Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 11/30/24
The WPH hosted the one-day, 3-Wall Singles TurkeyBreaker on Thanksgiving Weekend featuring Race 4 Eight pros David Fink, Shorty Ruiz, Ivan Burgos, Ayden Brule, and Alberto Pizano. The Turkeybreaker was the twenty-sixth Icebreaker since the inception of the WPH Icebreaker Series in March of 2020 and first over Thanksgiving Weekend.
Top-seeded David Fink advanced to the final by defeating rising star Alberto Pizano, who defeated Brule in two close games in the quarterfinals. Pizano’s power, kills, and unorthodox style befuddled the five-time Icebreaker champion, as Pizano built leads in both games. “Alberto handled serves and shots that normally yield setups and errors with ease, blasting the ball with power and depth from everywhere on the court with either hand,” stated Fink.
Fink overcame a 7-10 first-game deficit and a 6-9 second-game deficit by playing more aggressively to advance to the final in the upper bracket.
In a rematch of the 2023 USHA 3-Wall Nationals quarterfinals won by Ivan Burgos, Burgos validated his win against 3-Wall great Shorty Ruiz, taking control of the match at 12-12 in the first to score thirty of the final thirty-four points of the match to meet Fink in the final.
Fink and Burgos opened the match with several fifteen+ shot rallies, with both playing high and deep. “I was tired at 3-2 in the first game but I knew the rallies would not continue to be that grueling,” Fink would later say.
Fink started scoring points in bunches with a short crack serve to the left, cracking the ball out on the side wall just inches past the short line with Burgos unable to scramble from the back line to return the serves. “I just had the right feel on the short crack serve today,” Fink said. “Some days I can’t get it over, but today I was striking the ball really well.”
Fink’s serve allowed him to control the center of the court, giving him opportunities to fly kill, drive balls down the wall, and hitting power ceilings to keep Burgos on defense. With the two-game sweep, Fink won his record-tying sixth Icebreaker title, tying him with Lucho Cordova.
“I played about as well as I’ve ever played today,” stated Fink, who won the Men’s Open singles Turkey Tennis Open title on the other side of the handball courts last weekend to complete the “Turkey Slam.” “Next up is the Hanukkah Slam in mid-December.”
Semifinals
Fink def Pizano 15-10, 15-9
Burgos def Ruiz 21-12, 21-4
Final: Fink def Burgos 21-7, 21-3
Watch the Turkeybreaker finals on Braulio Ruiz’s Facebook page HERE
Big Ball Doubles Round Robin Champions: Alberto Pizano/Jesus Avila
Thank you to the WPH for another great Icebreaker at Clark Park and thank you to all of the players for competing on Thanksgiving Weekend.
Enter the December 14-15 3-Wall Icebreaker HERE
