EAST PROVIDENCE — The third time was indeed the charm for Paul and Christian Settles in their quest to win the annual Agawam Hunt Club’s Father-Son Grass Court Tennis Championship.

The California-based duo, losers to the Illinois pairing of Jerry and Brett Morse-Karzen the previous two summers including a three-set defeat last year, finally turned the tables on their opposition in straight sets on a sunny, warm Saturday afternoon, July 15, at the Rumford landmark.

The Settles, the No. 2 seed in the tournament and the third-ranked father-son team nationally, defeated the Morse-Karzens, the top seed and the No. 1 ranked team in the country, by the scores of 7-5, 6-3 to capture the title for the first time in the 68th edition of the event.

The Settles and the Morse-Karzens are two of the most notable tennis families in America.

Paul Settles is the former director of player services of the Association of Tennis Professionals and is currently the head coach of Division III-power Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in Claremont, Calif.

Jerry Morse-Karzen is a renowned instructor in the Chicagoland area and a member of the United States Tennis Association’s Midwest Section Hall of Fame.

Their sons ain’t too shabby either. Christian Settles is a recent high school grad, who helped Claremont High School to an undefeated season. He is spending a year at the Austin (Texas) Tennis Academy before attending Trinity University in San Antonio. Brett Morse-Karzen is a three-time former Division III college All-American and is an instructor at the family-run North Shore Racquet Club in Northbrook, Ill.

Saturday’s match started relatively even, remaining level through eight games as both sides broke the other’s serve once. Paul Settles then held to put his team up 5-4. Jerry Morse-Karzen, likewise, held serve aided by Brett’s nifty cross-court volley on game point.

Christian Settles followed with another hold then he and his dad broke Brett’s service to take the game and the first set as the latter doubled-faulted on the final point.

The second set was the more entertaining of the two, providing a couple of the match’s best points. A week’s worth of rain kept the Agawam courts soft and the bounces low, which played into a pair of outstanding rallies between the sides.

All four players were involved in numerous volleys before Jerry Morse-Karzen split the Settles down the service T for the winner during the seventh game of set, which ended with a Christian Settles hold and a 4-3 lead for his team.

A similar rapid volley sequence occurred again in the next game, this time ending with a Brett Morse-Karzen winner down the middle. It wasn’t enough, however, for the Morse-Karzens to prevail as later on break point although Christian Settles whiffed on overhead he recovered in time to get ball over before Jerry’s reply flew deep over the baseline to put the California duo up 5-3.

And Paul Settles didn’t let the opportunity to claim the victory and the coveted championship slip past this time, as he served out the match aided by an actual smash by Christian for the winning point.

Both teams, as many in the field, used the Agawam Hunt event as a tune-up for the USTA National Father-Son Grass Court Championships, the 96th edition of which takes place next week at the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Mass.