Mika's Marathon

Souquet couldn't find a gear after grabbing an early three-game lead.

THE RACE-TO-13 final was a handicapper's nightmare. Souquet was as composed and confident as ever, not to mention well rested compared to the battle-weary Immonen. But with a series of heroic comebacks throughout his charge, the Finn had proved resilient.

Early on, Immonen looked a bit unsettled. After clearing two racks from the break for a 4-2 lead, he jarred two nearly straight-in balls to hand momentum to Souquet. Taking the next five games, the German, like Mills had in the previous match, was up, 7-4, and looked on his way to a four-rack advantage. But Souquet scratched off the 6 ball, giving Immonen an open door back into the match. And just like he had all tournament long, the Iceman pounced on the opportunity.

Before Souquet had a real chance at the table, Immonen grabbed a 10-7 lead. Souquet fought back to tie the match at 10 games apiece, but Immonen's safety play was too much. Souquet's scratch in the 22nd game allowed Immonen on the hill, 12-10. At that point, Immonen buried the 1-9 carom to win back-to-back U.S. Opens for the first time since Nick Varner completed the feat in 1990.

In the final against Souquet, Immonen remained calm, trusting that he would have a chance to make his run.

"I had a great story to tell," he said. "It was almost as if it was meant to be. [Souquet] being in the lead didn't faze me. I knew I had so many comebacks already."

Souquet, meanwhile, couldn't make the most of Immonen's early missteps. Ceding the early three-rack advantage, Souquet couldn't get back in gear, even when opportunities presented themselves.

"It's hard, especially when you have chances," he said. "If you don't have a chance, if your opponent just out plays you, then what do you do? But if you have chances and you make mistakes, it's even harder."

And for his final words to the crowd surrounding the main table, Souquet offered an uncharacteristically bold prediction.

"I'm going to be back," he said. "I guarantee you, I'm going to win this tournament again."

Immonen, meanwhile, was in a state of disbelief as the crowd surrounded the champion.

"This is not real," he said. "This is completely not real."

Weeks after the win, though, Immonen offered some perspective on his legacy. As the reigning Player of the Year (and potential candidate for Player of the Decade), he's in the prime of his career at 36 years old. But Immonen knows it can't last forever, no matter how fanatical he is about physical conditioning. To that end, his performance at the 2009 U.S. Open is another notch on the post, another card in his ever-growing deck of aces.

"I think I sealed my name in the history books." Immonen said weeks after the victory. "I think I have always been following Ralf Souquet and Oliver Ortmann's footsteps. Maybe this one puts me there alongside them as Europeans."

And again, the Iceman facade faded away, and Immonen lightheartedly speculated he might still be one title away from joining Europe's greatest.

"But maybe I might have to win another world championship first."

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