Chris Farmer was looking for a family tennis experience when he stumbled upon the USTA's National Family Tennis Championships, a relatively new doubles tournament in which the team members must be related.
So Farmer, 52, and his daughter Sophie, a 16-year-old junior at Eden Prairie, entered a local qualifier in May.
"Our expectations were really just to play together," Farmer said. "We didn't look too far ahead."
The Farmers finished second in the local event, but were selected to play in the regional tournament in Kansas City in July when the winners could not make the trip. They finished second in that tournament, too, good enough to send them on an expenses-paid, four-day trip to New York for the finals. They leave Friday.
In addition to playing at least three matches at John McEnroe's tennis complex on Randall's Island, the Farmers won tickets to attend the U.S. Open, which begins Monday in Queens, N.Y.
Farmer said his team's chances rest largely on his daughter's shoulders. He doesn't play tennis as regularly as he once did, he said, but Sophie plays year-round and is No. 1 singles player for the Eden Prairie tennis team.
"Sophie is pretty highly ranked, so she should be as good or better than most of the other girls," Farmer said. "But some of the other dads are teaching pros who are a lot better than me. I'll just stay out of the way and let her take over."
Two Challenge Cup winners
Wayzata and Blake won the 2012-13 Minnesota State High School League Challenge Cup for their respective classes.
