, and will also take over the tennis program this summer at Weston Field Club.

The US Open National Playoffs are open to any player over the age of 14, and participants can be of any playing level. The winner of each sectional qualifying tournament will advance into a national tournament at Yale University from August 18-22. The winner of the national tournament will receive a wild card into the qualifying draw of the Men’s singles event at the US Open, held from August 23-September 11.

Van der Merwe’s second round singles match against Jakub Kowalski is scheduled for Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Tournament play will continue until April 22. To follow Van der Merwe’s progress, visit the tournament drawsheet.