Pugh Works Overtime to Win Two Doubles Finals

After winning the men’s doubles championship at the 37th annual Adoption Guild Charity Tennis Tournament on Sunday at the Newport Beach Tennis Club, Jim Pugh ate a cheeseburger, changed shirts, then teamed with Kathy May-Fritz to win a three-set marathon for the mixed doubles championship.

Pugh, once a member of the world’s top-ranked doubles team, teamed with Bruce Man Son Hing to beat Carlos Bustos and Bill Behrens, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), in the finals of the 6.5 men’s doubles division.

Thirty minutes after picking up his first trophy, Pugh was back on the court with May-Fritz to beat John Austin and Amy Frazier, 3-6, 7-6 (12-10), 6-4.

“I’m lucky I am playing doubles,” Pugh said after his first match. “I can’t remember the last time I played two matches in one day.”

Hing and Pugh traded service breaks with Bustos and Behrens in the first set, until Pugh hit a cross-court drop shot from the net, which broke the serve of Bustos and gave Pugh-Hing a 5-4 lead.

At 40-30, Hing drilled an ace down the middle of the court to give them the set.

“It was a close match,” Pugh said. “But we made the big points at the big times.”

In the second set, both teams held serve and went into a tiebreaker. Pugh and Hing dug themselves an early hole with unforced errors, enabling Bustos and Behrens to take a 4-1 lead.

“We tried to stay focused and positive while we were down,” Hing said. “It was only one mini-break, so we knew it wasn’t over.”

The two rallied to 6-4, when Pugh served an ace to the wide side of Behrens to end the set and match.

Pugh was again on center court, playing with May-Fritz, who with partner Jolene Watanabe, won the women’s open doubles division by default when the team of Danielle Scott and an injured Brandice Braverman retired after losing the first set.

Frazier was teamed with her year-round coach, Austin, who won the 35-and-over doubles championship with Chris Dunk, beating Mike Fedderly, a graduate of Corona del Mar High, and Donnie Visser, 7-6, 6-4.

Frazier and Austin came out sizzling. They broke the serve of May-Fritz to take a 3-1 lead and won the set, 6-3, on Austin’s serve to Pugh’s forehand, which he could not handle.

The second set went into a tie breaker, where Pugh and May-Fritz fought off four match points, before rallying to lead the tie-break, 11-10. May-Fritz blasted a serve which Frazier hit into the net to give Pugh and May-Fritz the set.

In the deciding set, Pugh and May-Fritz jumped out to a 5-2 lead, capitalizing on a pulled right calf muscle suffered by Frazier. Austin and Frazier attempted to rally, cutting the score to 5-4, but came up short.

“After the first set they picked up their intensity level,” Frazier said. “They had the momentum and they played good points.”