Photo by Nathan Gray

The Wachovia Palmetto Tennis Championships Finals were held on Monday morning at the Belton Tennis Center.

BELTON — A year after John Richmond let a singles title slip away, he made sure this one had little doubt.

Richmond, a Pawleys Island resident, won his second title in the Wachovia Palmetto Tennis Championships with a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the 16s singles championship against Spartanburg’s Hunter Harrington on Monday morning. Richmond’s strong serve helped him make up for sub-par groundstrokes, he said.

Richmond, the No. 2 seed, made sure Harrington, the No. 3, didn’t get back-to-back upsets after he dispatched of No. 1 seed Christopher Cox, the defending champion, in Sunday’s semifinals.

“He didn’t miss,” Harrington said of Richmond. “I made some mistakes missing at the net, but he overall didn’t miss at all. I missed some shots I should have made, but if I was going to get back in the match, I would need him to lose focus or get nervous.”

That didn’t happen. And when Richmond broke Harrington to go up 3-0 in the second set, the outcome was all but decided.

“A big relief,” said Richmond, who also has a 10s title. “I don’t want to get to the finals again and lose, so it’s a great relief.”

Harrington, who said after Sunday’s three-set triumph over Cox, that he’d need another near-flawless match to win the championship, added that he needed Richmond to falter at least some to have a chance.

“I realized I had to do something different or I was going to lose,” Harrington said. “I tried to attack his serve, but it didn’t really work that well. He made it not work.”

Added Richmond, “All I needed was one break and a good game to pull it off.”

While Richmond said Sunday that while he looked forward to a Belton title, he set his sights on bigger tournaments, like the Southern Closed, which he’ll play next.

“I’m definitely comfortable going in there,” he said. “Especially after this tournament.”

WELBORN FALLS IN 12S CHAMPIONSHIP

Ivey Welborn, an Anderson resident, fell in three sets to Charleston’s Ann Hay in the 12s singles championship on Monday. She was the only Anderson or Belton resident to reach any of the singles championship matches. Hay, the No. 2 seed, beat Welborn, the top seed, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.

LETT, PARKER REPEAT IN DOUBLES

Columbia’s Brent Lett and Anderson’s David Parker defended their title in the 12s doubles. The No. 1 seed, Lett and Parker won 6-1, 6-3 over Spartanburg’s Wood Benton and Summerville’s Adam Elliget. Parker, the No. 2 seed in the 14s singles, withdrew from the singles draw in the second round because of an Achilles injury.