By Nathan Mayberg
MONTICELLO — June 29, 2004 – It was a spirited and breathtaking tennis duel last Thursday afternoon at DeHoyos Memorial Park in Monticello.
Amid hot and sunny conditions, Tyrone Krohn and Helder Noguiera battled in the final match of the 2004 Sullivan County Open Tennis Championship.
Noguiera defeated Krohn two sets to one (6-3, 4-6, 6-3). The match featured many lengthy volleys with both men chasing the ball up and down the court.
“He’s tough,” said Noguiera, a resident of Massachusetts. “He returned everything. It was tough to beat him. He runs too much. I had to keep my head in the game.”
Krohn, who is a two-time winner and five-time finalist of the Sullivan County Open Tennis Championship, was equally impressed.
“That was definitely the toughest match,” he said. “It was like playing a computer. He had me dancing.”
Both players displayed impressive stamina, rarely giving up on any ball. They both returned the ball strongly.
Tournament organizer Urvashi “Tutu” Gupta, who also coaches the varsity girls’ tennis team at Monticello High School and gives lessons at DeHoyos, called tennis “my life.”
“My entire life revolves around tennis,” she said.
Gupta digs out of her own pockets to pay for the trophies given to the two finalists and the t-shirts that all of the participants received.
The tournament fees go to improving the courts, the nets, benches, bleachers and planting flowers.
The courts were recently resurfaced as part of a grant from the late New York State Assemblyman Jake Gunther and New York State Senator John Bonacic.
“The courts are now all weather…probably the best in Sullivan County,” Gupta said.
Gupta recently completed four weeks of free lessons to about 50 youths and 22 adults at the park.
“I want to promote this game,” she said. “This is a sport for a lifetime. This is something that people play from [ages] 8 to 80.”
A total of 11 players entered the men’s singles tournament and 22 players entered the doubles competition.
The women’s doubles tournament began on Saturday.