The regional one men's singles final at the Wairarapa closed tennis championships on Saturday won't feature much in the way of long rallies ... well, not if Luke Atkinson has his way.
The experienced Atkinson freely concedes his opponent and top seed Matt Spooner will have a "pretty major" advantage in fitness so he's quickly dismissed any thought of out-running him.
"I know which one of us will get tired first, and it won't be Matt," Atkinson quipped yesterday. "You've only got to compare the body size to work that one out."
Little wonder then that Atkinson is aiming to take a leaf out of the Marat Safin textbook, and overpower Spooner through brute strength. "I'll come out all guns blazing and just hope I don't run out of ammunition."
If Atkinson does manage to shoot enough holes in Spooner's game to secure what would be an upset victory it won't be the first time he has won the closed championships singles crown. His 1988 grand final win came over Peter Payne as an 18-year-old.