USTA 45-OVER CHAMPIONSHIP: CASTILLO TAKES TITLE TEXAN OUTLASTS SMITH AND 100-DEGREE HEAT.

Byline: Lauren Gustus Staff Writer

WESTLAKE VILLAGE - In a match that lasted 3 hours, 17 minutes, Sal Castillo defeated Tony Smith of Culver City to claim the 2003 USTA men's 45-and-over singles championship at the Westlake Swim and Tennis Club on a sweltering Friday afternoon.

Castillo outlasted Smith, who was unseeded, for the 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 7-5 victory. Both players were visibly fatigued due to the 100-degree temperatures and a weeklong march through a 128-player draw, but Castillo's run-and-chase game plan worked in the end.

``I'm not going to go away,'' Castillo said. ``If he beats me fast, it's because he played great tennis.''

In the third set, Castillo used a cross-court backhand winner to take a 6-5 lead into his service game. He needed just one match point to finish the long afternoon, a slice backhand that the 6-foot-3 Smith, who had approached the net, was unable to return. Castillo took the third set 7-5.

Castillo, a San Antonio, Texas, native who won the title in 2001, cruised in the second set. He broke Smith in the fourth game and failed to drop another game, winning 6-1.

``He broke me early and at that point I was demoralized,'' Smith said. ``I was thinking about the first set in the second.''

Smith used his height to his advantage, largely relying on a serve-and- volley game. The strategy worked in the first set, though it wasn't easy. He jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but Castillo scraped back to 5-5 and eventually forced a tiebreaker, which Smith won 7-5.

Both players knew they were in for a long day after the second game of the first set, which last more than 20 minutes. There were nine deuce points in the game, and Smith had six break points.

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Photo:

Sal Castillo, pictured, held off Tony Smith of Culver City in three sets to win the USTA men's 45-over singles title Friday at the Westlake Swim and Tennis Club.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer