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Rik de Voest wins Swanston Challenger at Sutter Lawn

October 21, 2005 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Sacramento Capitals News Release


Sacramento's oldest and most prestigious tennis club brought world class tennis to Sacramento this month. Morgan Stanley Presents the Swanston Challenger took place at Sutter Lawn Tennis Club October 8-16, attracting many of the ATP ranked male tennis players in the world, including Sacramento native and Caps rookie Sam Warburg, and offered prize money totaling $50,000.

Unseeded Rik de Voest of South Africa defeated qualifier Phillip Simmonds of the United States 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. "I see vast improvement in Simmonds," de Voest told the Sacramento Bee. "Had he been fresher, it would have been an uphill battle for me."

In the doubles final, former Stanford All-Americans Scott Lipsky and David Martin outlasted former Berkeley All-American John Paul Fruttero and Mirko Pehar 6-4, 6-4.

Sutter Lawn Tennis Club, a small tennis and swim club hidden in East Sacramento, was founded in 1919 and last hosted the Central California Championships in 1972. Winners included Stan Smith, Arthur Ashe and Bjorn Borg. Outside of the Sacramento Capitals' 20 seasons, a professional tennis tournament has not been held in Sacramento for over 30 years.

Sutter Lawn is bringing back the tradition in hopes of giving Sacramento area tennis fans an opportunity to see great tennis in tournament play. And it did just that, according to tournament director John Rodrigues. "Our lunchtime crowds were upwards of 400 people," said Rodrigues, who said the challenger could double in prize money next year and add night matches. He also mentioned that he hopes to organize a potential feed-in tournament that would lead up to the SAP Open in San Jose in February.

Tennis supporter and player Bert Swanston, whose family dates back five generations and who founded much of Land Park and Cal Expo, put up the initial money to make the tournament possible. Jim Coffin, another long time Sutter Lawn member and Morgan Stanley financial advisor, secured Morgan Stanley as presenting sponsor.

All proceeds from the event will go to the Sacramento Community Tennis Association (SCTA), a local non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the development of tennis to disadvantaged youth in the Sacramento community.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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