Today was a monumental day for local tennis and University of Virginia fans as former Cavaliers Treat Huey and Dom Inglot won the CitiOpen doubles final in Rock Creek Park. Huey was drafted by the Washington Kastles during the last week of the WTT season and was put in a particularly tough spot. He was there to help the Kastles win their final matches and remain undefeated for a second straight season after Leander Paes, Anastasia Rodionova and Venus Williams left for the Olympics. He helped get that unlikely job done, and then a week later, wins his hometown pro tournament. Huey grew up just a few nautical miles down the Potomac from the annual DC ATP event. Here he is on his exciting few weeks in DC tennis, his childhood memories of the tournament and his no-shave rule.

After getting called up by the Washington Kastles to help improbably defend a second perfect regular season and then winning your hometown tournament, is there anyone in Washington who’s had a better month than Treat Huey?

It’s been an unbelievable experience. It’s been a lot of fun coming to play with the Kastles here in D.C. It was a lot of fun. I want to thank Mark (Kastles Owner Mark Ein) for picking me and playing with Bobby. I know Bobby pretty well. And it’s a great experience to come in here and play the tournament. I grew up in Washington and I’ve been coming to this tournament since I was a little kid. Dom and I had a tough week, but it’s always a lot more fun when you win.

Any particular players or matches you liked as a kid?

I liked Blake and Agassi and Tommy Haas a bunch. Seeing Tommy Haas do really well this week has been a lot of fun. As a kid, I don’t know what year it was, but Blake played Agassi one year and was absolutely on fire. It was pretty bad. I don’t remember what the score was, but I remember Blake was hitting winner after winner everywhere on the court. Absolutely packed house. Winners everywhere. That was one of my highlights. I still remember it today.

What’s with the facial hair. Is it a good luck charm?

Dom and I started a week ago. We shaved. Once a tournament starts, we’ll never shave until the tournament is over. That’s something we’ve always done, and I think that’s something we’ll always be doing.

 

–S. Fogleman