Battle of wills

Quebec’s geography is gorgeous enough to seduce almost anybody. I’m not shy to admit that the Laurentians region scenery is one at the top of my list of all-time favorites, especially in the fall: The vast exuberance of the trees against the mountains is superb. The palette of colors, from pale yellows to furious red that one can enjoy is simply breathtaking. Add to this, pink dyed clouds at sunset and you would have known the actual meaning of paradise on Earth.

But the Laurentians not only have a fantastic emplacement, also has one of the nicest tennis clubs in the “Belle Province”, Tennis Interclub in Piedmont, just meters from St-Sauver. The club offers the players both indoor and outdoor courts in order to enjoy tennis no matter the weather.

This past September, Lucien Desmarais organized another round of the Quebec Tennis Veterans tour at this location.

Among the contenders in the 40+ category, we found the tough Brazilian Felipe Heck, Jeff Salhany a former pro player, some of the local guys like Steve Baribeau, the always present Marc Boivin, and others.

“They will chase every ball, they will grunt, spit, and charge back until you kill them… twice to earn the point.”

Jeff Salhany

Felipe started as usual showing determination and good tennis knocking down David Descôteaux and later on Pierre-Alain Dubois, a massive guy that likes to strike the tennis balls as if they were some kind of grenades, both in straight sets.

On the bottom part of the draw Jeff took care of Martin Roberge in 2 sets and then went on to stop a late charge from Marc Boivin, the second seeded by 6-1, 7-5.

Once again Felipe would face Jeff. I believe it was in Valois 2013 that they played for the first time with a tight victory for the Canadian. Both Salhany and Heck are probably two of the most die-hard players you can find in our age category. To beat any of them one has to commit to the end and beyond. They will chase every ball, they will grunt, spit, and charge back until you kill them… twice to earn the point.

Never played Jeff, but did hit a few times with Felipe and I remember leaving the court pretty tired. Jeff has great technique as he’s also part of the Great Base Initiative. Clean shots and ball acceleration are his trademarks.

This clash would again prove to be another classic with both contenders hitting and creating diabolic angles to outlast the enemy. Felipe took the first set, and by the same token Jeff tied in the second. The third set was truly a battle of wills; they kept hitting the ball until one of them eventually run out of ammo. This time Felipe was the one that had to surrender. Final score: 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 for Jeff Salhany class 70, back to the winners circle.

Congrats to Jeff. See you in the hunt.

Yours,

IRON GAUCHO