O’Shaughnessey caps big day against Wilander

Becker O’Shaughnessey had a pretty good Wednesday.

The Stratford senior signed a tennis national letter-of-intent to play at Alabama in the morning and ended the day with a match against seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander.

While he did not win the match in front of a huge crowd at Idle Hour Club, O’Shaughnessey battled all the way to the end, losing a tiebreaker by the score of 10-5 after the two split the first two sets.

“I felt great early in the match,” said O’Shaghnessey, who won the first set 6-2. “Before we started playing, I really didn’t think I could win. I mean I started to think about it (Tuesday) night, and I got a little nervous. I was able to settle down once we got started, and I was playing well, but he just doesn’t get tired. He got stronger as the match went on, and I didn’t. He is really an amazing player.

“It was a great thrill to be on the court with him, though, and I think it was a great experience playing in front of so many friends who have always supported me.”

O’Shaughnessey did get rid of the nerves right away, as he served an ace on his first serve of the match. Wilander, who is 47 years old, found his groove early in the second set and never looked back. O’Shaughnessey has only been back on the court for the past two weeks after a knee injury.

Wilander, who travels all over the country promoting tennis through clinics and matches, said the adrenaline still kicks in when he is playing.

“Wilander on Wheels is something that I enjoy doing,” Wilander said of his program. “It’s all about getting out here and doing the clinics for the kids and even the older players and trying to improve their games. Once in a while, we play some matches, and they are usually doubles matches. But (Wednesday) was something special. I knew that Georgia was a great tennis state, but to have this many people out here to watch this it was really great. I just really wanted to compete and give the fans a good match, and Becker is a great player with a great future.

“Sure, I wanted to win, but it really wasn’t about winning. It was just about the tennis and making sure everyone had a good time.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "O’Shaughnessey caps big day against Wilander."