WHEELCHAIR TENNIS / U.S. OPEN : Fourth-Ranked Welch Wins Men’s Singles Title by Defeating Jim Black

Fourth-ranked Steve Welch defeated Oceanside’s Jim Black, 6-3, 7-6 (7-0), to win the men’s singles title Sunday at the U.S. Open Wheelchair Championships at the Irvine Racquet Club.

However, it wasn’t an easy victory for Welch, a 20-year-old from Arlington, Tex.

After winning a hard-fought first set, Welch appeared to be on his way to winning the championship by taking the first four games of the second set. But Black, ranked fifth in the tournament, rallied, winning four consecutive games to even the set at four games each.

“I lost my concentration,” Welch said. “When you don’t concentrate, you lose.”

Welch regained his composure and won the next game. Then with Welch serving for the championship at 5-4, Black fought off three match points to pull even at five games each. Black, who defeated San Clemente’s Brad Parks in the semifinals, won the next game to go ahead, 6-5.

“He seemed to get a little cocky and began letting up,” Black said. “I thought I had him (after surviving the triple match point), but that was my demise.”

Welch, who advanced to the final by defeating top-ranked Laurent Giammartini of France in Saturday’s semifinals, won the next game to force a tie-breaker and then swept Black, 7-0, to take the title.

Welch becomes the youngest U.S. Open men’s champion and breaks the 12-year hold on the title by Parks and Randy Snow.

“It’s extra special for me to win this championship and an honor to be in the same company as the others (Snow and Parks).”

In the men’s doubles final, Parks and Rick Slaughter of Nashville, Tenn., defeated Black and Scott Douglas of Birmingham, Ala., 6-4, 6-2.

Sunday’s other results (all finals):

QUAD SINGLES--Rick Draney (Oceanside) d. Brian Hanson (Hayward), 6-0, 6-3.

MEN’S SINGLES A--Greg Gibbons (Birmingham, Ala.) d. Bob Dockerill (Great Britain), 6-3, 6-0.

MEN’S SINGLES B--David Hobler (Oakland) d. James Terpenning (Cornwall, N.Y.), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3.

MEN’S SINGLES C--Patrick Donaghey (Roslyn Heights, N.Y.) d. Joe Perez (Albany, N.Y.), 7-5, 6-2.

QUAD SINGLES A--Cliff Chunn (Nashville, Tenn.) d. Jerry Jencks (Lake Forest), 6-4, 6-4.

WOMEN’S SINGLES B--Hannelore Taroni (Switzerland) d. Marcia Kulisk (Rockford, Mich.), 6-4, 6-3.