The winners of the 2011 Midwest Open Series were crowned on August 21st at the Lindner Family Tennis Center during the final weekend of the Western and Southern Open.
While Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova claimed their trophies, top players from around the Midwest battled it out for their own trophies and prize money tournaments.
Women’s Singles
The women’s singles final pitted two former college players – Christina Keesey of Ohio State and Kelsey Kinnard of Xavier. After a quick first set won by Keesey, the second set was a battle of wills but Keesey ultimately took the set 7-5 to win the Women’s Singles Championship for the 2011 Midwest Open Series.
Women’s Doubles
The women’s doubles final matched a mom and daughter team versus a team comprised of another a 14-year old junior and an adult player.
Kelsey Kinnard along with her mother, Kathleen defeated the duo of Ty Ann Williams (Chicago) and Susan Witwer (Glenview, Ill.) in straight sets 6-0; 6-1.
Men’s Singles
The men’s singles saw Ohio State Tennis player Kevin Metka defeat former Southern Methodist University player Bryan Griffin 6-2; 6-2. Both players reside in Columbus, OH.
Men’s Doubles
The finals action of the 2011 Midwest Open Series Championships saw Gabe Higgs-Horwell of Columbus pair up with Kevin Metka where they went on to defeat the Toledo, OH team of Jerome Moenter and James Kaser.
The doubles championship was a three set thriller as Metka/Higg-Horwell won 6-4; 3-6; 6-1.
About the Midwest Open Series
011 marks the third year of the Midwest Open Series and the tournament has grown to include one additional men's event and two additional women's events. The Midwest Open Series provides an opportunity to highlight the finest men and women "open" level tennis players from throughout the Midwest, and has been patterned after the highly successful Olympus US Open Series. Players above the age of 14 may participate in the Midwest Open Series tournaments.
The Midwest Open Series has linked three existing and well-established tennis tournaments and two newly established tournaments within the USTA/Midwest Section to provide our Open Men and Open Women division players an opportunity to earn prize money. Players earn points from each tournament with the top eight point winners for men and women advancing to the Midwest Open Series Championship event to be played in conjunction with the Western & Southern Open at the Lindner Tennis Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In total, the Midwest Open Series will feature five singles and five doubles competitions for both men and women and will award over $20,000 in total prize money.