Bloodlines battle between lines

Rick Devereux

Stanley Quade can rush the net and deliver an overhand smash. He can

backpedal and handle a lob. He can also race to the sideline to

return a shot from his opponent.

His tennis skills remain strong, especially when you consider he

is 73 years old.

“I think it’s the best sport going because it’s inexpensive and

you can play it at any skill level,” he said after his first-round,

6-1, 6-2, victory Friday with his son Eric at the United States

Tennis Association Father-Son doubles tournament at the Newport Beach

Tennis Club. “You get exercise within an hour or two when you play

tennis. When I looked at all the team sports, I said tennis was the

best for a life-long activity.”

The tournament, which features two divisions, showed how tennis

can be a lifelong activity. The senior division is for fathers no

younger than 60 years old and the super senior division is for

fathers no younger than 70. The tournament, now in its 10th year,

brings together some of the best age-group players in the nation.

William Lurie Sr., 91, is the oldest competitor in the tournament.

He has played in Europe for Team USA in the seniors division and his

reputation as an elder statesman for the game has earned other teams’

respect.

Newport Beach resident Tom Farinola-Paul and his father Jerry Paul

faced Lurie Sr. and William Lurie Jr. in the opening round and

changed their strategy because of Lurie Sr.

“We respect Mr. Lurie and we tried to hit to the son, even though

the son hits pretty hard,” Paul said after their 6-3, 6-4 win.

Hitting to the son runs counter to the game plan of most teams in

the tournament.

“Basically, the general rule of thumb at the father-son is, you

play the ball to the father as much as you can,” Eric Quade, a

Newport Beach resident, said. “It’s pretty common knowledge,

especially as the rounds go further, that the fathers have to really

handle a lot of balls.”

With shots flying at the elder partners, it is not uncommon to see

the sons “steal” shots clearly reachable by their dad.

“It’s not like mixed [doubles],” Farinola-Paul said. “In mixed,

the woman gets angry if you take off and go after her shot. But in

father-son, it’s like, ‘Go get it son. I don’t want to chase after

it.’ ”

The relaxed atmosphere does not mean the participants don’t want

to win.

“You always play to win, but it’s not the most important thing,”

Eric Quade said. “[This tournament] is a great thing to do on

Father’s Day. What other activity or sport can you actually go out

and do things with your father and actually compete?”

Stanley Quade enjoys the tournament because it is a way to keep in

touch with Eric, who is also the director of tennis for the Racquet

Club of Irvine.

“I just want to keep close to my son and his tennis,” the elder

Quade said.

Both Farinola-Paul and Paul share the Quades’ sentiments regarding

the chance to spend quality father/son time together. Farinola-Paul

said he hopes to play in the event with his son, Alex, in the future.

“It’s the camaraderie,” Farinola-Paul said. “It’s being able to

pass the memories down to my kids. For me, that’s the biggest joy of

[this tournament].”

The Quades, seeded No. 3 in the super seniors, will play Gene and

Guy Nash today at 12:30 in quarterfinals. The semifinals are

scheduled for today at 3:30.

The finals are Sunday.

Farinola-Paul and Paul lost to No. 2-seeded David Dandel and his

dad, Ron Tonidandel, 6-0, 6-0, in Friday’s second round.