Miami Beach Tennis Tournament Takes Center Court

MIAMI BEACH, FL — The event may not have brought out the real-life Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Maria Sharapova, but everyone who participated in the North Shore Tennis Center's free doubles tournament over the weekend felt like tennis royalty for a day — or less than a day in some cases.

The Miami-Beach-owned facility drew some 26 teams for the Saturday tournament and blurred traditional tennis match-ups in favor of family and friendship.

"I think what’s unusual about this particular event is that everybody is mixing up with different partners," observed Martin van Dahlen, the center's director.

"You have fathers playing with their daughters. You have fathers playing with their sons, or mothers playing with their sons," van Dahlen told Patch. "You have friends playing with each other. You have older players playing with younger players."

The winners received trophies, but all of the players were treated to complimentary soft drinks, burgers and hot dogs.

Van Dahlen, who is the former director of player development for Finland's national program as well as the former national coach for the United States Tennis Association, said that he hopes to hold more free tournaments in the future.

"We wanted to do something fun for the community and for the members and the players that come here a lot to North Shore," he said.

"It’s really good for visitors. We did it in cooperation with the city."

Patch was also represented in the tournament, but purely in a non-competitive spirit of getting closer to the story.

The teams were divided into two levels — players rated 3.0 and above and those rated 3.0 and below. Players were on the honor system.

The winners were:

• Timothy Barrow and Elias Maggiolo in the 3.0 and above category.
• Alex Barta and Jason Taylor in the 3.0 and below category.

There was even a DJ at the event to help players find their groove.

The tournament was particularly special for Van Dahlen, who was also celebrating his birthday over the weekend.

"I don’t worry too much about my birthday," he said with a smile.

Visit mbtennisacademy.com for more information on the North Shore Tennis Center.

Photos by Paul Scicchitano