Photograph by Kaufmann-Natale Photography
Why go to Flushing Meadows for the U.S. Open when there’s more intense championship tennis at Forest Park? September 1 through 6, smack in the middle of the better-known tournament, the 2009 U.S. Open USTA Wheelchair Championships run at Forest Park’s Dwight Davis Tennis Center.
“We’ve invited the world,” says Jim Dugan, co-founder of the competition’s local host, the Gateway Confluence Wheelchair Sports Foundation. “It’s an international championship, and this is its 30th year.”
So doesn’t wheelchair tennis require a lot of complicated rule changes? “Whoever’s using a chair gets two bounces,” Dugan says simply. “Oh, and a foot fault’s a wheel fault.”
He mentions a strong local contender in the lettered (not quite pro) division: “Brent Bicket. He’s a social worker; this is how he unwinds.” So we find Bicket, who spends hours wheeling around tennis courts like one of the Furies, slamming serves cross-court and arcing back for lobs...
You played wheelchair basketball on SIU Carbondale’s team. Why switch sports?
Basketball ran its course. I was totally focused on it for years.
What’s your favorite shot?
Forehand topspin. My backhand is a work in progress.
How do you handle high bounces?
Get back as deep as you can. But it’s a lot about recognition: You try to take the ball out before it gets too high.
What’s your overall strategy?
My biggest asset’s my speed. I get to a lot of balls.
How’s your serve?
Fourth or fifth match in a tournament, it gets good—and then it’s over.
