Stefan Kozlov tossed his racket over the fence Sunday after his match with Eric Quigley at the Rebsamen Tennis Center.
Kozlov, 18, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., wasn't having a John McEnroe-type temper tantrum.
Instead, Kozlov sent the racket flying to a group of teenagers, which included members of his host family, to celebrate his 5-7 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (10) victory over Quigley in the championship of the Baptist Health Bolo Bash, a Futures event on the USTA men's Pro Circuit.
Kozlov, who won his third Futures singles championship this year, said the racket toss was a way of thanking his hosts, plus a chance to finally exhale after he survived six match points before finally putting Quigley away with a drop shot to end the three-hour, three-set match.
"That really was one of the toughest matches I've ever played," said Kozlov, the 225th-ranked player in the world. "Obviously, because I had to save six match points. He could have won the match, I could have won the match. Back-and-forth, back-and-forth. I was real lucky to win this match."
Quigley, 27, of Louisville, Ky., and the 308th ranked player of the year, had previously defeated Kozlov two years ago. He fought back from a 3-0 third-set deficit to lead 5-4 and looked ready for his second lifetime victory over the teen when he opened 4-0 and 6-3 leads in the tiebreaker.
Kozlov, who had survived two previous match points while down in games, 6-5, earlier in the set, won four consecutive points t0 go ahead 7-6 after Quigley's second double fault of the tiebreaker.
Kozlov had two chances to win at 7-6 and 8-7, but Quigley came through with winners both times to extend the match. Kozlov benefited from an unforced error to nip Quigley's final match-point attempt at 9-8. Another Quigley error left him down 11-10, leading Kozlov to give his cheering section one final fist pump before he hustled to convert a final drop shot to end the match.
"That's what he does so well," said Quigley, whose last two tournament losses have ended in tiebreakers. "He fights to the bitter end and never gives up until you're shaking hands.
"The third set I was kind of gassed and the legs weren't quite firing like they were earlier in the match. You just keep battling because you never know what can happen."
Kozlov had not lost a set in this week's tournament and broke serve to open the match. Quigley rallied from 2-0 down to get back on track, but Kozlov sent the set into a tiebreaker with an ace. The two were tied there 3-3 before Quigley ran off four consecutive points to win the set, which included him faking an overhead slam with a well-placed drop shot to take a 5-3 lead.
"I think I did that a little too much," Quigley said of his drop-shot attack. "He's got really good hands and I got into a finesse game a little too much. He's got the edge on that."
Quigley led 3-1 and 3-2 in the second set before Kozlov summoned a member of the tournament training staff while trailing 3-2. There was a 10-minute delay for Kozlov to have his neck and right shoulder worked on, and Kozlov got a service break to start a four-game run.
Kozlov ended up winning the set 6-3 thanks to finding his mark with deep corner baseline shots that left Quigley scurrying to track down.
"My neck and shoulder got a little tight there," Kozlov said. "The treatment helped. I just felt I had to dig deep because I knew how tough a match it was."
Prior to the singles championship, Ryan Lipman and Tennys Sandgen defeated Nick Chappell and Dane Webb, 6-3, 6-2, to win the doubles title.
Sports on 04/18/2016