By STEPHAN MICHAELS
PORT TOWNSEND — For more than 40 years, the Port Townsend Tennis Tournament has drawn players from around Jefferson County to compete in three days of quality amateur tennis.
This year, the Labor Day weekend event (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) played host to aspiring entrants from all over Jefferson County.
It also included one player from Sequim and one from Port Angeles, both of whom were invited to compete.
A dozen participants went head to head in the men’s singles competition, and 20 players were entered in doubles play.
Port Townsend surgeon Marco Sobrino won the singles title for the second straight year, eliminating runner-up Chuck Eldridge of Chimacum, 6-0, 7-6 (7-2) in a second-set tiebreaker.
Sobrino, who hits an unorthodox two-handed forehand, said it was encouraging to see a strong turnout this year from both players and spectators in support of local tennis.
“It’s a wonderful group, they’re always passionate, but we need a little more promotion so that we can bring people in from different places,” he said.
Historically, the annual event has been limited to Jefferson County residents.
Fay Bruns, a prime mover behind the event, said tournament organizers are considering revising the format in order to include more players from outside Jefferson County, especially women.
“We have very strong men,” Bruns said.
“For a small area, our community has a really high caliber of tennis, but there are not a lot of women players.
“There are only two in the tournament, and it’s too bad that there aren’t more lady players who come out.”
Bruns, a British Columbian transplant to Port Townsend, and Jon Fox of Kala Point were this year’s runners-up in the doubles bracket, losing to Sobrino and Port Townsend’s Dorn Campbell in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
Port Angeles tennis pro Laurel Cripe and Sequim resident Julien Berg were exceptions to the traditional Jefferson County criterion and competed this year by invitation.
Cripe, who is also president of the Port Angeles-based Peninsula Tennis Club, says the overall structure of the doubles tournament is challenging.
“Playing a lot of matches in one day, it’s a really great format,” she said.
Cripe praised the event for its high level of play and also supports expanding the tournament in the future to include a larger demographic.
“I’m hoping they’ll open it up to Clallam County as well,” she said. “We have a ton of players.”
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Stephan Michaels lives in Port Townsend and is an award-winning journalist. He is also a fairly decent tennis player who was humbled from this year’s singles bracket at the tournament in straight sets.