Bogdanovic Defends Shotgun 21 Title at Palisades Tennis Center

When Alex Bogdanovic woke up Sunday he still wasn't sure if he would play in the fourth annual Shotgun 21 World Championships at the .

The 27-year-old from Great Britain had lost to Tatsuma Ito of Japan in a grueling third-set tiebreaker the previous day during qualifying for this week's Farmers Classic at UCLA and later admitted he was "50-50" on whether to show up to defend his title.

He finally decided to give it a try, arriving 90 minutes before the start of the main draw, paying his $100 entry fee, then heading to the lower courts to warm up. When it ended five hours later, Bogdanovic had won the first-to-21 points, drop-hit unisex tournament for the second year in a row, defeating fellow ATP Tour veteran Michael Russell 21-18 in the final. 

"Last night I still wasn't sure... I made the decision this morning," Bogdanovic said about playing Sunday. "It's great to be back here but it was harder this year, for sure. From the first match on, it was a real struggle. All of these guys are good."

The finalists slugged it out from the baseline for the first 20 points, with Bogdanovic leading 11-9 at the changeover. He stretched his lead to 20-15, but Russell saved three championship points before hitting long on the fourth--ending an entertaining day of tennis at the courts off Alma Real Drive.

"I know Michael's game well and without the serve you really have to work for it," said Bogdanovic, who left with the winner's share of over $7,500 in cash and prizes. "I honestly wasn't expecting to win again. Towards the end, I was puffing pretty good ... you have a lot of long points."

The stiff competition prepared Russell well for the Farmers Classic, as he outlasted sixth-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov, 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-2, on Monday night in the first round of the ATP's Los Angeles event.

In the semifinals of Sunday's Shotgun 21, Russell defeated 2009 champion and 2010 finalist Vince Spadea, 21-16.

"This is my first time playing this and it's an awful lot of running, but I really like the concept because groundstrokes are my thing," Russell said. "Ten years ago, it favored my game, but now at [age] 33, I'm not so sure. This gives new meaning to the term baseline game."

Shotgun 21 is the brainchild of PTC owner and Steve Bellamy, who is always looking for ways to generate more interest in the sport that he, his wife Beth, and their four boys all play.

"The level of tennis on the court today was unparalleled," Bellamy said after serving as the chair umpire for Sunday's final match. "I've come to realize after four years of watching this that taking the serve out of the game allows players to get more out of themselves and perform at a higher level. The serve is like the knockout punch. Take it away and you get to see a lot more boxing."

Spadea is no stranger to Shotgun 21. He beat Ramon Delgado in the final to win it two years ago and finished runner-up to Bogdanovic in the third annual tournament last July. After being eliminated Sunday, Spadea stuck around to play a couple of "20-on-1" games against the PTC's top juniors.

"I look forward to this, it's more of a survival game, said Spadea, who turned 37 on July 19 and has been ranked as high as 18th in the ATP rankings. "Not being able to serve overhand handicaps you and forces you to think of other ways to win. There aren't many missed feeds, so you have to hit a ton of balls and play a lot of games without much rest in between. Fatigue was definitely a factor."

ATP Tour player Phillip Simmonds, advanced to the semifinals where he lost 21-17 to the eventual champion. Along the way, though, he played the most thrilling match of the afternoon, beating Alexander Sandor 21-20 with an overhead winner on the final point.

"It's fun, but I serve and volley a lot, so this really kills my game," joked the 25-year-old Simmons, who is ranked 400th in the world rankings. "It definitely makes for longer rallies, though."

Former USC standout and three-year WTA Tour player Maureen Diaz has participated in all four Shotgun 21 events and enjoys the challenge of competing against men in singles. She has lost in the second round each of the last two years, falling 21-11 to Spadea on Sunday.

"Yeah, I felt good out there and it was 10-10 before he pulled away," said the 29-year-old Diaz, who teaches at nearby Riviera Country Club. "Even though there's no serving the guys hit so big and we girls can only last so long."

Bogdanovic was given a scare in his quarterfinal match against 15-year-old Deiton Baughman, who trains at Home Depot Center in Carson and is among the top ranked boys in the 18s in Southern California. 

"I lost 21-17, but it was a great experience and it helps my game not having to face a big server like John Isner," Baughman said. "I played two years ago when I was 13 and lost in qualifying but I've improved a lot since then."

Sunday's draw was was full of past and current pros and top collegiate players like UCLA's Clay Thompson, who had lost his qualifying match at the Farmers Classic the day before. The former PTC junior lost to Simmonds 21-16 in the quarterfinals Sunday but in 2009 he came within one point of reaching the final, losing to 21-20 to Spadea, and he lost to Bogdanovic in the semifinals last year.

"I love the team [at UCLA] and I think we're going to be really strong next season," said the 19-year-old Thompson, who enjoyed a stellar freshman season in Westwood. "Shotgun 21 is great. It's fast-paced and I've done pretty well here. I've never played him [Simmonds] before so I didn't know what to expect."

Also in the main draw were Palisadian actor and former pop star Josh Morrow, who plays Nicholas Newman on The Young and the Restless, and actor and former tour professional Vince Van Patten, who was named the ATP's Rookie of the Year in 1979 and reached the third round of the U.S. Open in 1982 and 1983. 

"Los Angeles is one of the few places in the world where you can get away with this," Bellamy said in reference to the caliber of players in the tournament. "We had the same level of talent as you'll see at an ATP event right here in our little public park."