Experience lifted Philip Bester on Saturday.
The Canadian tennis player came back from a 5-3 deficit in the second set to force a tiebreaker and went on to defeat American Jared Hiltzik 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the semifinals Saturday of the USTA Futures Bolo Bash at Rebsamen Tennis Center in Little Rock.
Saturday’s results
At Rebsamen Tennis Center
Little Rock
Singles semifinals
(5) Philip Bester, Canada def. Jared Hiltzik, USA 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-2
(4) Brayden Schnur, Canada def. (6) Eric Quigley, USA 6-1, 7-5
Today’s schedule
Singles final
(5) Philip Bester, Canada vs. (4) Brayden Schnur, Canada, 1 p.m.
Doubles final
(2) Philip Bester, Canada and Ante Pavic, Croatia vs. (1) Luke Bambridge, Great Britain and Gavin Van Peperzeel, Austria, 15 minutes after the singles final
Bester, 28, advanced to today's championship, where he'll face fellow countryman Brayden Schnur, at 1 p.m. Bester is also in the doubles final, teaming up with Croatia's Ante Pavic against Luke Bambridge of Great Britain and Gavin Van Peperzeel of Austria at noon.
Bester, ranked No. 383 in this week's ATP Tour rankings, lost the first set and was on the verge of losing to Hiltzik, 22, who won last weekend's USTA Futures tournament in Memphis. But Bester came back from the 5-3 deficit to win 7-5 in the second-set tiebreaker.
In the third set, it was all Bester.
Bester jumped out to a 3-0 lead and cruised to a 6-2 victory.
"Honestly, I just wanted to continue fighting," Bester said. "At my age, I have a few years of experience on the tour, and I know it takes a lot to close a match out, especially at this stage of the tournament.
"I knew he [Hiltzik] had played a lot of matches over the past few weeks. He had won last week, and he had some long matches this week. It was just a matter of fighting and making him earn it."
Since turning professional in 2004, Bester has won nine Futures singles titles in four countries -- the United States, Canada, France and Italy. But he has not won on the USTA Futures Tour since 2011, when he won in Chico, Calif.
Bester, the No. 5 seed in the Bolo Bash, has defeated Christopher Haworth in the first round, Ryan Shane in the second round and No. 2 seed Calvin Hemery in the quarterfinals before eliminating Hiltzik on Saturday.
Last week in Memphis, Bester advanced to the semifinals, losing to Takanyi Garanganga in straight sets. Now, he's in the finals in Little Rock for the first time.
"I feel pretty good, but I'm a little beat up, as anyone would be," Bester said. "I've played 16 matches in two weeks. So, I'm going to do everything I can to regenerate, to recover for tomorrow. Tomorrow is the final, so you just lay it all out on the line."
Today will be the third time in Bester's career he's played a singles and a doubles final on the same day. He's not concerned with the schedule, saying he's embracing the opportunity.
"I know what to expect," Bester said. "It's going to be a tough day. But at the end of the day, it's two finals. It's a celebration. You just give it all you got.
"You prepare any other way you would. I'll just maximize more on fluids and be as ready as I can physically."
Sports on 04/16/2017