Two down, two to go for Cory Ross.
A Denver tennis scene fixture for the past decade, Ross added to his trophy case Sunday with his victory at the 91st Denver City Open.
A champion in 2003, Ross took his second title at the expense of friend Willie Dann 6-3, 7-5 in sweltering heat at the Denver Tennis Club.
“This feels great, and I just love playing here in front of friends and family and all the people who support me, and that’s one of the highlights of playing here is that you get the sense that people genuinely care if you win or lose” said Ross, 25, who won the first leg of the “Colorado Slam” last weekend in Grand Junction at the Elam Classic.
Next month’s Colorado State Open and August’s Boulder tournament round out the summer’s big four.
“I’m looking forward to seeing if I can have an undefeated summer,” Ross said. “That’s my goal.”
Ross, who said he didn’t play his best tennis Sunday, took advantage of the few opportunities presented to him by Dann. An early break gave Ross a 3-1 lead in the first set and a little bit of breathing room.
Dann, 35, broke Ross’ serve to take an early 2-0 lead in the second set and had the former two-time high school state champion from Kent Denver a little unnerved.
“The situation with the net bothered me,” said Ross, who had a discussion with officials about the height of the net. “That was running through my head for a while, and I just had to work through that.”
He adjusted quickly, breaking Dann to get back on serve.
Ross would put his stamp on the match when, at 4-4, he reeled off three return-of-serve winners, three of 17 winners in the match, to go up 5-4.
Despite being broken right back at love the next game, Ross had seized momentum in the match.
“It was just a match of streaks,” Ross said. “There were some stretches where I felt like I just couldn’t miss and some others where I couldn’t make a first serve.”
Said Dann, who finished as the runner-up last year: “This is the first year I really felt like I could win, and I had some opportunities but I let them go. Cory played well and made the big shot when he needed to.”
Ross also paired with Nejc Smole to win the doubles title, over Dann and partner Lewis Miller.
On the women’s side, Colorado State junior Lauren Strasburger simply overpowered Susan Wright 6-4, 6-2.
The 20-year-old, who went to high school in Tennessee but lists Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as home, kept the 49-year-old Wright on the go with a blend of power and smarts. Strasburger had 28 winners, mostly from her backhand, compared with just three for Wright.
“Basically, if I didn’t make the play or force the play, I was going to lose the point,” said Strasburger, who teamed with CSU teammate Hilary Tyler to win the doubles title in straight sets over Tiffany and Tabatha Knop. “I just had to make every shot.”
Strasburger had just 18 unforced errors to go along with all the winners.
Of note, Arvada’s Peter Rouch, who reached the quarterfinals of the main draw, was awarded the club’s first annual Joe Martin Award for sportsmanship.
Staff writer Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
91st DENVER CITY OPEN
At The Denver Tennis Club
Men’s open singles
(1) Cory Ross, Littleton, def. (2) Willie Dann, Denver, 6-3, 7-5.
Women’s open singles
Lauren Strasburger, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., def. (3) Susan Wright, Grand Junction, 6-4, 6-2.
Men’s open doubles
Cory Ross, Littleton, and Nejc Smole, Denver, def. Willie Dann and Lewis Miller, Denver, 6-3, 6-4.
Women’s open doubles
Lauren Strasburger, Fort Lauderdale and Hilary Tyler, Grand Junction def. Tiffany Knop and Tabatha Knop, Colorado Springs, 6-4, 6-2.
Mixed open doubles
Jessica Garrow and Cory Ross, Littleton vs. Ted Burghardt, Denver and Lauren Strasburger, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 6-4, 6-4.
