Day three of the 101st American Tennis Association (ATA) National Championships, hosted by the USTA National Campus, was an action-packed one. While nearly all of the junior and adult draws (singles, doubles and mixed) began play, Monday was highlighted by Rodney Carey (Lake Park, Fla.) and Isabelle Porter (Jupiter, Fla.) picking up the open singles titles.

The women’s open singles final was contested first. Both Porter and Aysha Hayes (Pinole, Calif.) entered the championship match having not dropped a set. After a pair of easy holds to start things off, the power game of Porter took over. She used her big serve to earn free points and heavy groundstrokes to put pressure when returning. The score quickly moved to 5-1 in favor of the Floridian, and after a hold of serve by Hayes, Porter claimed the opening frame 6-2.

It appeared Porter might race through the second set 6-0 after she won 12 of the first 14 points for a 3-0 advantage. However, a temporary lapse (including her first double fault) gave back one of the breaks to Hayes to trim the margin to 3-1. Porter reset in a hurry, striking right back in the next game and then consolidating the double break lead for 5-1. Hayes put up as much resistance as she could muster, holding at love and creating an opening for herself at 15-30 with Porter serving for the match. That would be the end of the road, with Porter rattling off the last three points for the 6-2, 6-2 triumph.

The clash of the top two seeds in the men’s open singles draw lived up to its billing. Evenly matched from the very start, No. 1 Jordan Harrell (Lithonia, Ga.) and Carey were locked in a number of extended baseline rallies, using all parts of the court. It was Harrell who had his back up against the wall in the very first game, needing to save a break point before holding. After inching in front 2-1, Harrell drew first blood by breaking in a game that lasted 12 points. Carey maintained contact until 4-2, when Harrell held at love and followed that up with an easy break to close out the set, 6-2.

Set two began with the two competitors looking very comfortable on serve. The tides turned rapidly from there, with Harrell surrendering his serve for the first time only to get the frame back on even terms with a break at 15. The 3-3 game would end up being the critical turning point. Top-seeded Harrell fired two aces and threw in three double faults in the back-and-forth 20-point game – which included three game and six break points. Eventually, Carey broke and was able to steady himself on his next service game after slipping behind 0-30; Carey held for 5-3 and earned a second break to wrap up the set when Harrell double faulted on set point.

With a match tiebreak being played in lieu of a full third set, the match still hung in the balance even with Carey looking the stronger of the two. After Harrell reached back to hit an ace for a slim 4-3 lead, Carey strung together the next six points to grasp full control. On his second match point, Carey came out the victor 2-6, 6-3, 10-5.

Full replays of the two open singles finals can be watched on the USTA's YouTube page.

Harrell was able to put the singles loss behind him to join forces with James Jackson (Clarksdale, Miss.), as the duo won the men's open doubles title by defeating Carlos Baez (Manati, P.R.) and Fidel Serrano (Dorado, P.R.). In the women's open doubles championship tilt, Rishona and Chacadyah Lewis (Lake Worth, Fla.) claimed the trophy thanks to their 6-0, 6-3 result over Aysha and Azaria Hayes.

Match play continues on Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. with both junior and adult divisions in action.

For more information on the 2018 ATA National Championships, click here. To learn more about the history of the ATA, click here.

The ATA was born on November 30, 1916, when representatives from over a dozen black tennis clubs met in Washington, D.C., with the goal of promoting black tennis in America. The organization held the first ATA National Championships at Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park in August of the following year; the tournament featured three total draws – men’s singles, women’s singles, and men’s doubles.

The ATA, which is the oldest African-American sports organization in the United States, has produced a number of the world’s top players and coaches. Most notably among these are Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe, the first African-Americans to be ranked No. 1 and to win grand slam titles. Others to grow up training at ATA-affiliated clubs and participating in ATA events include current USTA Chairman of the Board and President Katrina Adams, Zina Garrison, Leslie Allen, Lori McNeil, Chanda Rubin and MaliVai Washington.