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Top seed too strong in national semifinals

Wednesday, May 23, 2001

By Phil Axelrod, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Craig Perry didn't think his game could hold up against the better players in the National Men's 40 Indoor Tennis Championships.

	Craig Perry, playing in his first tournament in 12 years, reached the semifinals of the National Men's 40 Indoor Tennis Championships in Monroeville before falling to the defending champion yesterday.

He was wrong.

Perry was convinced he would be overmatched.

Wrong again.

"I competed pretty well," said Perry, 39, of Export, who was making his first appearance in the tournament. "My arm wore down as the week went on, but it was good to compete again."

Perry, a teaching pro who hasn't played in a tournament in 12 years, became the first player from the district to reach the semifinals in the singles part of the tournament since the event came to the Oxford Athletic Club in Monroeville seven years ago.

Seeded 16th, Perry didn't have enough weapons in a, 7-5, 6-3, loss to top seed and defending champion Val Wilder of Euless, Texas, yesterday in an entertaining match.

Today, Wilder will meet unseeded Tom Mastromarino of Wyomissing, Pa., who defeated No. 7 Lynn Bybee of Midlothian, Va., 7-5, 6-3, in the other semifinal. Mastromarino, a burly left-hander who employs heavy topspin and a high-kicking serve, has made a lot of noise in the tournament. His grunts on every stroke reverberate throughout the building.

"It is distracting, but I'll have to block it out," said Wilder, the No. 1-ranked age 40 player in the country. "You want to be tunnel-visioned."

Asked to describe Mastromarino's style, Wilder said, "Unorthodox, to say the least."

Wilder and Perry engaged in a textbook match that featured exquisite shot-making by both. Wilder punished Perry with well disguised lobs from either the forehand or backhand for numerous winners.

"He has a lot of options," said Perry, director of tennis for the Parkway Tennis Club and the Fox Chapel Golf Club. "You can definitely tell he plays year-round the way he plays the big points really well. He plays a high level on every point."

Wilder, who has added 20 pounds of muscle the past year, made few mistakes with his grounds strokes that pinned Perry near the baseline for much of the match.

"I'm stronger and fitter now than I have been in five years," Wilder said. "I feel like when I get in a corner, I deliver. It just happens. I can't explain it. I don't consciously say to myself, 'It's time to lift it up.' I just go for it."

He paused, then added, "I'm playing to win. I prepare to win."

Wilder was impressed with Perry's stylized strokes.

"He'll be one of the top five in the country if he plays enough," he said. "I enjoy playing matches against opponents like him."