Dodge Gives His “Hero” a Difficult Time : Tennis: He surprises Olmedo, 6-4, 6-4, to win singles title at National Hard Courts tournament.

Larry Dodge says Alex Olmedo is still his “hero,” but Dodge made it clear Sunday that hero worship goes only so far.

Dodge won his first national age-group singles championship by surprising Olmedo, 6-4, 6-4, in the finals of the 55-and-over division of the U.S. Tennis Assn. National Hard Courts at Lindborg Racquet Club. Olmedo, the 1959 Wimbledon champion who now teaches tennis on the back yard court at his Encino home, had won the title the last two years.

“I just can’t play any better than that,” Dodge said. “I’m just happy it came in a match like this one.”

In the other singles final Sunday, Dick Johnson, a teaching pro at a country club in St. Louis, defeated Leland Housman, a heart surgeon from San Diego, in the 50-and-over division, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

But it was Dodge’s upset that stole the show. An architect from Piedmont, Dodge used a hard-hitting, aggressive style to stop Olmedo, who did not appear as sharp as he had earlier in the tournament.

“When he gets to a ball, he’s perfect with his shots,” Dodge said of Olmedo. “He just can’t run now the way he used to be able to. Fortunately, I hit the ball harder than some of the other players in this division, and I was able to run him around. I was able to take the game to him. I took some chances, because I didn’t want to get in a finesse game with him. He’s too good at that.”

Dodge said he respected the fact that Olmedo, 58, is still willing to play in events of this type against players with far less recognition than what Olmedo achieved as a touring pro.

“It’s nice of him to do it,” Dodge said. “Not too many guys who have done what he’s done would.”

When Olmedo was told that Dodge had called him “his hero” before the match, Olmedo laughed and said: “Well, why didn’t he let me win then?”

Olmedo said he was surprised by the strength of Dodge’s game. “He played very well today,” Olmedo said. “He served well, and he returned well. I probably rushed a little too much. I maybe should have stayed back more, but I didn’t know what to expect from him. I rely a lot on my serve and he returned it well. He played better than I expected him to.”

Olmedo was behind, 5-2, in the first set, then held serve and broke Dodge in the ninth game to make it 5-4, but Dodge broke back in the 10th game to win the set. The score was tied, 4-4, in the second set, but Dodge broke Olmedo in the 10th game to win the match.

In the 50s final, Johnson bounced back from losing the first set by using a more aggressive net game to take control of the match.

“He’s played in a lot of national tournaments, and that was a factor in his favor,” Housman said. “I may have gotten a little nervous in the third set, although I don’t think I did. He kept the pressure on me all the way by coming to the net. There was only one break in that last set, but he ended up getting it.”

Johnson said he tried to capitalize on Housman’s second serve by coming in.

It was the 20th USTA national championship for Johnson in the various age divisions. “But it’s the first one I’ve ever won outdoors,” he said. “I’ve always been primarily an indoor player. I was a pro at an indoor club in Rockford for several years, and we didn’t even have outdoor courts, so most of my experience is indoors.”

Johnson was happy to be playing in the relatively mild temperatures of Southern California compared to the heat and humidity in St. Louis. “It’s so nice here compared to the heat back there that you can lose in the first round and still have a nice trip,” he said.

Johnson and Dodge also claimed doubles titles later in the day. Johnson teamed with Jody Rush of Tumwater, Wash., to win the 50 doubles championship over Dick Leach of Laguna Nigel and Ken Stuart of Newport Beach, 6-3, 6-4. Dodge and his partner, Lenny Lindborg of Laguna Beach, defeated Jim Nelson of Irvine and Bob Duesler of Newport Beach in the 55 doubles, 1-6, 7-6, 7-6.