Mardyks Returns to Old Racket

Tired and sweaty, deep into the third set, Harvey Mardyks was discovering how it felt to be young again.

The former teaching pro from Camarillo has returned to tournament tennis in his late 40s, if only because his 14-year-old son, Adrian, has become a fixture on the Southern California junior circuit.

“One of the reasons I started playing again last year was that I wanted to feel that pressure,” Mardyks, 48, said. “It allows me to have a little more empathy for what he’s going through.”

Such desire landed Mardyks in a marathon match, a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) loss to Roy Rocero of Stockton on Tuesday in the second round of the USTA National Men’s 45 Hardcourt Championships at Westlake Tennis & Swim Club.

“Pretty tough,” Mardyks said.

The championships, which run through Sunday, have attracted 45-and-older competitors from across the nation. Play in the early rounds has followed form.

Most of the favorites, including top-seeded Wesley Jackson of Albuquerque, won in straight sets on Tuesday. Fourth-seeded Gene Malin of Woodland Hills defeated Eric Finkle of Eureka, Calif., 6-1, 6-4.

Not only did fifth-seeded Andrew Stanley of Westlake Village defeat Shannon Blackwell of Stafford, Texas, 6-4, 6-2, but he also took time to lament to spectators about the recent loss his beloved English soccer team suffered at the hands of Argentina in the World Cup.

“I used to get depressed about losing in tennis,” said Stanley, a native of England. “I didn’t think I could get so depressed about soccer. I’ve been sick all week.”

But the only tennis upset of the day came in another match when Kim Scholz of Yakima, Wash., beat sixth-seeded Dave Austin of Camarillo, 7-5, 7-6 (12-10).

Mardyks came into the tournament unseeded. Since his return to competitive tennis last year, the teacher-turned-businessman has tried to enter a tournament every other month.

That makes for a busy household. One month, he is traveling to Salt Lake City for a national indoor championship. The next month, Adrian is heading to Palm Springs for a junior tennis tournament.

“I’ll tell you one good thing about tennis,” said Kathy Mardyks, Harvey’s wife and Adrian’s mother. “Overall, it has strengthened their bond.”

But Adrian spent Tuesday training for a clay court tournament in Florida and couldn’t make it to his father’s match.

The elder Mardyks served at 5-4 in the third set but could not close out Rocero. For much of the afternoon he looked tentative, not letting loose with his serve-and-volley game.

“If Adrian were here, he’d tell me I was pushing [the ball],” Mardyks said. “Same thing I would have told him.”

Like father, like son.