Reading Native Wins Tennis Championship in South Africa

Johannesburg has been good to Reading native James Cerretani.

Having won his first Association of Tennis Professionals Tour doubles title in the South African metropolis back in 2009, Cerretani clinched his second title in the same venue this weekend, partnering with Adil Shamasdin of Canada to defeat the top seeded pairing of Americans Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 in the final of the SA Tennis Open.

“It’s just a very emotional moment for me,” said Cerretani. “It’s really special because I haven’t won since I was last here, and to do that with my best friend is amazing.”

Playing against a far more seasoned team, Cerretani and Shamasdin were able to trade service holds with Lipsky and Ram in the early stages of the first set. Fighting off the attacking style of the American pair, Cerretani saved three break points on his serve at 3-3 to give he and Shamasdin a 4-3 lead.

A pair of dipping returns from Cerretani on Ram’s next service game set up winning volleys from Shamasdin, giving the American-Canadian duo a 5-3 lead. Shamasdin finally began to feel the pressure of competing in his first ATP Tour final, going down 0-40 on his serve. However, a series of strong serves got them back to deuce, and an ace down the middle wrapped up the opening set.

“I didn’t feel all that nervous, but it probably looked that way to everyone else out there,” said Shamasdin. “That’s the mark of our team though. When our backs are against the wall, we’re able to produce our best stuff.”

Serving down 0-1 in the second set, Cerretani began to rush on his serve, throwing in a pair of double faults to give Lipsky and Ram an early 2-0 lead. The Americans rode the break of serve all the way through to the second set, setting up a 10 point match tiebreaker to decide the championship.

An overhead winner from Lipsky gave the Americans a commanding 3-0 lead, but Cerretani and Shamasdin saved their best tennis for the end of the match. With both players hitting a series of fantastic reflex volleys over the next several points, they managed to level the tiebreaker at 3-3.

Feeling the pressure of the occasion, Lipsky hit a double fault to send his team down 6-5, but Shamasdin threw in a double fault one point later to tie the match back up.

Three points later, Shamasdin redeemed himself with a forehand volley winner to send the American-Canadian pair up 8-7. On their first match point, Cerretani hit a second serve ace to clinch the championship.

“We were down by quite a bit in the tiebreaker, but we found a way to make them hit that extra ball and that’s what turned it around for us,” said Cerretani.

Cerretani competed in 38 events last year, more than any other player on the ATP Tour. His best results came on the challenger circuit, the equivalent of the minor leagues in baseball, where he won two titles and reached the finals at six other events. 

The win in Johannesburg will lift Cerretani from No. 78 to No. 66 in the ATP World Tour doubles rankings.