Robert Duesler named to USA International Tennis Team

Michael Cooke

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) recently announced that Robert Duesler of Newport Beach, CA has been selected to play tennis for the USA Jack Crawford Cup team at the 28th ITF Seniors/ Super-Seniors World Team Championships being held October 12 – 18, in Antalya, Turkey. The United States will be defending championships in six of the 19 divisions at the Men’s and Women’s Senior & Super-Senior Championships. The American teams finished 1st or 2nd in 12 of the 19 divisions last year.

Other Crawford Cup team members are James Nelson – Palm Desert, CA, Herman Ahlers – Las Vegas, NV and Fred Farzanegan – Tampa, FL.

Robert Duesler ended the 2007 year ranked No. 1 in Men’s 70s in singles and doubles. This is Duesler’s third year in a row being named to the Crawford Cup Team. Robert has competed in many international senior events beginning in 1982 on the Dubler Cup Team in Athens, Greece. Since then he has traveled to play in Sweden, Austria, Turkey, Australia, Monaco, Spain and South Africa.

The Crawford Cup is a men’s 70 and over tennis competition. The nation’s top tennis players in age groups from 35 to 80 will compete against 38 countries around the globe. Last year the USA Crawford Cup team came in second when the competition was held in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The ITF Seniors/Super-Seniors World Team Championships is the most coveted team event on the ITF Seniors circuit. Since its inception in 1981, the number of competitors attracted to this event has increased year by year. In 1993, the ITF took the decision to divide the Seniors World Championships into two groups, Seniors for the younger veterans and Super-Seniors for the older players.

This year’s tournament boasts an all time record with over 1,000 players scheduled to compete for their respective title in each division. In all, there are 374 teams competing -- 225 teams in the Seniors division and 149 Super-Senior Teams. The Seniors (35-55) and Super-Seniors (60-80 for men, and 60-75 for women) World Team Championships are held yearly in countries all over the world. South Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States have each taken their turn hosting the Seniors and Super-Seniors World Championships.

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. It owns and operates the US Open, the largest annually attended sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 94 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. A not-for-profit organization with more than 725,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.