Tournament returns

Jordee Matson finally won the Scotia McLeod Mid Canada Open.

The 17-year-old tennis player competed at the 2011 tournament at the Thunder Bay Community Tennis Centre. The weekend long tournament, which started on Friday, had 70 players competing in both single and double matches.

It was a tough battle for Jordee who went up against 22-year-old Ali Bernst in the women’s open single finals Sunday. The two battled hard but ultimately Jordee came out the victor out of the three sets.

She said she struggled in the second set with the long rallies but was able to recover enough to comeback and beat Bernst.

“I feel pretty good,” Jordee said after her win. “This is my third or fourth try and now I finally won the women’s open. I got to the finals a few times but a number of really good players came a few years ago and they took the championship home.”

Jordee practiced a lot to prepare herself and she said she was glad she did. With the tournament over, she said she would like to earn a tennis scholarship so she could go to a university in the United States.

Tony Larson, 27, returned to the familiar courts after being away for six years and won the men’s open single finals.

“I feel really great, I was playing well the whole time and I love the courts,” Larson said. “I had some really tough opponents and they could have been really close matches but I was playing my best and was able to cruise through (the tournament). It’s actually kind of surprising.”

Larson said he`ll play in a few tournaments in the United States before he heads to Kennecott, Utah for the US Open National playoffs.

The tournament wasn’t held last year as the tennis courts went through some major renovations. Jamie Grieve, a manager at the tennis centre, said with all the work completed the results were well worth the wait.

“I think this tournament was really missed,” Grieve said. “I think this is the one tournament that gets everybody out. Because of the caliber of players that come from out of town, people make a point to come out to see this tournament. Always with a wait you are concerned what the response is going to be if players are going to remember or go someplace else.”