Gena Parent and Jordan Ponak were glued to centre-court Sunday at the Moose Jaw Tennis Club Annual Championship and although both competitors love the game of tennis, they were more than relieved when their matches were over.
Parent beat Ponak in the men’s singles finals in a grueling, evenly matched three setter, 4-6, 7-6, 7-5.
She was presented with the men’s finals trophy as he received a hand from the fans around the clubhouse.
Up 6-5 with serve in the final set, everything was on the line. Parent treated the game as a do-or-die situation and was able to hold to her serve and pump her fists in victory.
“Once you get up to 6-5 in the third set and you’re up, you got to win it,” said Parent. “It would be pretty devastating if I was to fall to another tiebreaker. I just focused in on trying to win it.
“It’s a huge, huge joy,” added Parent. “The competition here is very tough and I had to play a lot of good matches to get here to the finals and with Jordan, knowing he’s a good player, it’s overwhelming.”
But her joy was short-lived as Parent had to set the trophy on the table and play a rematch of sorts in the men’s doubles finals.
Parent and her partner Gene Ritsco took the court against Ponak and club manager Drew Hager, where Ponak got his revenge.
He and Hager beat the Gene, Gena pairing 6-2, 6-3 for some revenge for Ponak.
See more in Monday's Times-Herald.
