By J. Fred Sidhu, special to USTA.com
LA QUINTA, CALIF. – For the past two years, Juan Dekruyff of Austin, Texas, could not compete in USTA League Nationals due to family commitments. But when his Texas Section men’s team advanced to the Adult 40 & Over 4.5 National Championships at the La Quinta Resort & Club, he was determined to play.
The 46-year-old Dekruyff, one of three 5.0 players on the team, played brilliantly in the No. 1 singles position on Day 1, winning both of his singles matches in straight sets to lead his Austin-based Texas team to 4-1 victories over the Caribbean Section and Middle States Section teams.
The two singles victories on Friday would mark the end of Dekruyff’s appearance at the National Championships. Immediately afterward, he flew back to Austin so he could accompany his two children, 11-year-old Carter and 9-year-old Sophia, to a highly anticipated carnival Saturday at their local elementary school.
While Dekruyff said he was excited and happy to have had the opportunity to play in his first USTA National Championship, he was also a bit sad in having to depart after the first day of competition.
“It’s definitely disappointing not being able to finish out the weekend,” he said. “I feel we like we have a really good team and we could win Nationals this year.”
Despite the disappointment, Dekruyff said he looked forward to taking his children to the school carnival.
“They really love to participate and I’m going to volunteer,” he said. “We’re going to have a fun day and it’s a really big fundraiser for the school. They just love going and it’s the biggest school event of the year.”