Thomas Stillman Impresses at the 2008 HEB Summer Tennis Classic
Just like Thomas the Tank Engine, Thomas Stillman would come into his own at the 2008 HEB Summer Tennis Classic. "He's a kid I see playing here every day. I mean, we all knew he was good; but to see him play in an actual tournament...he's so mature! You can see him thinking and really playing smart.", said one by-stander. "He's too
tough to call him "The Tank Engine", said the by-stander's wife, "maybe you should just call him "tank" 'causehe runs over everybody." And here I thought that I was the one good at coming up with nicknames. Thomas "The Tank" Stillman. Hmm...
Thomas Stillman would live up to his new nickname. Mowing down the competition like a Bradley Assault Vehicle, Stillman would stand alone and victorious at the end of the day, every single day. Stillman not only reached, but he won the finals in both the men's open singles and men's open doubles divisions. That's not an easy thing to do, especially with the south Texas summer heat beating down on you on the third day of the tournament. But, I get ahead of myself.
I saw Stillman's first match on the first day. It was against Warren Prescott. Prescott would come into the tournament as the oldest competitor at over 70 years old; but you can ask anyone, he will run you around the court until your legs are gone and your lungs are on fire. Ninety nine percent of Prescott's shots were hit
with incredibly low bouncing underspin. Many players have succumbed to Prescott due to not being accustomed to this kind of play. He is like the Fabrice Santoro of the Harlingen Tennis Center. Nobody else plays like that. Stillman, unlike most, was quickly able to detect the flaws in Prescott's game and played agressively by attacking every short and semi-short ball with his powerful ground strokes. He even rushed the net on his return of serve in almost every return game. After the first couple of games, I picked him to be a finalist.
I went about taking pictures of the other players on the other courts. Eventually, I returned to the Stillman/Prescott match to see how they were doing. They had just finished and Warren Prescott was sitting down putting up his rackets. He had the misfortune of having faced the eventual tournament champion in the first round. I asked him how it went, hoping to be of some solace yet having to do my job. "How did you do, Warren?", I asked. "I lost in straight sets", he said with a dejected tone. "I knew I wouldn't beat him, but I just didn't expect him to play the way he played. He just has too much offense....just too much offense. He never gets tired either".
Stillman would go on to defeat all of his opponents in straight sets. In fact, he didn't lose a set until he faced Edward Martinez in the finals. Martinez is a player that we all saw grow up in our very own Harlingen Tennis Center. We remember the progress that he made, and now he returns from college to prove he has kept on improving. He has. "It's gonna be Edward and Thomas in the finals, Jorge! This is going to be a good match to watch", belted Don VanRamshort - Tournament Director and director of the Harlingen Tennis Center. He was right.
My wife and I settled in with both cameras and began taking pictures and video coverage of the 
match. Over and over, we found ourselves taking several breaks because we were so hypnotized by the action taking place not ten feet from us. Edward Martinez came out guns blazing hitting powerful forehands that backed up Stillman way behind the baseline. Stillman would persevere and kept hitting strong, hardshotsof his own. Back and forth they would throw combinations worthy of 
any boxing prize fighter. Several"can openers" (where the server serves theopponent out wide then hits into the open court) were thrown. Martinez began to throw short slices to Stillman's forehand bringing up just in then hitting deep to hisbackhand side on the next shot. The fight and the heat was intense until Stillman won the fist set. In the second set, a few unforced errors and short balls hit by Stillman would give Martinez the second wind that he sorely needed. He blasted and blasted forehands at Stillman's backhand. Slowly Stillman's defenses would crumble under Martinez' assorted onslaught. Martinez took the second set.
On the change over, I could hear the audience asking each other if they were going to play our the third set or if they were going
to play a tie-breaker. "This ain't senior USTA league, brother!", retorted one person; "They have to play the whole thing out!". To the delight of the audience that wanted to see more great tennis, Martinez and Stillman breathed and thought deeply then took to the battlefield. One tennis samurai on one side, the other tennis samurai on the other. You almost didn't want it to start for fear that it would have to end. Some didn't even know who to cheer for. Even the children that can get unruly at times, settled down to watch the match. The audience would be still and quiet in reverance of the tennis martial arts mastery before them. The heat would play a factor, some think, in Martinez' demise. Stillman countered Martinez' big first serve with forehand slices deep into the corners. Moreover, his legs endured, getting him to most points with plenty of time to set up and wail his mighty sword at his worthy opponent. Martinez would revert to running around his backhand and hitting powerful forehands; however, as small as the target was, Stillman still found Martinez' backhand and sent a barrage of missiles 
until it caved in. Stillman took the match and the championship. He could have jumped around. He could have yelled "Yeah, baby!". He could have done a lot of celebrating, but he didn't. He humbly walked up to the net and in the tradition of the gentleman that our sport was built upon, he shook Martinez hand. I rushed up and took their picture and a few of Stillman and I almost had to beg him to give me a fist pump. He finally did, and I captured the happiness of winning the tournament. It was there for only a moment, then it faded to humbleness as quickly as it came. Aren't all the great champions like that? Wasn't Bjorn Borg like that? Isn't Roger Federer like that? Thomas Stillman is the 2008 Summer Tennis Classic Champion, and he is a great and impresssive champion indeed.
Thomas Stillman - 2008 Men's Summer Tennis Classic Champion
Click here for the Championship post-match interview with Thomas Stillman!
Related Articles: The 2008 Summer Tennis Classic! , Post-Match Championship Interview
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