If anyone needs Jeff Loehr, he will be in a hot tub.
After a grueling, three-set semifinal in 95-degree heat Saturday against Denver City Open champion Bart Scott, Loehr went another three sets Sunday against good friend Willie Dann in the finals of the 111th Colorado State Open.
After 2 hours, 20 minutes, Loehr put away Dann 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3) at the Gates Tennis Center to become the fourth man in tournament history to win the title four times and the first since Mike Velasquez in 1989. Don Harker holds the men’s record with six titles in the early 1900s.
“I really missed it, and it was fun getting back out here and seeing how much fun it really is,” said Loehr, 30, who also won State Open titles in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
“With work and stuff, it’s difficult for me to get out, and I don’t want to come out if I don’t have the chance to hit some balls and practice, and give it my best.”
There was no give from either player Sunday. When the break opportunity presented itself, which was rare for both players, it was taken advantage of. Loehr started the match with a break in the first game and made it hold up through the first set.
“I thought Willie served really well, and I really had a hard time even getting the ball back,” said Loehr, a graduate of Wheat Ridge High School. “He just played a loose game early in the first set to allow me to get the break, and the rest of the time, I didn’t even sniff a break.”
Loehr, who hits balls with Dann every week, broke again to go up 5-4 in the second set and had a chance to serve out the match. After not allowing a break point in his previous nine service games, Loehr dropped two straight to hand Dann the second set.
“It’s been so long since I played competitively that you go out there hoping to win, instead of expecting to win, and I was a little nervous early on,” said Dann, 33. “Once I got into a rhythm out there, it really kind of took the pressure off.”
Each held serve in the third, forcing a tiebreaker. An errant Dann volley followed by a top-spin lob winner by Loehr gave him a 6-3 cushion. He finished it, appropriately, with a service winner.
“I have none left,” Loehr said. “It’s always tough to play friends. I would have much rather played someone I knew nothing about and felt my way through a match.”
Earlier, Alicia Salas successfully defended her women’s title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Aspen’s Laura Gordon.
The game plan was easy for Salas: Get the ball in play, keep it in play and let her opponent make the errors. Getting 81 percent (54-for-67) of her first serves in play, with 29 unforced errors from Gordon, made it a little easier.
“I just knew I had to get the point started, because once I was in a rally, I did well,” Salas said. “I kind of feed off what the other player is doing, and their power.”
Salas, a Cherry Creek and Notre Dame graduate, faced Gordon one other time, a three-set affair in high school in 2000 in Grand Junction.
“When you have as many unforced errors as I did, you can’t really expect to win,” said Gordon, a senior at UCLA. “She played well, and not to take anything away from her, but I’m just a little disappointed in those errors.”
Salas’ victory gave her a sweep of the 2005 City and State opens. She also won doubles and mixed doubles at the City and was in the finals of the doubles at the State.
“I’ve been playing really well this summer, and it’s nice to end it on a good note,” she said.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
