The Ann Arbor City Tennis Tournament offers a unique opportunity that most other organized tennis events don’t have - the ability for parents to play alongside their kids in doubles.

Saturday’s men’s open draw matches at the University of Michigan Varsity Tennis Center had three father-son teams, which included John Heider and his 15-year-old son, Will.

“For me, it’s a thrill and a lot of fun to be able to play with my son,” said John, who owns an automotive consulting company. “I grew up playing with my dad a little bit, and I know how much fun that was.”

The Heiders also said they are a good match for each other.

“We play pretty well together, but it’s more for fun and the enjoyment of playing with each other. Will’s playing well.”

Will, a student at Saline High School, and John, 45, also play together in club leagues during the winter.

“I guess we’re both pretty good on serving,” Will Heider said. “There’s the father-son thing, obviously.”

John said, “We both like to volley. We both like to come to the net.”

The Heiders made it through to the quarterfinals, but Craig Capelli and Todd Schalk stopped them.

Schalk and Capelli won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

The Heiders won their first-round match in three sets, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, against Garrett Halpert and Scott Halpert, another father-son team.

William Godfrey, a 51-year-old real-estate investor who said he has played in this tournament since the 1970s, and his son, Peter Godfrey, 18 and a recent Huron High School graduate, also competed in the open draw.

“We enjoy it,” William Godfrey said. “It’s a great opportunity to get out and see everybody - all of our old friends that play tennis. We keep getting more and more competitive.”

But though their competitive edge is getting greater, William said their games are changing.

“I’m getting worse, and (Peter) is getting better,” William said. “So we’ve stayed fairly constant.”

William agreed that his son’s game is improving, but the two couldn’t agree on who is the better player when they face each other in singles.

“Lately, it’s been close,” William said.

“Lately, it’s been me,” Peter insisted.

The Godfreys reached a spot in the semifinals by beating Daniel Frank and Chris Tapping, both of Albion College, 6-4, 6-1.

Sunday, they’ll play a semifinal match against the No. 2 seeds, Dan Goldberg, the former NCAA national finalist at Michigan, and Jeff Keen.

Capelli and Schalk will play last year’s winners and the No. 1 seeds, Dave Coverly and Sven Holcombe, in their semifinal match at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Varsity Tennis Center.

The open final will be 1 p.m. Sunday, also at Varsity.

For complete results, visit the Ann Arbor Area Community Tennis Association's Web site, aaacta.org.

Josh Coudret covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at joshcoudret@annarbor.com