CRAIG CIGNARELLI SHARES THE RESULTS OF THE FIRST DAY OF THE ORACLE TENNIS FROM THE BEAUTIFUL MALIBU TENNIS CLUB

Written by: Staff on 18th September 2015

CRAIG CIGNARELLI SHARES THE RESULTS OF THE FIRST DAY OF THE ORACLE TENNIS FROM THE BEAUTIFUL MALIBU TENNIS CLUB |

Photo by Brett Connors Photography

SEEDS: THE DAY

Sunset comes into Malibu like a slow wave, its colors cresting and then falling down across the sky before receding back into the deep. Across the road, Pepperdine University’s lawn has positioned over 3,000 American flags – an annual memorial to the victims of 9/11. Passersby stop and shoot photos, their drawn faces trying to smile above the mourning of a nation. It is evening now, and the first round of national collegiate competition has ended, whittling the draws down from sixteen to eight in singles and eight to four in doubles.

At Malibu Racquet Club, the food trucks are shutting down, having served the crowds of players, Oracle personnel, Malibu members, and myriad guests who arrived to watch this national championship. The ITA’s David Benjamin is a short grey-haired man who sits behind the check-in desk and commands the tournament like a virtuoso. A forty-person staff plays host for the weekend, sprinting for more water, new balls, freshly-strung racquets, and the more-than-frequent glass of wine for the parched spectators.

On court, the day’s tennis has seen more seeds drop than a Monsanto convention. The men lost #1, 2, and 3 in the first two hours, and finished when Tulsa’s Or Ram-Harel defeated # 4 Quentin Monaghan three hours and thirty-nine minutes after they started. You know dehydration has set in when a player has dark circles under the eyes, and these guys looked like a Stonehenge re-creation. #2 and #3 on the women’s side dropped their matches, followed by the #1 men’s doubles team from Georgia.

With the college season just beginning, the rankings are always in question, but Oracle has always been positively disruptive in its industry and, so one expects its tournament to function in the same capacity. Today, no one was disappointed. CEO Mark Hurd sat courtside for the morning’s events and, on Sunday, the Tennis Channel will be broadcasting the men’s and women’s final. With Oracle’s gorgeous scoreboards and Malibu beach as backdrop, the venue is a postcard of athletic bliss.

But Pepperdine’s flags called to me tonight, their red, white and blue casting long shadows and memories. As I wandered through them, every so often a foreign flag appeared – a tribute to a foreign national who had fallen in the towers. For a while those underdogs had come to America and pursued their dreams. It reminded me of what happened on the courts today, and how everyone has a chance to win, even if it’s for just a moment.

Tomorrow, the quarters and semis.

Topics: Craig Cignarelli, Malibu Racquet Club, Pepperdine University, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

September 18, 2015 at 9:53 pm

-@CraigCignarelli SHARES THE RESULTS OF THE FIRST DAY OF THE ORACLE #TENNIS FROM THE BEAUTIFUL MALIBU TENNIS CLUB- http://t.co/o2HcRQr2Qw