Following his semifinal match at the 2016 Houghton Boston Tennis Classic in Saskatoon, Philip Bester admitted that it would be strange to face his good friend and doubles partner Peter Polansky in the final.
After beating Polansky 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to capture the title, he repeated the sentiment.
“Obviously as a competitor you try and put everything aside as much as possible, and we knew going into it that we were just going to do battle and after the match we’re still going to be buddies, but sure, it definitely has a weird feeling to it,” he said.
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Bester earned his spot in the final by beating Australian Blake Mott in the semis, while Polansky booked his ticket with a victory over Edan Leshem of Israel.
The final marked the first time in the Canadians’ careers that they faced each other with a championship on the line.
“You don’t want to be playing against your good buddy and somebody from your own country because at the end of the day there’s only one winner,” Bester said.
“But we understand and we’re professional enough that we both know we’ve put in extremely hard work and one of us will deserve to win at the end of the day and that’s just the way it is.”
Both players showed a lot of spirit after a long week of tennis that also saw them team up to win the tournament’s doubles championship.
Sunday’s final lasted a tidy one hour, 54 minutes, with just one service break in each of the three sets. Bester converted two of four break point chances while Polansky was just one-for-eight on his break opportunities.
“The key for me was to really hang in there and dig deep. I knew that both of us were physically and mentally very tired. It’s been a long couple weeks and I knew it was going to come down to a couple points here and there,” Bester said.
“I tried to make some adjustments and do some different things and I feel that I got fortunate and did the right things to get the win.”
The victory is Bester’s first in three head-to-head meetings with Polansky all-time.