With summer vacation just around the corner, Cory Fleck took the opportunity to school his teacher.
Fleck officially marked his evolution from understudy to champion with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Jim Condon - his former coach - in the Prince George Tennis Club's Spring Fling advanced singles final Sunday morning.
Fueled by confidence gained a few days earlier when he beat Condon for the first time in an informal match at Prince George Tennis Club, the 27-year-old Fleck picked up right where he left off with another straight-set win. The hard-serving club pro had Condon on the run early and often in the first set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead.
"I felt I was hitting my shots the way I wanted to and I got a lot of first serves," said Fleck. "It helps me a lot that my second serve is on par with a lot of people's first serves in the tournament.
"He was playing well, that was probably the best both of us have played against each other, usually one of us is having an off-day. He gets a racquet on everything and it's hard to put a ball past him."
Urged on by an enthusiastic gallery doing the wave in the stands behind the court, a crowd that included his wife Emma and their 8 1/2-month old son, James, Condon was unable to muster a rally long enough to turn the tables on the six-foot-three Fleck, who continued to pile up points with his devastating first serve. His long limbs, speed and agility left him rarely out of position on his returns and he made Condon suffer the consequences.
A service ace gave Fleck a 5-0 lead in the second set but Condon avoided getting skunked, winning the next three games before he hit a backhander into the net on the second match point, which ended it.
"His first serves are hard to get back," said Condon. "It's tough because he changes it up. He'll hit a hard flat one that you can block and then will do a hard kicker and you have to actually swing a lot and if I have the wrong grip and read it wrong, that's when I start hitting the fence.
"The biggest difference this year is he's going for his shots a lot more. Before, he would slow his swing down. Now he's accelerating through the ball more and being a lot more consistent."
Condon was the coaching mentor for a teenaged Fleck and his fraternal twin brother Zach when they traveled to Kamloops for the 2006 B.C. Summer Games and came home with the men's double title.
Condon and Fleck have faced each other three times in tournament play. Including their friendly matches Condon has beaten him in five of their seven matches over the last three years, since Fleck made his return to competitive tennis. The first five matches all went to three sets.
"The biggest thing that's helped him this year is he's wanting to play more singles matches," said Condon. "I barely beat him two years ago in the tournament in three sets but he was tentative on a lot of shots and he probably double-faulted a dozen times This match he only double-faulted four times."
In the semifinals Saturday, Fleck defeated Thomas Tannert, 6-2, 6-3, while Condon beat Shawn Hegan 7-5, 6-2.
In the advanced singles consolation final, Sean Margison of Vanderhoof defeated Steve Laing 6-3, 6-3. Michal Sankiewicz won the intermediate singles tournament. Rick Devore and Darren Smit captured the advanced double championship, while Stankiewicz and Ben Pelto won the intermediate doubles event.
In pickleball, Rocky McKinley and Ralph Wood teamed up to win the men's doubles tournament; Jennifer Hidber and Jeany de Wit, both of Terrace, captured the women's double title; and the mixed title went to Rocky and Angelica McKinley.
Now that he's been crowned the king of the local courts with his win over Condon, Fleck is hoping that will help divert more business his way as the club's teaching pro. He's already been teaching more tennis lessons this year, working 25 hours per week at the club. During the off-season he became more dedicated to his off-court conditioning in the weight room and on the volleyball and squash courts and that's made him a better tennis player.
Fleck plans to enter the Sunshine Open in Kamloops in August and might travel to the Salmon Arm tournament in September. Next up for the 124-member Prince George club is the Prince George Citizen Open, June 28-30, followed by the Fall Wrap-up tournament, Sept. 6-8.
