National Racquetball Championships : Hogan Finds Motivation, Beats Yellen for Title

Marty Hogan doesn’t dominate professional racquetball the way he used to, and the problem seems to be more mental than physical.

After 12 years on the pro tour, Hogan has been displaying warning signs of burnout. When he’s motivated and pressured, he can be virtually unbeatable. When he’s bored and untested, he’s vulnerable and prone to upsets.

It’s been five years since Hogan, 28, was last crowned pro racquetball’s national champion, but the San Diegan took a big step toward his sixth title Sunday by winning the Ektelon National Racquetball Championships at the Sports Gallery in Anaheim.

Hogan won for the fifth time this season and the 58th time in his career by beating Mike Yellen, 11-6, 11-6, 0-11, 5-11, 11-2, in a match that should have been over in one hour, not two. Only Hogan’s penchant for letting down with a big lead enabled Yellen to extend the match to five games.

In contrast, the women’s final was no contest from start to finish. As she has done five times this year, Costa Mesa’s Lynn Adams beat Caryn McKinney handily in three games, 21-16, 21-8, 21-9.

Hogan, who on Saturday blew a 10-2 lead in the first game of his semifinal match against Bret Harnett, said: “I’m the worst player in racquetball--and that includes people who played 50 years ago--with a lead. It’s just part of my game.”

The tournament’s top seed, Hogan was extended to five games by Steve Lerner in the round of 16, by Cliff Swain in the quarterfinals and by Harnett.

“I play better when the pressure is on,” Hogan said. “I’ve played some of these guys hundreds of times and it’s hard to get up for them sometimes.”

Considering that Yellen is the defending national champion and the last obstacle between Hogan and another national title, complacency is the last thing one would have expected Sunday. So how did Hogan prepare himself mentally for the final? By taking in the air show at the El Toro Marine Base.

He arrived fashionably late because of a traffic jam and risked forfeiting the match. Racquetball Manufacturers Assn. tour rules call for a forfeiture if a player is 15 minutes late (Hogan was 18 minutes late), but the commissioner can waive that rule because of “extenuating circumstances.” Because of Ektelon’s television contract, RMA Commissioner Jim Hiser said that this would be considered, “one of those instances.”

With only two minutes to warm up, Hogan went straight to business in game one, reeling off seven unanswered points in one stretch and closing out with four straight points. Trailing, 6-5, in the second game, he closed out with six straight points.

“I didn’t warm up properly but, gee whiz, I won those first two games in a breeze,” Hogan said.

Yellen had come prepared to play Hogan’s power game but quickly abandoned that strategy when he fell behind early. He turned to a control game and lobs instead of driving serves, but didn’t seem able to make the adjustment until the third game, when he blanked a slow-footed Hogan. In the fourth game, Hogan hit a lot of skips--shots that fell short of the back wall--to force a fifth game.

Then it was show time, as the Lakers like to say. Hogan had some trouble getting his first serve in but after falling behind, 2-1, he turned the match around. Yellen had a tough time with Hogan’s driving serves, which set up sizzling passing shots down the line, and the suspense was over quickly.

“That,” Hogan said, “was one of my best games this year.”