tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5446954624776521392024-03-17T22:03:54.772-05:00On the Rise (a tennis blog)A fan of USA tennis, for better or for worse. Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.comBlogger262125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-1734911402736986412016-11-09T00:25:00.004-06:002016-11-09T00:25:28.542-06:00Final postDear American Tennis:<br />
<br />
We had a good run. I supported you through some lean years and more recent good times. I may continue to follow you albeit with a sense of detachment. I feel a mini-golden era of American tennis is on the horizon and I can't help but feel a bit disappointed that I won't be along with you for the ride.<br />
<br />
As much as I enjoy tennis as a sport, my emotional connection has for some time been with <i>American tennis</i>. But after the results of this election, and after hearing about so many of them supporting either Donald Trump or the forces that allowed him to reach this place, I have to withdraw. They have no empathy for me and my kind and I can no longer support them. I'm done.<br />
<br />
I wish this were a more eloquent final statement. Perhaps after some weeks have passed I will come back with something more florid. But the moment I've dreaded for months has arrived.<br />
<br />
Dang.<br />
<br />
- Jonathan KelleyJonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-3341300973310412422016-11-06T16:16:00.000-06:002016-11-06T16:16:04.081-06:00Donald Trump's "locker room talk": a pro athlete's perspective<div>
<i>by Beau Treyz</i></div>
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Donald Trump is not one of us. We are athletes, not pigs. Men and women talk about each other, and make judgments on each other’s looks, let’s not pretend it doesn’t happen. But Trump’s “locker room talk” happens in bars, locker rooms, offices, schools and households across the world. That doesn’t make it right, that makes us lazy. It’s easy to talk about people we want to have sex with as objects; it happens all the time on the radio and TV, but again that doesn’t make it right. Trump cannot blame his repulsiveness on being an athlete, because not all athletes are like him. The phrase “locker room talk” needs to be gone; just as society has tried to say “gay” and “retarded” less, now people are opting to use more descriptive language that doesn’t offend or diminish another group of people. It’s about not being lazy.<br /><br />In today’s culture people make snap judgments and assumptions because it’s easier than actually thinking about certain problems. As a 24-year-old white American male, I’m just now realizing that I am more prejudiced than I thought. Over the last year I’ve traveled to 10 different countries from Egypt to Ecuador playing professional tennis. When I got to South Africa I remember thinking, “These white people don’t look like me” and, “These black people don’t look like the black people in the United States.” And swathed in both of those ideas were judgments and assumptions I had obviously subconsciously been making my entire life. I was shocked, but also a bit ashamed of myself for even having those thoughts. <br /><br />My next experience like this came when my plane landed in Tunisia and I didn’t speak the language, have wi-fi, or anyone else with me. I vividly remember wanting to buy a ticket back to the States as quickly as I could. I was scared of the men in Jebbas and women in Safsaris; I’d only been exposed to those clothes while associating it with terrorists on TV. I didn’t even know what the clothes stood for, but I had been trained to fear them. Being in that airport, and distrusting the guards with AK-47’s, really wondering about my own safety, was the most terrified I’ve ever felt. I probably only got in a cab and continued to the tournament because I was arrogant enough to think nothing would happen to me. I made it to the tournament, and the cab driver couldn’t have been nicer; I again felt ashamed that I had given in to believing a stereotype.<br /><br />Traveling and learning to trust cab drivers, airport workers and hotel clerks of different skin colors than me has been a challenge. I would never say I’m racist in the United States, but when I started traveling it became clear to me that I am at least prejudiced. I didn’t realize that as I scroll through Instagram, consume the different TV shows, and listen to songs on the radio and online, I am allowing myself to be told how to think about different types of people. This mass consumption is not just a trait of the American millennials though; it’s worldwide and covers all age groups. It’s not just kids that are obsessed with Instagram, but adults too. How many annoying moms and uncles are there on Instagram and Facebook? We are all seeing, reading and hearing the same information. It’s easy to give in to stereotypes. <br /><br />“Muslims are terrorists.” “Mexicans are illegal aliens.” We’ve heard these hateful, wrong stereotypes before, but one may soon be hurled at us: “Americans are Trump.” We will all be stereotyped as a group of people who agree with everything Trump says and does. People will be afraid of me, and have underlying ideas about me just as I had of them. I cannot imagine having to fight the Trump stereotype every time I meet someone. They say there’s a bit of truth in all stereotypes. We may be wary of people we don’t know, and we may be prejudiced, but do we want to be ruled by fear, insecurity and hatred? Is that the part of ourselves we want to represent us in the world? Trump is the worst part of all of us. Trump is not “unique and authentic,” he’s basic. He fears groups of people he doesn’t know. He treats women as sexual objects waiting to be conquered. If Trump were just a guy at a bar he’d get punched in the face every time he opened his mouth. <br /><br />He doesn’t speak any truth. He’s not new to politics. His campaign hinges on whether or not we still want to be liked by the high school bully. He preys upon those of us that are too timid to stand up to someone we disagree with. He hopes we all choose to be Billy Bush and take part in his hateful, entitled, disgraceful way of life. By saying his comments were, “locker room talk”, he imagines himself as Lebron James or Tom Brady; he thinks they’re cool and imagines that that’s how they act. Professional sports are a business, and the most successful athletes are smart, strong, and tactful in their field of competition, just as is someone in any other profession; how they act on the field reveals nothing of who they are off it. Although he imagines himself as Derek Jeter, Donald Trump is really just Regina George from Mean Girls. He is more like a bitchy high school ringleader than Lebron James. <br /><br />Athletes, like all citizens, are supposed to be leaders in their communities, not just blind followers, so we cannot allow Trump to hide in what he imagines our locker rooms to be like. He should have to answer for his own moral character just as the rest of us do. There are no policy disagreements in this piece because people that believe in stereotypes don’t care about the substance of the people they’re judging. They care about what is said the loudest, the information that is most in their face, regardless of fact or truth; what Trump says loudest about Americans is that we’re all racist, arrogant assholes that should be punched in the face at the first opportunity.<br /> <style>
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</style>Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-40788466309870728482016-10-19T15:16:00.001-05:002016-10-19T15:16:43.113-05:00Back to the grind in Colombia<div>
<i>Guest post by Beau Treyz</i></div>
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The reality of professional tennis is that you have to be a Top 100 player for multiple years to make a comfortable living. Outside of those select few, we’re all in the tennis equivalent of the minor leagues. And we all think we can make it to the big leagues. It’s amazing to walk around Futures tournaments and see guys and think, “Man, what is this guy doing here? He has no chance.” But if he thinks he has a chance then why shouldn’t he be here? It’s more shocking to me to see guys and think, “Man, what’s he doing here. How has he not made it yet?” There are so many levels to professional tennis; it can be disheartening if I think about it too much.<br /><br /> I’ve played Futures in seven different countries so far, and seen players ranked inside the top 200 and players that wouldn’t play on my high school team; how could all of these guys think they’re good enough to be Top 100? How much time will a player spend in the minor leagues before he calls it a career? That question lives in the back of every players mind. I’m going to stop playing when I think I can’t improve anymore; when I’ve done everything I can and still not had enough to be a top player. That’s when I’ll know. From talking to other guys on tour, that’s how most of us feel. <br /><br /> Last week I played my first Futures since April, after taking the summer off to teach tennis at a Country Club in New York to fund my travels. I’d say I thought about getting back on tour everyday I was working. I didn’t often think about the intensity of the tour though. No matter where I play, the guys are the same. They may have different names, and be from different countries, but the intensity is the same. These guys work so hard. I lost in the final round of qualies last week because I was tentative and impatient on court; I didn’t show up ready to compete. A hard lesson to relearn, and it’s probably not the last time I’ll relearn it if I’m being honest. But what I’ve learned from the best guys I’ve seen is that they don’t really care that much. Of course they’re focused when they’re playing a match, but to them each tournament is just another week; and every week needs to be a week where they improve. None of us dream of playing Futures. Futures are not the goal; ATP events and a Top 100 ranking are the goal. The best players never forget that.<br /><br /> It’s amazing to know that every player out here is doing the same thing, and more or less in the same boat whether they want to admit it or not. Sure, the guy who’s 300 is playing Challengers, and is closer to the Top 100 than the guy that’s 1000, but neither of them have made it yet. Both guys have to keep improving; and neither of them is making money. One guy may be significantly better, but his process and goals are probably more similar to the lower ranked guy than people think. I didn’t know that last year; I thought there was some magic, or something the other guys knew that I didn’t. What they knew that I didn’t is that a professional tennis career is a process, and it takes time to get to the top of you game physically, mentally and emotionally. This year I know that, and it’s helped my game already in one week back on tour.<br /><br /> Like I said, I lost in qualies last week to a guy I should’ve beaten. I was pissed, and then of course that guy got an easy draw first round main draw and got another point without breaking a sweat; could’ve been me. That would have bothered me last year. But now I don’t want another point, I want hundreds of points, and I want to improve. Having five ATP points doesn’t make you top 100, so then why stress about it? After my loss my doubles partner, Dusty Boyer, and I went on to win two rounds and get to the semifinals of the doubles tournament beating three players in the top 400. Probably the best wins of our careers so far; just days after a pretty bad singles loss. It’s being able to keep the bigger picture of my career in mind that let’s me now bring a certain intensity to every match without it becoming too much. It’s not easy to do, and I’ll probably never perfect it or have to stop reminding myself of it, but I guess that’s what we all have to do. The intensity that the top guys approach their career with is what makes them different from the minor league guys, hopefully I can learn it.Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-38223089647427796082016-09-21T11:07:00.001-05:002016-09-21T11:07:33.293-05:00"See you when you're 450"<i>By Beau Treyz, Sept. 7, 2016</i><br /><br /> My old man is a forever-optimist; he wouldn’t give up on one of his kids for anything. He loves a lofty idea, he’s a dreamer and a hard worker; he’s made me who I am. This morning he took me to the Westchester Airport at 4:30am so I could catch a flight to Lincoln, Nebraska where I’m going to spend the next month training with the men’s tennis team getting ready to restart my professional career. I’ve spent the last five months, since April 18th to be exact, teaching tennis at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, New York with the goal of making enough money to fund my playing career. Yesterday was my last day at work, enough money was made, new relationships were built, but I got the first flight out.<br /><br /> This morning dad and I barely spoke on the 30 minute trip to the airport; nothing needed to be said. We fuddled with the radio, but that’s just because there’s nothing good on at 4:30am. I felt alive again for the first time in months. This feels like my last chance to make my playing career happen. I’m not going back to teaching next summer, I’ve got enough money, I’ve got experience from playing and traveling last year to guide me this year; I can’t wait to get to work. We hugged and said goodbye at the airport drop off, “See you when you’re 450”, dad said. He means when my ranking is 450 ATP, right now I’m ranked 1909; forever an optimist like I said. Time to make tennis my career. <br /><br /> It’s so bright and loud up here at 6:45am with the reflection of the sun off the clouds and Pearl Jam blaring through my headphones. As soon as I got up this morning I felt the excitement and quick-fire energy that lets me know I’m doing the right thing by playing tennis; I don’t get this feeling from anything else. This is my search for fulfillment; this is me trying to make my dream happen. This is the feeling I need to be able to sustain and tap into when the weeks get long and slow and my feet and head get heavy. I don’t think it’s tennis that I love, or tennis that keeps me going; it’s this feeling of freedom and control. There is a lot on the line for me, at 24 years old, investing a ton of money into a professional sports career is not the smartest investment to build up for retirement, but it’s the best investment to build up who I am and who I will become.<br /><br /> I’ve worked years to get to this position and put in the time on court, in the gym and at a “real job” to be able to put myself here; now is my time. I’ve turned my hat forwards and backwards a million times since I’ve been on this flight, I’m ready to explode with happiness and ambition on the practice court this afternoon in Lincoln. I’m going back to a place I’m comfortable, with friends I love and coaches that want to help me; I did not see any of this coming when I chose to transfer to Nebraska three years ago. This moment right now is happiness to me; this is what I’m looking for. Sure a higher ranking will be great and is absolutely necessary, but I don’t have a certain goal in my mind that will make me feel like this forever. Being Top 100 will fade, the joy of winning is fleeting, but this feeling of challenging myself is stronger than any emotion I’ve felt besides the days my nieces and nephews were born. They changed my life. I want to keep this feeling alive in me; whatever jobs I do in life, I want to have this feeling. Maybe it’s impossible, but I am my father’s son, and optimism is something he taught me.Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-87814764220344217742016-08-24T09:33:00.001-05:002016-08-24T09:33:40.453-05:00Getting to know: Andrew Fenty<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMkvMxuX_XCAvkNCp_YpfYvLtuL63UxhBh2KRFXK1tVg6-iZSTyG515N3Hm1ise8qMnGv5_qz-p8Qf_qgdj4g5667ggrA8Xu7DZxuj11gD1m2xqZ1Rrq8brnROxBpaSid6Jlrlk7vzGD_/s1600/Fenty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMkvMxuX_XCAvkNCp_YpfYvLtuL63UxhBh2KRFXK1tVg6-iZSTyG515N3Hm1ise8qMnGv5_qz-p8Qf_qgdj4g5667ggrA8Xu7DZxuj11gD1m2xqZ1Rrq8brnROxBpaSid6Jlrlk7vzGD_/s320/Fenty.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew Fenty. © Jonathan Kelley.<b>A</b></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px;"><i>A few weeks ago, while at the USTA Boys 16s & 18s National Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan, I spoke to two young players who caught my attention -- <a href="http://ontherisetennis.blogspot.com/2016/08/getting-to-know-siddharth-chari.html" target="_blank">Siddharth Chari of California </a>and Andrew Fenty of Washington, D.C. 16-year-old </i></span><span style="font-family: Times;"><i>Fenty trains at the <a href="http://www.jtcc.org/" target="_blank">JTCC</a>, and was seeded #27 at the Nats (he's currently the #222-ranked junior in the world). The match I watched saw Fenty go down an early break against JanMagnus Johnson, then come back to win the last 10 games of the match. He would win his next match in straight sets before falling to #6 seed Axel Nefve 7-6(6) 6-3 in the 4th round. (As he did last year, Fenty went on to play and win several matches in the feed-in tournament.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>What is your name?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Andrew Fenty</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Where are you from?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Washington, D.C.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Where do you train?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I train at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>There have been some big names that have come through there, correct?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Yes, Denis Kudla, Frances Tiafoe. We have a player who just won Wimbledon juniors doubles, Usue Arconada. Yeah, they're great players.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>When did you start playing?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I started playing when I was 4.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>What would you say are the strengths of your game?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The strengths of my game are probably to mix up the pace and just give my opponents different looks throughout the match.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Did you think you did that well in your match today?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I think I did that very well, especially in the end of the first set, and all the way through the second.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>You went down 4-2 in the first set, and then you got the next 4 games. What changed?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I started figuring out his weaknesses, I started moving him to his forehand side, started serving better - serving wide and hitting the first ball into the open court. Started playing more of an aggressive game, taking more risks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Do you really try to think your way through a match as much as possible?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Sure. That’s how you win matches here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>What was your road to get to the Nats?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">My only way into this tournament was winning a sectional. If I didn't win it, I wouldn't have played this tournament.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Who did you play in the sectional final?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">His name was Joseph Brailovsky. He won today, he's from my academy.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Are you guys friends? Friendly rivalry?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Great friends, yeah.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>It it tough playing a friend in such a high-stakes match?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Of course, always hard. But, you know, we'll be fine after the match.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>What would you say is your favorite surface?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">I like clay a lot.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>What do you like about it?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Longer points, you get to find weaknesses, and it's just fun to compete on the surface.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>You have a brother who also plays, true?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Yeah, I have a twin. He's here right now, he's watching me. He just had hip surgery. He's coming back, he’s doing physical therapy right now. Hope to see him back soon.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Are you in the process of thinking about college tennis?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Not really.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Is that an aspiration of yours?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">My ultimate goal is to play professional tennis. I don't know if that will be before college or a couple of years after college.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>What do you think you have to do to reach the level of becoming a professional player?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Probably just work harder, better fitness, better eating habits, better training. Just getting better every day, at least 1%. Just 1% every day.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>When you hit against a guy like Frances Tiafoe, do you learn stuff just from playing against him?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Yeah, every day. When he comes back from pro tournaments, even when we're not on the court, you're always learning. Always learning what professional tennis is like.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">I was here last year when he played in the final, and that was just crazy. It was an unbelievable match.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Obviously you come from a high profile family. [Andrew's father was mayor of Washington, D.C.] Is that something that people know you for?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Yeah, in D.C. a lot. But as soon as you play international, sometimes people will say stuff, but not as much.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Would you say it has impacted you in any way?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Everyone knows who you are, I guess. You play tournaments and people will be like, "You're him" or something.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Do you go into a tournament like this thinking you have a chance of winning the whole thing?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">For sure. I think I'm one of the favorites, or a person who could win the tournament.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><br />
How long have you had the beard?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Oooh, recent. Just letting it grow. Probably for the whole tournament, then I’ll shave.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><br />
Your playoff beard.</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">[Laughs.] Yeah, my playoff beard. My Kalamazoo beard.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>What's your favorite sport other than tennis?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Probably basketball.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>What’s your favorite team?</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Wizards. Washington Wizards.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Thanks very much for your time.</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Thank you!</span></div>
Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com194tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-80439934701300395042016-08-21T16:55:00.003-05:002016-08-21T17:35:50.757-05:00Getting to Know the 2016 US Open Main Draw Wild Cards: WTA Edition <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHX-2VfJEleAYDII4gXV90_EcKcnj58XoiT4d7bdOCiS97nLIBWHoNN1JVc6UAV66BuR8gyjD5vljdfkvS7hFjEE1vzzBG3XZyw4T26su_hKYNuusguv_ozD1_6lHDRgdLySPt2MobCMxQ/s1600/12710902_1106089292759015_5736920522520589682_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHX-2VfJEleAYDII4gXV90_EcKcnj58XoiT4d7bdOCiS97nLIBWHoNN1JVc6UAV66BuR8gyjD5vljdfkvS7hFjEE1vzzBG3XZyw4T26su_hKYNuusguv_ozD1_6lHDRgdLySPt2MobCMxQ/s320/12710902_1106089292759015_5736920522520589682_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danielle Collins. © Jonathan Kelley, On the Rise</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://ontherisetennis.blogspot.com/2016/08/getting-to-know-2016-us-open-main-draw.html">Earlier this week</a> I took a look at the wild card recipients into men’s singles draw of the 2016 US Open. Today I will be doing the same for the women’s draw. </div>
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<a href="http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/15972/title/danielle-collins">Danielle Collins</a><br />
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Danielle Collins is coming into the US Open after one of the most successful individual careers in college tennis history. The 22-year-old Floridian was awarded the wild card that is traditionally reserved for American-born NCAA DI singles champions. The USTA has awarded a main draw wild card to every American-born NCAA champion save for Amanda McDowell in 2008. <br />
<br />
Collins played one year at the University of Florida, but it wasn’t until she transferred to the University of Virginia in fall 2013 that she really hit her stride. During her first year as a Virginia Cavalier, Collins won the NCAA singles title for the first time. Collins’ second NCAA title this spring made her the sixth repeat champion in NCAA DI women’s tennis history, but the only repeat champion who didn’t win her titles in consecutive seasons. <br />
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Prior to her collegiate career, Collins was a top ranked junior within the United States, but only played a limited number of events on the ITF junior circuit. Collins won a $10,000 level pro circuit title in 2011 but has played few professional events since starting college. <br />
<br />
Collins is a big-hitting baseliner with a game that seems primed for a successful transition to the WTA tour. Due to her inactivity professionally, Collins is currently unranked on the WTA but has a career high ranking of #553. <br />
<br />
This will be Collins’ second appearance in the US Open main draw, having received the NCAA wild card in 2014. In the first round in 2014, Collins pushed the second seed, Simona Halep, before falling in three sets. <br />
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<a href="http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/16533">Lauren Davis</a> <br />
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Lauren Davis has been a fixture in the top 100 throughout the past few seasons. However, a year filled with uncharacteristic inconsistency caused Davis’ ranking to drop out of the top 100 for the first time since 2012. Davis currently sits at #102 in the WTA rankings.<br />
<div>
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaV213CEenqTx-BdcJlj9I0zzFrVBmopJsEEDRL9blmAN2Pm7sIBa9kJxp6PFGkhTPzdTPgjFBuiKEFn_tAqurXzlfkWVBOJC1GdyWsfdwAcMAybPEEjjHtkPftHS4EbsFZCvB-Nqxppfe/s1600/Davis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaV213CEenqTx-BdcJlj9I0zzFrVBmopJsEEDRL9blmAN2Pm7sIBa9kJxp6PFGkhTPzdTPgjFBuiKEFn_tAqurXzlfkWVBOJC1GdyWsfdwAcMAybPEEjjHtkPftHS4EbsFZCvB-Nqxppfe/s320/Davis.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lauren Davis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="text-align: center;">Davis had a standout junior career, reaching number 3 in the ITF junior rankings. In the fall of 2010, she was dominant: she went on an 18-match win streak in junior events and won three top tier titles, including the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships and the Orange Bowl. </span><br />
<div>
<br />
Davis’ transition to the professional ranks was a steady one. After breaking into the top 100 in 2012, Davis eventually reached a career high ranking of #43. Davis has won seven singles titles on the ITF Pro Circuit, including a $100,000 level event in Midland, Mich. The Ohio native has reached at least the second round of every grand slam. <br />
<br />
Davis started out 2016 on a strong note by reaching the third round of the Australian Open. Her results stalled until this summer when she reached her first WTA final in Washington D.C. Davis’ run to the final included a win over the recently crowned gold medalist, Monica Puig of Puerto Rico. <br />
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Davis will no doubt be looking to build off of her success from earlier this summer and finish out 2016 on a strong note. This year will mark Davis’ fifth appearance in the US Open main draw. Her best showing came in 2015, when she reached the second round. <br />
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<a href="http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/23863/title/kayla-day">Kayla Day</a><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjup1hgFx8hlO3XaowVyovugorWS11lte20Zt8vsaz5ngLany5xx4LYgp659i7VFvVmfOcbQbMaJbNRjVw14V66VgoJffIG5-tH41EOOO8-Z_vEJVJr6TOtui7VPhzbDjdi35Nn61HkNvV0/s1600/Day+Fed+Cup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjup1hgFx8hlO3XaowVyovugorWS11lte20Zt8vsaz5ngLany5xx4LYgp659i7VFvVmfOcbQbMaJbNRjVw14V66VgoJffIG5-tH41EOOO8-Z_vEJVJr6TOtui7VPhzbDjdi35Nn61HkNvV0/s320/Day+Fed+Cup.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayla Day at the 2016 Junior Fed Cup</td></tr>
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16-year-old Kayla Day is going to be one of the youngest players in the draw, if not the youngest. Day secured her wild card by winning the USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships in San Diego, Calif. Day was the top seed at the event and dominant until the final, where she was pushed to three sets by seventh-seeded Nicole Frenkel. <br />
<br />
Day has been one of the world’s best junior players over the last 12 months; she is currently at a career-high ranking of #5. Day’s junior highlights include a runner-up finish at the Orange Bowl, the semifinals at Junior Wimbledon, and three G1-level titles. Day was a part of the American Junior Fed Cup team which finished second to the Czech Republic last fall.<br />
<br />
Day has begun to play ITF pro circuit events with more regularity in 2016 and reached a number of quarterfinals at $25,000 level tournaments. Day’s best result thus far on the pro circuit came in May when she reached the final of a $25,000 tournament in Naples, Fla.<br />
<br />
Day is ranked #424 on the WTA rankings, which is a career best. The 2016 US Open was to have been Day’s debut in the main draw of a WTA event, but by reaching the final qualifying round this weekend in New Haven, and following Barbora Strycova's withdrawal, she got lucky loser into the Connecticut Open.<br />
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<a href="http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/21891/title/sofia-kenin">Sofia Kenin</a><br />
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Child prodigies have always seemed to have a place in tennis, especially in the women’s game. Sofia Kenin could definitely be labeled as such, having caught the attention of world-renowned coach Rick Macci at age six. Kenin began to train at Macci’s academy in Florida and has consistently been ranked at the top of the USTA’s girls’ rankings in every age division.<br />
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Now 17 years old, Kenin was awarded her wild card on the strength of her results on the USTA Pro Circuit. Her title at the $50,000 event in Sacramento clinched her the wild card reserved for the winner of the <a href="https://www.usta.com/Pro-Tennis/Pro-Circuit/2016_us_open_wild_card_challenge/">US Open Wild Card Challenge</a>. The title was Kenin’s second pro title of the year, the first being at a $25,000 event in Florida in January. <br />
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Kenin had an outstanding junior career and has been ranked as high as #2 in the world. In 2014, Kenin won the Orange Bowl and the following summer was the runner up at the junior US Open. <br />
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Kenin will be making her second main draw appearance at the US Open. She also received a wild card last year after she won the USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships. Last year Kenin fell in the first round to Mariana Duque-Mariño.<br />
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<a href="http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/10844/title/vania-king">Vania King</a><br />
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Vania King has been a stalwart presence in American tennis throughout the last decade. King had her breakout season in 2006 when, as a 17-year-old, she won her first and only WTA title in Bangkok and reached a career high ranking of #50. <br />
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At 27, King can now be considered a veteran of the tour. She’s been consistently ranked inside of the top 100 in singles during her career and has also established herself as an elite doubles player. King has won 15 tour doubles titles with ten different partners. Kings’ doubles highlights came in 2010, when she teamed with Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan to win Wimbledon and the US Open.<br />
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King saw her ranking drop after a neck and back injury kept her out of competition for nearly a full year after the 2014 US Open. She returned to competition at ITF Pro Circuit events just before the US Open last year. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtSLYcv7NOb5aVOWlq8CuSRGtMatf2ljaA5v-RP3nJFY0-UzM2bl0egOX3dRC465kU4XOHQkaESCgj-vpluvr4Xz5f-f9LsqKRBnHA7wpGQYCPtf3_yKldy0fCgq9gVRVf1_kRtivgsDD/s1600/King+ice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtSLYcv7NOb5aVOWlq8CuSRGtMatf2ljaA5v-RP3nJFY0-UzM2bl0egOX3dRC465kU4XOHQkaESCgj-vpluvr4Xz5f-f9LsqKRBnHA7wpGQYCPtf3_yKldy0fCgq9gVRVf1_kRtivgsDD/s320/King+ice.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vania King at the 2015 Redding $50K. © Jonathan Kelley</td></tr>
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If the entries for the US Open were to have closed this week instead of a month ago, King would have been comfortably in the draw, as she is currently ranked #88. A string of impressive results at WTA events in Bucharest (semifinals), Montreal (qualified and won a round), and Nanchang (finals) propelled King’s ranking nearly 60 spots. <br />
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The 2016 US Open is King’s 12th main draw appearance. Her previous best results were third round finishes in 2009 and 2011. <br />
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<a href="http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/5667/title/bethanie-mattek-sands">Bethanie Mattek-Sands</a> <br />
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For the first part of her career, Bethanie Mattek-Sands was known more for her unconventional on-court style than her tennis. Now, Mattek-Sands lets her tennis do the talking. Since late 2008, Mattek-Sands has reached four WTA level finals, finishing runner-up at all of them. She achieved a career best singles ranking of #30 in 2011. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmxag6PLBaV4jnPAT5WX7ypBdpfSHC5ynlzpj8rxwObmYdFn_0R-X-MkzRafxtnHAHgrsWBoYmPw0lifwxE3PlC-JVO87plUjs-1zqvcUpFzqN8kDBd5nAt_wzeOB0KOJNu-YH7fURKp_/s1600/BMS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmxag6PLBaV4jnPAT5WX7ypBdpfSHC5ynlzpj8rxwObmYdFn_0R-X-MkzRafxtnHAHgrsWBoYmPw0lifwxE3PlC-JVO87plUjs-1zqvcUpFzqN8kDBd5nAt_wzeOB0KOJNu-YH7fURKp_/s320/BMS.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bethanie Mattek-Sands</td></tr>
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Mattek-Sands' aggressive, all-court tennis makes her a dangerous opponent for nearly any player in the draw. The variety in Mattek-Sands’ game has translated to success on the doubles court as well. She’s a two-time grand slam champion with partner Lucie Safarova. Mattek-Sands’ latest doubles triumph came at the Olympics, where she won gold in mixed doubles with Jack Sock. <br />
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In singles, Mattek-Sands has had a rough year. She is 2-11 in main draw matches, but eight of those losses were in three sets. The lack of wins, though, has caused her singles ranking to drop from #60 at the beginning of the season to #109, where she currently sits. <br />
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The 31-year-old veteran will be making her 15th appearance at the US Open. Mattek-Sands’ third round finish last year, where she fell to Serena Williams, was her best singles performance at the US Open. <br />
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Mattek-Sands is the top alternate for the main draw. Should another player withdraw, Mattek-Sands will be directly into the main draw and her wild card will be awarded to another player. <br />
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<a href="http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/20387/title/ellen-perez">Ellen Perez</a><br />
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Australia’s Ellen Perez received a wild card for winning Tennis Australia’s wildcard playoff. She defeated former junior star Ashleigh Barty in the final. Tennis Australia has a reciprocal wild card agreement with the USTA. <br />
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Although she is from Australia, Perez has lived in the United States for the past two years. Perez plays college tennis for the University of Georgia. As a Bulldog, Perez has become a top player in the college game. Last year she compiled a 28-7 record at #1 singles and finished the year ranked #5 in the ITA college rankings. <br />
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This summer, Perez traveled to Europe to play some professional events. She came through qualifying at three separate $10,000 level events. Perez reached the semifinals, finals, and won these events respectively. Perez’s ranking is currently #725. <br />
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The US Open will be Perez’s first US Open main draw appearance. The 20-year-old has also played in the main draw of the Australian Open doubles.<br />
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<a href="http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/7082/title/virginie-razzano">Virginie Razzano</a> <br />
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Virginie Razzano of France received her wild card due to the reciprocal agreement that the USTA has with the French Tennis Federation.<br />
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Razzano is probably most known for her shocking first round upset of Serena Williams at Roland Garros in 2012. Razzano was ranked outside of the top 100 at the time, and it was Williams’ first career loss in the first round of a grand slam. <br />
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Razzano was a top player in her own right for a time, following a breakout season in 2009. Razzano reached her career high ranking of #16 that year, with runs to the fourth round of Roland Garros and Wimbledon. <br />
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Razzano has won 2 WTA singles titles and 5 ITF singles titles throughout her career. <br />
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At 33 years old and with a ranking of #165, this year’s US Open has the potential to be Razzano’s last. This will mark Razzano’s 15th US Open main draw. She reached the fourth round in 2006. <br />
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<b>Final Thoughts </b><br />
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In the past six years, there has been a steady flow of new American talent on the women’s side. There are a lot of worthy candidates for wild cards, but with only a handful of wild cards to hand out, it’s inevitable that players get left out who have a legitimate chance at winning a first round match. <br />
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Former junior world number one players CiCi Bellis and Taylor Townsend, as well as UCLA standout Jennifer Brady come to mind. All three are young players with big games, but they will have to come through qualifying. Jessica Pegula, who reached the semifinals of at the Citi Open in DC, and Julia Boserup, who qualified and reached the third round of Wimbledon, will have to qualify as well. <br />
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What do you think about the selections for the women’s wild cards? Leave your opinions in the comments below.</div>
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Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com161tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-21860512468256501902016-08-19T09:24:00.003-05:002016-08-20T09:17:44.533-05:00Getting to Know the 2016 US Open Main Draw Wild Cards: ATP Edition <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76tgZ6mZNHWfyTU5uCOBay9f3GUdJQn273Df64AsSPDh0wHBPPqRIE0dFuFO-u_jqEqCyuJurgWSAU-RMGem_Zr1NeWvxX01DGc5vUQ6wRj-r-RS8PPVxwGmaEBOFa4GmBqU1fPba4yJI/s1600/Bjorn.Simon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76tgZ6mZNHWfyTU5uCOBay9f3GUdJQn273Df64AsSPDh0wHBPPqRIE0dFuFO-u_jqEqCyuJurgWSAU-RMGem_Zr1NeWvxX01DGc5vUQ6wRj-r-RS8PPVxwGmaEBOFa4GmBqU1fPba4yJI/s320/Bjorn.Simon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bjorn Fratangelo</td></tr>
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<i>by <a href="https://twitter.com/simonsaystennis" target="_blank">Alex Simon</a>, guest blogger</i><br />
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The draw for the 2016 US Open will be released next week. As you peruse it, you might see some unfamiliar names sprinkled through the 128 player field. You may see a player who has a very low ranking -- or none at all. If the player has “WC” annotated next to his or her name on the draw, then it means the tournament has awarded the player a wild card into the tournament. <br />
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Wild cards are given out to players whose ranking doesn’t give them direct entry to the main draw. The USTA heavily favors Americans in their wild card selections in order to help home grown players’ careers and development. (The same phenomenon takes place at nearly every professional tournament in the world.) Top players whose ranking has dropped outside of the cutoff or who are making a return to the game also receive consideration. <br />
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The USTA announced the wild card recipients for the US Open this week. I will be taking a look at each recipient, some of his career and season highlights, and what caused him to earn and be considered for a wild card. <br />
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<a href="http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/ernesto-escobedo/e873/overview">Ernesto Escobedo</a> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGEkKbCI1f0EFUrRMzRgn6s0zqNBB-TCC0GMtt4BZicfwMUtnheiCnVmbqS3FHLZLorNYkUL-_xQV6b3m6MrMyZxXBNnOQVSWPw0Z6aRdMpaH4LYUclwVsvTO8gdKUb9vqx2wpS9GOuPlr/s1600/Escobedo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGEkKbCI1f0EFUrRMzRgn6s0zqNBB-TCC0GMtt4BZicfwMUtnheiCnVmbqS3FHLZLorNYkUL-_xQV6b3m6MrMyZxXBNnOQVSWPw0Z6aRdMpaH4LYUclwVsvTO8gdKUb9vqx2wpS9GOuPlr/s320/Escobedo.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">© Jonathan Kelley</td></tr>
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Southern California’s Ernesto Escobedo earned his wild card on the strength of his results on the <a href="https://twitter.com/simonsaystennis" target="_blank">USTA Pro Circuit</a> this summer. In 2012, the USTA established the “US Open Wild Card Challenge,” which takes into account each American player’s best two results in a series of three ATP Challenger events. The player who amasses the most ranking points earns a US Open wild card. <br />
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Escobedo won the challenger in Lexington, the second event in the wild card challenge, and held onto his lead to secure the wild card. The 20-year-old is also part of the strong contingent of rising American men, but perhaps has been overshadowed by the flashier results of his compatriots such as Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Stefan Kozlov. <br />
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Escobedo has been on a steady rise in 2016. He has seen his ranking jump almost 200 spots this season and currently sits at #207. In addition to his maiden challenger win in Lexington, he reached the final of another in São Paulo on clay and qualified for ATP events in Nottingham and 's-Hertogenbosch on grass. The 2016 US Open will be Escobedo’s first appearance in a grand slam main draw.<br />
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<a href="http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/bjorn-fratangelo/f811/overview">Bjorn Fratangelo</a><br />
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Bjorn Fratangelo is one of the highest ranked Americans not directly into the US Open main draw, sitting at #116 in the ATP rankings (the cut-off was #98). Fratangelo first garnered international attention as a junior in 2011 when he won the boys' singles title at Roland Garros. The title helped propel Fratangelo to number 2 in the ITF junior rankings. <br />
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While he hasn’t had the meteoric rise that some junior stars experience, Fratangelo has seen his ranking improve each season since he turned pro in 2012. Fratangelo has won 8 futures titles and 2 challengers titles throughout his career. <br />
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2016 has been a career best year for Fratangelo. The 23-year-old Pennsylvania native gained attention when he won the first set against world number 1, Novak Djokovic, in Indian Wells before falling in three sets. When Fratangelo moved to the clay court season, his strong results on the USTA Pro Circuit clinched him the USTA wild card into Roland Garros. <br />
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At Roland Garros, Fratangelo defeated compatriot Sam Querrey in the first round in straight sets to record his first main draw victory at a major. Fratangelo’s success at the French Open caused him to crack into the top 100 for the first time, where he peaked at #99 in the world. <br />
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This is Fratangelo’s second appearance in the US Open main draw, having also received a wild card in 2015. He fell to Thomas Berdych in straight sets in the first round last year. <br />
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<a href="http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/juan-martin-del-potro/d683/overview">Juan Martín del Potro</a><br />
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One wild card who won’t need much introduction is 2009 US Open champion Juan Martín del Potro. Del Potro has had a career marred by injuries. He first missed nine months in 2010 due to a wrist injury. Del Potro was able to bounce back and reenter the top 5 in 2013, but another wrist injury derailed his career further. After two surgeries and a premature return in early 2015, del Potro made his long awaited comeback to the tour at the 2016 Delray Beach Open, where he reached the semifinals. <br />
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The big hitting 27-year-old has seen his results slowly build since his comeback this winter. Wimbledon marked del Potro’s first grand slam appearance since the 2014 Australian Open. Del Potro upset fourth seeded Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round but lost in four sets to 32nd seed Lucas Pouille in the third round. <br />
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Del Potro proved that he was ready to compete against the world’s best at the Olympic Games in Rio. Del Potro opened the tournament with a win over Novak Djokovic, showing off the monstrous forehand that helped propel him to the top of the game in the past. Del Potro continued to storm through the draw and got another win over one of the “Big Four” by defeating Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Del Potro came away with the silver medal after falling to Andy Murray in the gold medal match. <br />
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At #141 in the world, del Potro was shy of the main draw cut off, but if his form in Rio is any indication, he is playing well above that ranking.<br />
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<a href="http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/mackenzie-mcdonald/mk66/overview">Mackenzie McDonald</a><br />
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Mackenzie McDonald is the reigning NCAA DI singles champion. While a wild card to the NCAA champion is not technically guaranteed, tradition has it that NCAA champions who represent USA are all but assured one. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">© Jonathan Kelley</td></tr>
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McDonald had a successful junior career, peaking at number 12 in ITF junior rankings. McDonald decided to hone his game in college and joined the UCLA Bruins in 2013. McDonald’s collegiate career culminated in NCAA singles and doubles championships this spring and a year-end number one collegiate ranking. <br />
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After achieving college tennis’ top individual titles, turning pro seemed like a logical next step for the 21-year-old Californian. McDonald announced he would turn pro despite having one more year of NCAA eligibility. <br />
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McDonald took fall 2015 off from college to test the waters on the professional circuit. In three months, he managed to reach a Futures final and two Challenger semifinals. The 2016 US Open will be the 416-ranked McDonald’s grand slam main draw debut.<br />
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<a href="http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/michael-mmoh/mp01/overview">Michael Mmoh</a><br />
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Mmoh is part of a very strong group of young Americans on the rise. The 18-year-old, who lives and trains at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, earned the wild card that is reserved for winner of the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich. Mmoh, the top seed, was dominant in his run to the 18s title. He didn’t drop a single set and was only forced to a tiebreaker in one match. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ZPcdayN99mEtH84KhZ2yVm8OXffH2zJUVQmcKeaTg2s9pcNdU3wAsR2utML_CmmCpAmIKXzGahSpipYinvrldvpbh9A1AUUB_3Se0mqUQiTZmDJYsfyHZbhNNq__UixDqUyoBNoawOqJ/s1600/IMG_1818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ZPcdayN99mEtH84KhZ2yVm8OXffH2zJUVQmcKeaTg2s9pcNdU3wAsR2utML_CmmCpAmIKXzGahSpipYinvrldvpbh9A1AUUB_3Se0mqUQiTZmDJYsfyHZbhNNq__UixDqUyoBNoawOqJ/s320/IMG_1818.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>From left: Michael Mmoh, Frances Tiafoe, Henrik Wiersholm<br />Tommy Paul. 2014 USTA Boys Nationals. © Jonathan Kelley</i></td></tr>
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Mmoh is looking to emulate the same success in the professional ranks as he had in the juniors, where he was ranked as high as second in the world. Mmoh won several top tier titles on the ITF Junior Circuit. He was also a part of the USA’s Junior Davis Cup team in 2014, which won the title. <br />
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Mmoh had a strong start to 2016. He won a futures title, was runner up at another, and qualified for the ATP event in Memphis all before April. The 2016 US Open will be Mmoh’s first appearance in a grand slam main draw. Mmoh is currently #386 in the ATP rankings.<br />
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<a href="http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/rajeev-ram/r548/overview">Rajeev Ram</a> <br />
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32-year-old Rajeev Ram is a veteran compared to many of the other wild card recipients. If you look at Ram’s career, he fits the modern mold of a player who peaks at a later age. Ram achieved his career high singles ranking, #56, earlier this season. <br />
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Although he turned pro in 2004 following a successful season playing collegiate tennis for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini, Ram didn’t break into the top 100 until 2009. Ram has won two ATP titles: at Newport during his breakthrough 2009 season, and in 2015 -- also at Newport. <br />
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Ram started 2016 on a strong note reaching the second round of the Australian Open, as well as the final of the Delray Beach Open in February. Ram is coming off a silver medal finish in Mixed Doubles at the Olympic Games with Venus Williams. <br />
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Ram currently has an ATP ranking of 103, which makes him the highest ranked American not directly into the US Open main draw. This will be Ram’s seventh appearance in the US Open; he reached the second round in 2013 and 2015. <br />
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<a href="http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/frances-tiafoe/td51/overview">Frances Tiafoe</a> <br />
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Frances Tiafoe has been billed as a potential star of the men’s game, and the ATP has included him in its <a href="http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/next-generation-2016-campaign-launch" target="_blank">“Next Gen”</a> campaign, which seeks to highlight the results of promising young players.<br />
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Tiafoe first showed his potential by winning the Orange Bowl, one of the top 18-and-under international junior tournaments, as a 15-year-old. He was the youngest player in history to win that event. Tiafoe peaked at number 2 in the ITF junior rankings in 2014. <br />
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Following his success in the juniors, Tiafoe turned professional in 2015. The decision quickly proved to be a wise one, as Tiafoe’s strong results on the Futures and Challenger circuit propelled his ranking from #1,145 at the end of the 2014 season to inside the top 200 by November 2015. <br />
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Tiafoe has continued to move in the right direction in 2016. He recorded his first ATP Masters 1000 level win in Indian Wells over compatriot and fellow Next Gen star Taylor Fritz. The 18-year-old, who hails from College Park, Md. and trains at the Junior Tennis Champion Center, has continued to post impressive results on the Challenger circuit. He has reached four Challenger finals, finishing runner up at three before finally claiming his first title at the Challenger level in Granby, Canada earlier this month. Tiafoe currently sits at a career best #123 in the ATP rankings.<br />
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The 2016 US Open will be Tiafoe’s second appearance in the main draw. Tiafoe earned a wild card into the 2015 US Open by winning the USTA Boy’s 18s National Championships. He fell to 22nd seed Victor Troicki last year in straight sets.<br />
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<b>Final Thoughts</b><br />
<br />
There are arguably more talented American men who were viable candidates for wild cards this year than any other in the past decade. The limited number of slots meant that a resurgent Ryan Harrison, a rising former college star, Dennis Novikov, and young phenoms like Jared Donaldson, Reilly Opelka, Tommy Paul, Noah Rubin, and Stefan Kozlov will all be playing qualifying. <br />
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The USTA decided to go with a mix of rising stars, veterans, and players who just missed out on the main draw. There is still one more wild card left to be announced, which will go to an Australian player due to the reciprocal wild card agreement that the USTA has had with Tennis Australia since 2006. <br />
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What do you think of the USTA’s wild card selections? Would you make any changes? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Next we will take a look at the women’s wild card recipients.</div>
Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com160tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-16311599160114456152016-08-16T11:00:00.002-05:002016-08-16T11:03:56.795-05:00Rhyne Williams, Christian Harrison, and the long road back<b>Champaign, Illinois</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rhyne Williams. ©Jonathan Kelley</td></tr>
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There they were, across the net from each other. Two comeback kids trying to restart their careers after a string of setbacks. Deep into a third set, well over three hours into a match that could pay big dividends down the road. </div>
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For one, a 25-year-old former college star, back problems were what halted his progress at a high point in his career. For the other, the 22-year-old brother of a high-profile player, it was mostly about the hips and thighs.<br />
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Both blessed with plenty of talent, <b>Rhyne Williams</b> and <b>Christian Harrison</b> took very different routes to where they are now. But both have faced significant obstacles in their quest to fulfill their promise. The struggle, as they say, has been real. But both are now brimming with hope that they are on the right paths; still young, both can see themselves reaching newfound heights.</div>
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A win on Saturday in the Car-X Futures final would be a great stepping stone.<br />
<br />
<b>Getting to this point</b></div>
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After a fantastic junior career, during which he reached a high of #8 in the world ITF rankings and even won a Futures event at age 16, Rhyne Williams chose to attend the University of Tennessee, where he starred on one of the most talent-laden teams in recent college tennis history. After two years as a Volunteer (culminating with a three-set loss in the 2011 NCAA singles final to Steve Johnson), Williams turned pro and within two years had reached #114 in the world. He qualified for the 2014 Australian Open and drew Juan Martin del Potro, against whom he won the first set in an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoDT4qmx9rM" target="_blank">electrifying match</a>. The next month he reached the Delray Beach ATP quarterfinals, beating Marcos Baghdatis along the way. Surely the Top 100 was around the corner. And then ... problems.</div>
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Williams started struggling with his back -- a herniated disc -- and by the middle of 2015 it proved too much.</div>
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"I had surgery on the low L5 S1, lower left back," Williams told me after his <a href="http://ontherisetennis.blogspot.com/2016/08/champaign-super-thursday.html" target="_blank">quarterfinal win on Thursday</a>. "They just cut me open -- it's minimally invasive -- went in and shaved down the disc with the laser. Because my issue was the disc was just grinding on my nerve. So I had shooting pain all down my legs. Pretty much couldn't function."<br />
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That put him out for six months. "So they did that little repair, and I was actually healthy and ready to play in December. But I had another setback. I was on court in off-season, bent over to pick up a ball, I stood up and was like, 'Oh boy.' Could not walk for several weeks. I had 2 more herniations. So something crazy like that happens. Just a simple movement -- bending over, standing up and I did it again. So now I have 3 herniations."</div>
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Six more months out. He wouldn't return until this June of this year.<br />
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Christian Harrison, for his part, had already been forced to take a year and a half off as a teen due to a serious leg injury caused by a <a href="http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20150504/COLUMNIST/150509885?p=2&tc=pg">staph infection</a>. Once he was able to return to tennis, still only 16, he eschewed the junior/college route and followed his brother, Ryan, into the pros. He won a Futures event at 19 and reached #351 in the world. And then ... pop.<br />
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"It was 3 years ago now, just over 3 years ago," Harrison said after his own quarterfinal win. "I had an adductor problem. I felt it pop in one of my matches, felt it tear. Ended up seeing some doctors, and tried doing some stuff to avoid surgery but just wasn't able to. And I'd already had that problem on the opposite side. So we decided that was the time to take care of both of my hips and adductors that were the problem. Originally we thought we could just have hip surgery on both sides and the problem was going to go away. But it didn't. Ended up having to do adductor also. In the meantime I had a little shoulder and wrist problem; that wasn't something that was killing me but it was something that I just had a little operation on both just to get it settled."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_aIpUCuvuc-KfhPG21D4AeW0niAGfavoF48YkvwPfCADvUjxlGKyVjFUtYXfUgF1GnxRNt7pvaN3xwBXv_dYCv9UJM28TE6gO0M0W73Hge_ZQWZWVM9oILntGnvhrKBLdTy_t5zOLMHN/s1600/Christian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_aIpUCuvuc-KfhPG21D4AeW0niAGfavoF48YkvwPfCADvUjxlGKyVjFUtYXfUgF1GnxRNt7pvaN3xwBXv_dYCv9UJM28TE6gO0M0W73Hge_ZQWZWVM9oILntGnvhrKBLdTy_t5zOLMHN/s320/Christian.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christian Harrison tidies up. ©Jonathan Kelley.</td></tr>
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</div>
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(I told Harrison that I had noted quite a few teens getting hip surgery, and asked him his thoughts as to why. "If you look at how guys play now, they play with a lot more open stance, a lot more rotation, torque in the hips," he said. He also noted the change in equipment (both rackets and strings), and the concominant move to more western grips to generate more spin.)</div>
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Despite everything, Harrison stayed positive. He never forgot his goals. He would come back.</div>
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<b>The Road Back</b><br />
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<b></b></div>
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Williams spent the first half of the year focused on rehab. He is based at Saddlebrook in Tampa, Florida, where his fitness trainers, Dylan Smith and Chris May, are based, and where he worked with his "therapy guy," PJ Orgass. They have helped get him to a place where he can compete at this level. Smith and May, he said, "do an unreal job. They work with me, Denis Kudla, Tim Smyczek, Alex Kuznetsov. We have a really good group there. So Saddlebrook's really helping me out big time." </div>
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"I really don't know how long it's going to last or how I'm able to play," he said. "But I just figured, 'Screw it, I have to give it a shot.' I honestly don't know how it's holding up. I've just done a ton of rehab, and I think that's been the key."</div>
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Williams returned to the court in June playing the qualies of Futures. He racked up 21 wins to only 6 losses en route to the Champaign final -- his first pro singles final since winning the Dallas Challenger in 2013. </div>
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He declared, with no small hint of surprise in his voice, that the injuries aren't really affecting his game. "I feel like maybe I'm not in quite as good shape as a couple of years ago. But I feel like I'm moving just fine, serving fine. I'm not really limited out there. I definitely don't feel like I did pre-surgery, because I could not move a muscle. So I think things are looking up. As long as I can maintain where I'm at right now and just keep getting fitter, I think I'll be all right. We'll see."</div>
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(For the record, Williams said he was feeling good at the end of a four week stretch of hot, humid Futures in Illinois. When asked why he was <a href="https://twitter.com/jokelley_tennis/status/763756219362410496" target="_blank">stretching</a> against the fence in the second set of his quarterfinal, he said it was due to concern about possible cramping -- not about the back.)</div>
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I asked Harrison to describe an average day for him when he was working his way through his layoff. "It was like 3 to 4 hours of rehabbing," he said. "I would probably sleep in -- I have trouble going to sleep if I'm not out playing tennis and getting tired -- so I was probably up until 2:00-3:00 every morning, and then I probably would sleep until 12:00-1:00 and then I would start my day at 1:30, going to rehab from 1:30-5:00, sometimes longer. I spent a lot of time with Jorge [Giral]," the physical therapist at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. "There I had everything that I needed. Countless guys helped me back. Another was Christopher Wheaton out in Vail. So I had tons of people as far as off-court stuff to get my body healthy again."</div>
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Harrison started his comeback slowly, playing World Team Tennis; doubles with his brother last year at Winston-Salem (they won their first round match); and then mixed doubles with another comeback kid, Victoria Duval, at the US Open. He returned in earnest this spring and had reached a couple of Futures quarterfinals before his run in Champaign, putting him on the cusp of the Top 1000.<br />
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<b>Motivation and lessons learned</b></div>
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<b><br /></b>Harrison credited his past layoff with helping him through the more recent one. "I kind of knew what to expect a little bit better this time. Especially when I started back with tournaments, I was kind of aware of the things I wasn't doing well. It takes a while to get back into your routine at tournaments, just being around the guys again and learning how to keep yourself focused and just in that environment. That's a lot different, that you can't replicate in practice.<br />
<br />
"So whether it was just writing things down when I was hurt, just being aware of the focus when I came back, I was already doing things like that to try to make it better this time."</div>
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Harrison also said the batch of younger Americans -- the Fritzes, the Tiafoes, the Donaldsons -- doing well has provided an extra push. "Honestly it's great for me because I can kind of compare myself with them and use it as motivation to stay with those guys who are coming up," he said. "Before I got hurt, they were younger so I never got the chance to play them. And now that they're breaking through, I haven't been able to see a lot of these guys play in person, but I do know them."</div>
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Given how much developmental time he missed, he notes, he's a similar "tennis age" to them. But, he adds, "You never want to get beat by a younger guy, especially from your country. It's good to see Americans doing well, but also from a competitive standpoint, it makes you a little more fired up."</div>
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Williams, too, has a higher-ranked, younger player he can point to for motivation: himself. He often thinks back to his matches at grand slams and other big tournaments. "Christopher, my cousin [and former coach], made me a really cool compilation of good points that he filmed over the 2 years that we were working together. So I actually go back and watch a lot of that stuff. It just really gets me fired up, to know that I've played at that level and I can do it again. It gives me hope. It's cool to look back at those moments. It's not every day that you're playing against Juan Martin del Potro in the Australian Open. It's cool to have that and I'm glad that Christopher made me that video, because I watch it once a week, maybe, especially in the tournaments."</div>
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<b>Grinding it out</b></div>
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Despite their talent level, Williams and Harrison will need to grind it out to get to where they want to be. For both guys, wild cards will be less plentiful. And reaching the quarterfinals of Futures tournaments -- which often requires beating two very talented players -- only brings a few ranking points. “It’s pretty tough, honestly," said Williams. "Because the level is high here. Nobody out here is a plumber, I can guarantee that. Every match is tough. All these guys hit the ball like they're Top 300 at least. So it is frustrating when you feel like you're playing good tennis and you lose 2nd or 3rd round and you only leave with a couple hundred bucks and a few points. It is very tough. That’s why it’s so hard to get out of these and get to the next level. Because it grinds you down, that's for sure. So you really have to try and keep a positive attitude and just accept that you're going to have some tough losses, and you're going to leave some tournaments unsatisfied. That’s just tennis. But it’s always good to fall back on the experiences that I’ve had. "</div>
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"I know that I can play at a high level," he said matter-of-factly, "and as long as my body lets me I think that I have a good chance getting back there."<br />
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Harrison is also feeling positive. "Honestly right now I'm feeling better than I've felt yet," he said. "I was exploring around with treatments before and I finally found something I feel like is really clicking for me. Especially now I'm way more confident in myself to be able to not just play and not worry about getting hurt, throwing myself around the way that I need to; but also that I'll stay healthy. I still have a couple of hurdles that I'm going to get over, just naturally as you're coming back; if you see guys that come back from a lot of surgeries, they might be playing for a year or two but it still takes them a while to get their body feeling where they need, and for me that's why I'm going to make sure that allow more off weeks and if I feel something that I'm even the slightest bit unsure of then I'll just rest or take it at that time. But that's how I'm going to do things a little bit different this time around."<br />
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One thing Harrison has been working on is his timing -- a notable asset for him already. "I work on it all the time," he said. "You watch these top guys and, whether it's like Nishikori who trains down at Bradenton or David Ferrer. You know, they're not as big as some of these other guys that are able to get a lot more cheap points, but you watch them, and the timing of their strokes, just being able to really take balls on the rise, learn how to keep it short, holding that baseline and learning how to take time away from their opponent once they see them off balance. that's something that I really try to work on probably where that comes into play, because I try to utilize that in my points. That's something that I've been really trying to work on last couple of months."</div>
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<br />
<b>The final</b><br />
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I wasn't able to witness the final, but it looks to have been quite the classic. After both guys had gotten to the last match without dropping a set, the two warriors went at it (according to the ITF live scores) for three sets. 231 points. </div>
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3 hours and 34 minutes.</div>
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After winning the first set in a tiebreaker, Williams couldn't capitalize on his 5 break points in the second, and was broken himself in the sixth game. In the final set, Harrison raced to a 4-0 lead, but Williams chipped away to 3-4*. However, neither player could muster a break after that, and three games later, the match was over, along with the tournament, and this swing through the Land of Lincoln.<br />
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FINAL: Harrison d. Williams 6-7(2) 6-3 6-4. 27 rankings points for Harrison (back into the Top 700) and 15 for Williams (good enough for Top 750). A big help.<br />
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<b>What's next</b><br />
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Williams' next stop was back to Saddlebrook, where he works with John Isner's coach Rene Moller, who is the director of tennis, and with coach Andrew Banks. After that, "I think I'm probably going to go to Canada. There are 3-4 $25Ks in a row [in late August/early September]. But it's funky -- It goes outdoor hard to green clay to outdoor hard to indoor hard. So I really don't know what to think of that. Maybe play 2 or 3 of them. I don't know. But I'm probably going to need a couple of weeks off after this, that's for sure." Then his goal is to try to get into the draws of the fall indoor challenger events that in recent years have comprised the USTA Australian Open Wild Card Challenge. "I always play well at those. Indoors is great for me. So who knows. If I can get my ranking up high enough to get into those then definitely, that would be huge. So that's the goal I guess."</div>
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Harrison is also planning on going to Canada for those Futures. The one thing that might delay that trip? A potential wild card to US Open qualifying. "I'm still waiting to hear. You know, I haven't been able to play a lot so I haven't had a chance to get my ranking there, but I'm hoping, if I can continue to do well here and prove that I'm healthy that I'll have a chance there, but it's tough to say because there are so many good younger American guys that they might want to give a chance with the USTA." He said that would be "completely understandable," considering he got some of those opportunities when he was their age.</div>
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Both guys can use all the help they can get on their roads back. They are still quite young by modern tennis standards, when ATP and Challenger finals between players in their 30s has become commonplace. And both have the ability to play world-class tennis.</div>
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As long as their bodies let them.</div>
Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-16842495490882865032016-08-12T04:40:00.001-05:002016-08-16T11:01:08.776-05:00Champaign Super ThursdayIt was a steamy morning on the blue courts of the University of Illinois' Atkins Tennis Center. At 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, eight players gathered to play the four quarterfinal matches of the Car-X Futures of Champaign, the final stop in a four-week series of $25,000 events in southern and central Illinois. The first two legs of the series were won by former University of Tennessee player Tennys Sandgren. Last week's Decatur tournament was won by past University of Southern California star Roberto Quiroz. And 3 of 4 semifinalists on this day were similarly former college standouts.<br />
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It was tough to keep track of all the matches, as they were played simultaneously and three of them ended within minutes of each other. It was a bit of a three-ring circuit atmosphere. But with four rings. And about as many spectators as performers.<br />
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The tennis was played at a pretty high level, despite the conditions and lack of atmosphere. “The level is high out here," said Rhyne Williams. "Nobody out here is a plumber, I can guarantee that." I assume that’s good thing.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6iA39ZpvvTATorhtq-Xq9CPqjbL5qMVGbvR2q4DnMp24RuGYXqlzG067-EhBvhXdhVa_eVeWmf4AN1aAcgdCvl1yYubCOrFYVyjLlJmIY9Zo-e9rvaBZUeGDGbo_sLoEjXbgvqzhXGxR/s1600/Rhyne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6iA39ZpvvTATorhtq-Xq9CPqjbL5qMVGbvR2q4DnMp24RuGYXqlzG067-EhBvhXdhVa_eVeWmf4AN1aAcgdCvl1yYubCOrFYVyjLlJmIY9Zo-e9rvaBZUeGDGbo_sLoEjXbgvqzhXGxR/s320/Rhyne.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rhyne Williams. (c) Jonathan Kelley, <br />
On the Rise</td></tr>
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Williams, on the nearest court to the tennis center, played Tulane University star Dominik Koepfer of Germany, one of just two non-American singles players left in the draw. Koepfer is coached in part, and uncomfortably in this situation, by Rhyne’s cousin and former coach, Christopher Williams, who was one of three spectators for the match (the others being the father of a young ball kid and, for the better part of a set, me). </div>
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The match itself was a good test for the recently-back-from-injury Williams, with left-handed Koepfer (who was for a time the top-ranked collegiate in the country) showing off his variety and speed. The rallies were long, thanks partially to the balls fluffing up, according to Williams. Both players also had to contend with a weird acoustic effect that caused the chair umpire to call lets on very-much-non-let Koepfer serves. In the end, Williams saved all four break points he faced, and converted on three of the four he forced, and that was very much that.</div>
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At one point in the second set, I noticed Williams stretching at the back of the court. He said afterward his back felt fine, but that he was a little concerned he was starting to cramp. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to go to a third set, winning 6-2 6-4.<br />
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On the next court, the home favorite Jared Hiltzik — who just ended his storied career at the University of Illinois — did have to go to a third set. That's because his opponent was a juggernaut in the first set. Like Koepfer, Hiltzik is traveling with Christopher Williams, who is part of Billy Heiser’s team at Saddlebrook in Tampa, Florida, that also includes Tim Smyczek and Denis Kudla. Hiltzik will be moving there next week as he continues the early stages of his post-college professional tennis career.<br />
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On this day, Hiltzik found himself struggling early against Stanford's rising sophomore Sameer Kumar, who was particularly brilliant at the net. Kumar got the only break of the first set on his only break point opportunity to go up 5-3, then won a tough game to take the first set 6-3. The second set started out much like the first one, with no break points on offer ... until the sixth game, when Kumar double faulted to give Hiltzik his first break point of the match. Point taken. Sets split.<br />
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In the final set, Hiltzik waltzed to a 5-1 lead and had two match points on Kumar's serve, but the Cardinal had one more fight left in him, and won the next 7 points to hold, then break, and give himself a fighting chance. But serving at 3-5, he couldn't keep up his level and he lost, 6-3 in the third.<br />
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“Sameer — he’s a great player," said Hiltzik of his fellow Midwest native. "I’ve always known how good of a player he is. Great coaches, he was trained by Brian Smith growing up and now Paul Goldstein at Stanford. I made some mid-match adjustments, and I'm kind of lucky I got away with that one."<br />
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As to the specific adjustments he made, Hiltzik said, "He’s a good serve and volleyer, so I had to make adjustments on my return, my return position. He's not going to miss too much, so you just have to create more opportunities. It's a good moving-forward point for me in becoming more aggressive."<br />
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Like his opponent on the day, Hiltzik has a Big 10-playing brother. Kumar’s brother, Mihir, just graduated from Northwestern University. Hiltzik’s brother, Aron will be returning the the Illini in the fall.<br />
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And yesterday, the two brothers faced each other for the very first time in singles in a professional tournament. “It was brutal. Brutal,” said Jared, who won 6-3 0-6 7-6(3). “Never want to do it again. I think if it ever happens again, we would do some things different," like talk ahead of time to make sure that both players are secure in the other competing as hard as possible.<br />
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Hiltzik remembered playing only once in a Boys 12s tournament. "I think my mom was crying, I was crying, Aron was crying. She made us split sets so we could go three sets." When asked if there were tears this week, Hiltzik replied, “Oh yeah. Yep. Mom was crying. After the match I got pretty emotional just because it was really stressful. I think he was a little emotional, too."<br />
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Speaking of brothers, on the next court over was yet another brother of a player, although not a college one. Christian Harrison, brother of Ryan, was steady as Simone Biles on a balance beam against big-hitting but inconsistent Takanyi Garanganga of Zimbabwe.<br />
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Harrison won 6-3 6-1 to make his first semifinal since May 2013, not long before he was sidelined for over two years with hip and other issues. Harrison was extremely solid on his service games — he hit 7 aces, lost only 2 points on his first serve, and faced zero break points — and took advantage of some loose errors from Garanganga on the forehand side. Garanganga also double faulted 12 times.<br />
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Harrison said, "It was a match where you really have to focus on and take what he gives you sometimes."</div>
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I asked Harrison -- who is smaller of stature than his older brother -- how he would describe his game, and what he prides himself on. "Not really having a weaker side that's really glaring, that guys can pick on," he said. "Being able to hustle using anticipation and speed; having good court awareness; and then just trying to do all the fundamentals, the basics of the game right. And just recognizing the opponent's court positioning and trying to take care of that. It's not like if you watch Ryan, you immediately know he's going to get a bunch of free points on his serve."</div>
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Also, he had an explanation for this:</div>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Christian Harrison doesn't keep the tidiest of changeover areas <a href="https://t.co/QONVNLVFXe">pic.twitter.com/QONVNLVFXe</a></div>
— Jonathan Kelley (@jokelley_tennis) <a href="https://twitter.com/jokelley_tennis/status/763752979639992320">August 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
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Something about not wanting to have to dig through his bag for a new sweatband during short changeovers.<br />
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Finally, way out on court 6, the last match to finish was between Wil Spencer and Northwestern University’s Strong Kirchheimer. It was great to be able to see Spencer in person — he was one of the first players I ever <a href="http://ontherisetennis.blogspot.com/2015/03/wil-spencer-is-giving-this-shot.html" target="_blank">interviewed</a> for this blog — and as is his wont he gave us an exciting match, holding off the big-hitting Wildcat 3-6 7-6(3) 6-0. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wil Spencer. (c) Jonathan Kelley, On the Rise</td></tr>
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It was doubly great to see Spencer compete as it was just a few months ago that I read about Spencer's <a href="http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/20160527/SPORTS/160529059" target="_blank">retirement from professional tennis</a>. But he's decided to give it <a href="http://www.nwfdailynews.com/sports/20160718/spencer-wins-7500-paycheck-returns-to-pro-tennis-career" target="_blank">yet another shot</a>, and he's making the best of it, with a quarterfinal in his first ITF tournament back (including a win over Harrison) and now a semifinal in his second.</div>
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<br /></div>
Spencer noted that Kirchheimer clearly didn’t have his legs under him in the final set, thinks in large part to having to play three consecutive three-setters, including his previous round in which he upset top seed Sandgren 7-5 0-6 6-4. Given Spencer’s grinding style, fatigue is not something you want to feel when facing him. Kirchheimer agreed that he was "pretty dead" toward the end but was pleased with where his game was relative to when he started the Illinois swing.<br />
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Kirchheimer played #3 singles at Northwestern last year, where he had one of the best seasons in school history. "I love Northwestern, I love everything about it," he said. "Our coaches are great, the program is great, we have a bunch of guys on the team who want the same thing. Last year was really fun; I did a lot of good things and so did the team. It was really important just to try to stay level through that. It meant a lot but I'm trying to build off that and have a little bit better senior year."</div>
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I'll have more on Spencer's path, along with Harrison's and Williams', in a future post.</div>
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The semifinals will feature Spencer vs. Harrison and Williams vs. Hiltzik. One of those four men will get a sizable 27 points for winning the tournament, while the losing finalist will get 15 and the other two will get 8 points. At the Futures level, winning tournaments is just about the only thing that can help get you to that next level, the ATP Challenger Tour.<br />
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In doubles, Hiltzik and Koepfer took out #2 seeds Gonzalo Escobar and Alejandro Gomez to reach the final, where they’ll face Hiltzik’s former teammate Tim Kopinski, who teamed with Alex Lawson to beat another Illini, Dennis Nevolo, and Chad <a href="http://www.flavordoctor.net/about-flavordoctor-foods/dr-chad-rhoden/" target="_blank">“The Flavor Doctor”</a> Rhoden, who I believe by making the semifinals will make his ATP ranking debut at the age of 40!</div>
Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-18853331526065482582016-08-09T12:35:00.001-05:002016-08-09T12:49:54.673-05:00Getting to know: Siddharth Chari<div>
<i>On Sunday, I had the opportunity to take my third consecutive trip to the USTA Boys' 16s & 18s National Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I only had part of an afternoon to spend, and that meant the only options on the Kalamazoo College courts for me were the Boys 16s singles 2nd round matches. I took the opportunity to check out players who were new to me, and one of the matches that caught my eye was an engaging tussle between two players of South Asian heritage: a tall, lanky player named Shiddharth Chari and his shorter opponent, #26 seed Nevin Arimilli of Texas. I was taken by Chari's big strokes and his fluency at net. Many of the games were tense, drawn-out affairs; in the end, Chari took the match 7-5 6-4.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZoQnNihiAat-IS01sItzr_5DGb1gTI3POXyAN8bnGOLUPURqEsuA-24xFNgt2QKYIyXKdJMTmU759MH_OphDceYZ7HoJ579NAA3pqPw5o49QFNSoLvLT_-Ae92zaDZv2CFHcJrEtunJ5/s1600/Chari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZoQnNihiAat-IS01sItzr_5DGb1gTI3POXyAN8bnGOLUPURqEsuA-24xFNgt2QKYIyXKdJMTmU759MH_OphDceYZ7HoJ579NAA3pqPw5o49QFNSoLvLT_-Ae92zaDZv2CFHcJrEtunJ5/s320/Chari.jpg" width="240" /></a><i>I thought it would be interesting to talk to this low-profile player to learn more about his journey to Kalamazoo and give On the Rise readers insight into the life of a lower profile junior player. Many thanks to Chari for taking the time to talk!</i></div>
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<b>Can you tell us your name?</b><br />
Siddharth Chari.<br />
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<b>And where are you from?</b><br />
Saratoga, California. <br />
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<b>And where is that?</b><br />
It’s kind of close to San Jose, about an hour from San Francisco. So, Bay Area.<br />
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<b>Tell us about your journey. How did you end up at Nationals?</b><br />
Well, I was an alternate last year, but this past year, I’ve been playing really well, I really stepped up my game knowing that it’s getting close to college and I kind of want to go D1. So I was training really hard and I was really happy to make it here. I’m ecstatic over this win, I can’t believe I’m in the third round. It's pretty cool.<br />
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<b>You played a seeded player. Did you know anything about him before you played him?</b><br />
I’d never played him, I just knew he was ranked higher than me. That’s all I knew.<br />
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<b>Where about are you ranked now?</b><br />
I’m around, I think, #66 in the nation for 16-and-under. Obviously he’s higher, that’s why he’s seeded. That's why it's an awesome win for me.<br />
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<b>Where are you ranked in your Section?</b><br />
I think I’m ranked 7th or 8th in the NorCal Section.<br />
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<b>So you’ve played some of these other guys at the tournament before?</b><br />
Yeah for sure. I think there are 10 or 11 kids from NorCal and I’ve played all of them. And then there are also a few kids from other sections that I’ve played, at other nationals like Clay Courts and intersectionals and some Level 2s.<br />
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<b>So tell me about your match today. What worked well for you?</b><br />
My serves, for sure. On huge points I would break out a huge kick serve or a huge first serve, which really helped me. My confidence level on my service games, knowing that I would hit a big serve really helped me.<br />
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Also, my mentality — my mental toughness during break points really helped me. I knew I had nothing to lose because he was the higher seeded player, so I just left everything out there, really happy I came out with a win.<br />
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<b>You've got something of a cannon of a forehand. Has that always been a weapon of yours?</b><br />
No, not always. Actually my backhand used to be better than my forehand but recently I had a bad left wrist injury so I was just practicing forehands and now it’s a weapon of mine.<br />
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<b>It seems a little bit unorthodox, your technique on it. Would you agree?</b><br />
Yeah it is. My coach when I was really young told me to “break my wrist” so I’d get more hook on my balls, so I just kept it that way. <br />
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On my backhand, I have a little injury on my backhand. I think the breaking my wrist so much has taken its toll on my wrist, a little tendonitis. Hopefully it heals soon, and I’m playing well still.<br />
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<b>Who are you here with?</b><br />
Just my dad.<br />
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<b>Did he give you any advice before your match today?</b><br />
Just in general. Nothing specific against this opponent, just he gave me these five things to do. Bend my knees, because I’m a tall guy and a lot of times, stupid errors, don’t bend my knees. A lot of it was just mental. Like take your time between points, breathe, don’t get mad at yourself over anything, and just have fun out there, fight.<br />
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<b>Did you have any chance to do any YouTube/video research on your opponent before your started?</b><br />
No, I didn’t know much about him other than asking a friend how he played, but that didn’t really help.<br />
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<b>Can I ask where you are on your college journey?</b><br />
I’m starting to look at colleges right now. But I haven’t talked to anyone yet. After this tournament, going into Junior year, starting September 1 I can start talking to coaches.<br />
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<b>Is there a part of the country or division that you’d like to be in particularly?</b><br />
I’m going for Division I, and I kind of want to move East Coast but I mean there are some amazing schools on the West Coast like Stanford. But I’m going to start touring colleges and looking into that.<br />
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<b>Do you have a favorite professional player?</b><br />
Not really a favorite, but I just like looking at how amazing Djokovic is. It’s like a joke. He’s amazing. Just all the pros are so good. I like Kei Nishikori, he’s pretty cool.<br />
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<b>Have you ever had a chance to hit against a pro?</b><br />
No.<br />
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<b>When did you start playing?</b><br />
When I was 7 or 8.<br />
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<b>What’s your favorite surface?</b><br />
Hard for sure.<br />
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<b>Have you ever played on grass?</b><br />
Yeah, I like grass. I don’t really like clay. My game doesn’t suit clay. <i>[Smiles.]</i><br />
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<b>What about your transition game — coming forward — is that something that you work on a lot?</b><br />
Yeah for sure. It was really bad actually just the beginning of this year. My dad would tell me to bend my knees. I would just go up there, thinking it was an easy shot, and I would just hit without bending my knees and it would be a careless error. But I’ve been working on it a lot. My big idea when hitting those is it doesn’t have to be a great shot. Keep it safe so you can come to net, finish off there. It’s really helped me.<br />
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<b>What about volleys?</b><br />
Volleys … my coach used to be a professional doubles player, so he’s really helped me just stick it. So my technique is really good on volleys.<br />
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<b>What’s your coach’s name?</b><br />
Sandy Mayer. <i>[Mayer, a former Top 10 ATP player, reached the 1973 Wimbledon semifinals (beating top seed Ilie Nastase along the way); that same year he was part of the Stanford national championship team. Mayer's brother Gene reached #4 in the world; the two brothers teamed up to win the 1979 French Open in men's doubles.]</i></div>
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<i>Postscript: Chari fell in his third round match 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 to Niroop Vallabhaneni of Paradise Valley, Arizona.</i></div>
Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com65tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-66203134878240279632016-07-24T16:16:00.001-05:002016-07-24T16:16:52.063-05:00Ronaldo and the social responsibility of athletes<div>
<i>by Beau Treyz</i></div>
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Several weeks ago we got to see the 8-pack abs, the bulging biceps and the hair that somehow looks perfectly styled after Cristiano Ronaldo scored the game winning penalty kick and ripped his jersey to pieces in celebration. Ronaldo is an incredible specimen. It’s hard not to judge him off his appearance and the way he’s portrayed by the media, but I cannot forget that that is not all there is to him. In 2013, years before winning the Champions League title for Real Madrid, Ronaldo said, “Listen, I’m not going to change the world, you’re not going to change the world. But we can help, we can all help.” Appreciating Ronaldo for these types of comments is massive when I think of how much influence he has on soccer fans around the world; recognizing him as a thoughtful human being is just as important as noticing his newest hair cut. It’s also key to recognize that when he says, “I’m not going to change the world, you’re not going to change the world”, he means that it won’t happen instantaneously; no one of us can snap our fingers and make the world a wonderland.<br /><br /> As I’ve started traveling and competing on the Futures Tour, I’ve seen places and people that I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise and those experiences have made me question what I’m doing. How can I change the world? How can I help? What kind of help does the world need? What I mean by “help” is making a positive impact on the community I live in, and using myself as a tool for others’ success. Hitting forehands doesn’t help anybody; it really just furthers my own career. To drive past the sheet-metal huts in Cape Town, South Africa and think that they don’t have running water, while I’m spending my life playing tennis is a reminder that there are more important things in the world than tennis; a reminder that there are more important things than the outcome of my tennis career. Although I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do to help the world yet, I think questioning what it is that we do is vital. What I like about Ronaldo saying “we can help, we can all help” is that no matter what it is we do, it’s our responsibility to help make the world better in whatever way we can. At his level of fame, Ronaldo really does change the world by playing soccer. He inspires kids, he helps families bond over the teams he plays for, he gives cities and nations hope; the way he acts on and off the field will resonate and shape people that look up to him. In a way he’s lucky because his own value to the world must be so obvious to him.<br /><br /> Would it make me, a less famous person, feel better if I knew who and how I was impacting people? Yes, I think it would. But is it our purpose to make the world better in whatever way we see fit? Or maybe it’s my own ego that makes me think I can have a positive impact on the entire world; maybe I just think if everyone was more like me the world would be a better place? Why isn’t it enough to have an impact in the community in which I live? Why do I not value my impact as much as the perceived impact I think other people have? Am I still comparing myself to others? I am where I am, and it is my responsibility to do what I can. I don’t mean that I should settle for jobs I don’t want, but instead make my current situation work the way I want my future situation to. <br /><br /> I still hold on to the dream of “making it” in tennis, or in whatever career path I choose after my playing days are done. I would love to play the US Open, or have my podcasts and blogs take off and write for the New York Times; those are goals and dreams of mine. But what I see now is that I can’t wait until those things happen or don’t happen in order to take responsibility for my time. If I’m playing Futures in Greece and there are kids watching my match, to them I’m a big-time tennis player. I have a responsibility to compete and act in such a way that I would like those kids to; my responsibility is the same as Ronaldo’s, only on a much smaller scale. I may only be able to reach a few people through my athletic career, but those people still matter; and the way I act and carry myself matters. I should not let myself off the hook simply because I am not famous and internationally known.<br /><br /> As an athlete I’ve always felt like it’s only the super successful athletes that can make comments like Ronaldo’s. Or maybe those super successful players are just the ones the media covers closer and more often, so they’re the ones we hear about. Arthur Ashe said, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” To me this is very similar to Ronaldo saying, “we can all help.” So far I’ve found that the world is full of competition and comparisons; between people, races, and cultures. But just because some gain enormous followings and affect many people doesn’t diminish the fact that some of us have minor impacts on the world and those around us. <br /><br /> A couple of weeks ago we saw Portugal win the 2016 European Championships, in which Ronaldo played great until a knee injury forced him out of the Championship game against France. As I sit here writing this I can’t help but think how fortunate I have been in life to even wonder how I’m supposed to give meaning to my life; I have time to think about bigger ideas, I’m not focused on survival. I also wonder if I’ll answer these questions I have, or will I ever be satisfied. It may be idealistic but I hope I never stop thinking about how I am impacting the world; because I run into other people everyday and how I act towards others is my own choice, and those choices shape the communities and cultures I live in. Ronaldo was harshly criticized by the media for his sideline antics during the finals, where he was constantly giving instructions to teammates and firing them up. But if he had sat on the sidelines and sulked about his injury he would have been framed as selfish and immature; now he’s brash and needs to be the center of attention; no matter what he does someone will talk about it. I would rather talk about the big picture with athletes, and try to find the meaning behind what they do in the world rather than what they do in the heat of the game, because wins and losses are always replaced with the next week’s results, but an athlete’s legacy can last forever. Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-74746938310361062822016-07-11T15:59:00.002-05:002016-07-11T15:59:34.776-05:00Stefan Kozlov is making strides<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0I_jUCu23HIxpkf9TkIBVjWhYO1PNOsmx7aBONjdLtNj-SbcVng0kxnkAtz-LdOjzOZ4sjINEYpcu_QkUlnLxAIo7pGJHF5tnRqlPLXaGU3dNPXkRBhnXlDK7C0LJWOEc5sDra-6frgD/s1600/Kozlov+Winnetka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0I_jUCu23HIxpkf9TkIBVjWhYO1PNOsmx7aBONjdLtNj-SbcVng0kxnkAtz-LdOjzOZ4sjINEYpcu_QkUlnLxAIo7pGJHF5tnRqlPLXaGU3dNPXkRBhnXlDK7C0LJWOEc5sDra-6frgD/s320/Kozlov+Winnetka.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stefan Kozlov won the doubles title at the 2016 Winnetka <br />Challenger. <i>(c) Jonathan Kelley, On the Rise</i></td></tr>
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Stefan Kozlov is a fun tennis player to watch. This isn't breaking news, of course. Anyone who watched him during his illustrious junior days, or who has followed his still-nascent pro career, can attest to what he brings to the sport: a full array of shots, a vocal enthusiasm, a flair for the dramatic.<br /><br />Kozlov currently sits at a career-high #169 in the ATP rankings, having started the year at #351. He's the world's 7th-ranked teen, although only the 4th-ranked American teen. Still just 18 years old, Kozlov is the youngest member of the group of Americans, born between February 1996 and February 1998, that currently includes 8 of the 23 players under 21 years old in the Top 325. (No <i>three other countries combined </i>have more than 7 players in that age and ranking range.)<div>
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Last month on the grass of s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, Kozlov received a wildcard and notched his first two ATP match wins, over Yoshihito Nishioka and then American Steve Johnson, who two weeks later won his first ATP tournament in Nottingham and then reached the Wimbledon 4th round. Koz then lost 6-3 6-0 to soon-thereafter Novak Djokovic conqueror Sam Querrey.<br /><div>
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Last week in Winnetka, Kozlov lost in the second round to eventual semifinalist Go Soeda, but teamed with Australian JP Smith to nab his second career challenger doubles title. (In the final, the natural left-hander showed off his skills by hitting a lefty forehand winner. See the <a href="http://livestream.com/ATP/winnetka2016centrecourt/videos/129256235" target="_blank">24-minute mark</a>.) It was his 8th title as a pro, a total that includes four Futures singles titles, all since last fall.</div>
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I had the opportunity to talk with Kozlov following his and Smith's <a href="http://livestream.com/ATP/winnetka2016court1/videos/129014634" target="_blank">thrilling 4-6 7-5 (11-9) second round doubles win</a> over the Winnetka top seeds, Dijiv Sharan and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.<br /><br /><b>OTR: Just wanted to catch up with you, see how things are going. You had your first big pro trip playing a lot of bigger tournaments, when you went to Europe. Can you walk us through how that went for you?</b><br />SK: Yeah, I went over to Europe for 2 months and played a lot on red clay – a surface that I’m not so familiar with – and grass, a surface that I like. I played a lot of matches over there, fortunately, and I started playing a lot better on the red clay toward the end of the trip. But unfortunately I had to start playing grass then, and obviously I enjoyed the grass, had a lot of fun there, played some good people.<br /><br /><b>OTR: You made your first ATP quarterfinal while you were out there. How big was that for you?</b><br />SK: It was a very exciting week. I was having a lot of fun on court and playing some really good tennis and enjoying it, and I was really excited to beat a couple of good guys.<br /><br /><b>OTR: You beat a guy in Steve Johnson who just made the 4th round of Wimbledon. What does that tell you about where you’re at right now?</b><br />SK: That just tells me that I’m able to play at the level of these guys and keep being able to compete with them. Obviously Stevie’s a very good player. I played my best – I don’t know how he played – but it just shows that we’re all very close to going to the next level.<br /><br /><b>OTR: What does that next level look like in terms of your tennis? Not just your strokes but also your match play awareness?</b><br />SK: I’ve just got to keep building my ranking to get to the next level, and I’ve gotta keep improving every shot in my game and every mental aspect of my game. If I do that then hopefully I’ll get to the next level with all of the other Americans<br /><br /><b>OTR: When you’re playing guys like Stevie and Sam out there, are you consciously seeing it as a development opportunity, are you looking at it just in terms of a win or a loss? What are you thinking about on court?</b><br />SK: I’m just thinking about learning from these guys and getting a good experience, and hopefully I can see where my game is at against top players in the world and that’s what I did that week – just tried to see where my game was at. Obviously Sam beat me pretty handily, that was very tough.<br /><br /><b>OTR: I know you take a lot of pride in your return game. What is it that you think will make you an elite returner on the ATP?</b><br />SK: I think I’ve just got to be quicker – quicker split-stepping and moving, cause the guys, they serve really … they put it in good spots where you’ve really got to be able to move quick. I think if I get it in the middle of the racquet and I swing at it hard, that will help me out for sure.<br /><br /><b>OTR: You're now into the Top 200, which is going to help you get into some tournaments from here on out. What is your summer schedule going to look like?</b><br />SK: Just going to try to mix in one or two ATPs and the rest challengers so I can keep building my game and stuff like that. I’ll play Newport next week; I’ll play Binghamton and then Lexington I believe, and then not sure about after that.<br /><br /><b>OTR: Are you thinking at all about the USTA Wild Card Challenge?</b><br />SK: Yeah, I would love to get a wildcard into the Open. So whatever it takes to try to do it, I’ll for sure put myself in a position to.<br /><b><br />OTR: In a few weeks is Kalamazoo [site of the USTA Boys National Championships]; you’re not going to be there for the first time in a while. Do you have any memories of that now that you’re a veteran of those wars?</b><br /><br />SK: (With a wry smile.) Who knows, I might be there. I can still play of course. I’m just messing around. Probably not, but I had a lot of memories at Kalamazoo. One of the best junior tournaments I’ve ever played, always a lot of fun there. And it’s very well run by Mark Riley. It’s a blast, I have a lot of good memories. I’m never going to forget the match last year, the five-setter [against Frances Tiafoe in the final]. One of the toughest losses of my life, but we got over it and I love that place.<br /><br /><b>OTR: You and Frances Tiafoe are pretty close in the rankings right now. Are you guys aware of where each other is at and do you use it as motivation?</b><br />SK: Yeah we mess around. We know where each other is ranked and we try to pass each other every week, and we mess around a little bit. I caught up to him [after Kozlov's first round match] we had the same amount of points, and then he went up again [by reaching the Winnetka final]. (Laughs.) We’re playing cat and mouse here. We’re pretty good friends, we usually support each other.<br /><br /><b>OTR: Are you where you thought you would be a year ago? Or were you even thinking a year about being consistently at the Grand Slam qualifiers level?</b><br /><br />SK: I wasn’t really thinking about that, I was just trying to improve my game and learn as much as I could from people around me. I wasn’t really worried about anything, just getting better. It’s still my objective today.<br /><br /><b>OTR: You picked up a few trophies the last several months. Are those trophies important to you or is it all about the points?</b><br />SK: I don’t mind about either, I like challenging myself with the ranking, and keep going up. New career highs are very fun for me. I had good success winning some Futures at the beginning of the year and then I moved up, so now it’s a little bit tougher to win tournaments, but hopefully I can start doing it again (laughs).<br /><br /><b>OTR: If you were to envision yourself a year from now – I know it’s tough to do – but where would you like to be? Where Taylor Fritz [current ranking: #64] is now, where Alexander Zverev [current ranking: #27] is now?</b><br />SK: I don’t know where I’d like to be, it really depends on how things turn out. But of course I want to be as good as I can be and I honestly don’t know what that’s going to be, so hopefully where Zverev is or … I don’t know.<br /><b><br />OTR: Finally, how has it been traveling with your brother [Boris, age 15] this week?</b></div>
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SK: A lot of fun. He's not much around.</div>
Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-60549805103442122482016-06-14T16:37:00.005-05:002016-07-12T00:09:30.772-05:00Top Team USA Headlines from the First Half of 2016Top ten USA storylines, First Half<br />
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<b>1. Serena Can't Catch-22 (Yet)</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxaNfn23ykYkERq57a6exED_aZtyFDsyOaBczTO84zNcsg_m-l2YKMGciYP0BtlCLcLrO-tnNNbGYXQRfPgWrA4HYqZ-7sMgTwZ_7MTScCi7VxC9bsqv0g0iYwX3kM0rQhUJ_rqviHk00/s1600/Serena+splits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxaNfn23ykYkERq57a6exED_aZtyFDsyOaBczTO84zNcsg_m-l2YKMGciYP0BtlCLcLrO-tnNNbGYXQRfPgWrA4HYqZ-7sMgTwZ_7MTScCi7VxC9bsqv0g0iYwX3kM0rQhUJ_rqviHk00/s320/Serena+splits.jpg" width="320" /></a>After winning the first three major titles in 2015, completing her second Serena Slam and setting up the <br />
incredible drama of attempting a calendar slam, the question of when Serena Williams would match Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22 majors seemed almost academic. And yet ... and yet the World #1 since February 8, 2013 has now found herself on the losing side of a slam semifinal and, this year, two finals. The finals losses were something she'd only experienced 4 times in her prior 25 major finals and never in her prior 6 Australian Open or 3 French Open finals.<br />
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In Australia, it seemed that nerves may have been as big a factor as Angelique Kerber's impressive play in a 6-4 in the third loss. In Paris, Serena was clearly hamstrung by an injury, but even so, Garbiñe Muguruza was playing at a high level worthy of a major champion (and having been in a final before, she wasn't overwhelmed by the moment).<br />
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Despite these stumbles, Williams will be a strong favorite at Wimbledon and, likely, the US Open. 22 still <i>feels</i> like a given, just a tiny bit less of a given than it did 11 months ago.<br />
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Serena did get one title in the first half, in Rome, where she beat Madison Keys 7-6(5) 6-3 in the final. The title keeps alive her 10-year WTA title streak.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>2. Sloane, in the Zone, Thrice Claims Throne</b><br />
<br />
It was once said, in the olden days of tennis, that Sloane Stephens was the best player not to reach a WTA final. Now she can't lose one.<br />
<br />
Last summer, she won Washington, DC last summer, and then this year she beat all comers -- including Caroline Wozniacki in the Auckland semifinals, Dominika Cibulkova in a thrilling Acapulco final, and Angelique Kerber via retirement in the Charleston semifinal -- to win three more titles.<br />
<br />
Sloane is now back in the Top 20, for the first time since her Wimbledon 2013 quarterfinal points came off in July 2014.<br />
<br />
Weirdly, it's been nearly a year since Stephens has won more than 2 matches in any tournament she hasn't won: At 2015 Eastbourne she beat 3 players and got a walkover from Daria Gavrilova before falling to Aga Radwasnska in three sets in the semis. It's really been an odd pattern, and something to pay attention to in the second half.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Fritz Pits Don't Schvitz</b><br />
<br />
Taylor Fritz is a very good player. He has an excellent serve befitting his 6'4" frame, can pound the forehand and is very comfortable as well on the backhand side. Most impressively, he rarely seems to sweat in big moments.<br />
<br />
Last fall, after winning the Junior US Open, he broke through on the pro tour in a big way, winning back-to-back challengers. Then at the Australian Open, he overcame a 0-4 in the third deficit against Mischa Zverev to qualify and, once there, pushed Jack Sock to a fifth set.<br />
<br />
But the thing is: he's still only 18. It remains very difficult to succeed at the ATP level as a teenager, no matter your skill set. To wit: only 3 teens are currently in the ATP Top 140. Fritz is one of them, thanks to his prior work in the challengers, and then a fantastic run to the Memphis final as a wild card.<br />
<br />
It's important not to get too carried away just yet. (As I write this, Fritz just lost a tough match to a qualifier on grass in Halle.) But he seems to have a good head on his shoulders, strong competitive drive, and those big, big weapons. Good things await the kid ... including <a href="http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2016/05/fritz-18-announces-engagement-junior-player/58793/" target="_blank">matrimony</a>.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
She said yes❤️ !!! <a href="https://twitter.com/RaquelPedraza98">@RaquelPedraza98</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/engaged?src=hash">#engaged</a> sometimes when you know, you just know ! 💍✔️ <a href="https://t.co/5hVHVPl2T7">pic.twitter.com/5hVHVPl2T7</a></div>
— Taylor Fritz (@Taylor_Fritz97) <a href="https://twitter.com/Taylor_Fritz97/status/737415675921223681">May 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<br />
<b>4. Falconi Crests </b><br />
<br />
The same weekend that an earthquake was devastating her birth city of Portoviejo, Ecuador, Irina Falconi won two three-setters over Spanish women to reach her first WTA final, then win her first WTA title in Bogota, Colombia. In winning the tournament, Falconi, who attended Georgia Tech for 2 years, became the first WTA titlist who was also a former college player since Lisa Raymond (Florida) won the 2003 Memphis tournament.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCk5hnlLwtfMyYW9Jtq99MmMQCLFytA481zxD3Sd7qtMpHya2kqM4Na2MEN-PfxjiMke95VFTY2JsadtTFhnqNrJ1qjrUGU4HX1BulQYED4Uqqc3hKnejLBexJDBA-uALFQHE8bS4Oi6W1/s1600/Falconi+Bogota.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCk5hnlLwtfMyYW9Jtq99MmMQCLFytA481zxD3Sd7qtMpHya2kqM4Na2MEN-PfxjiMke95VFTY2JsadtTFhnqNrJ1qjrUGU4HX1BulQYED4Uqqc3hKnejLBexJDBA-uALFQHE8bS4Oi6W1/s320/Falconi+Bogota.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Falconi and her boyfriend, Travis Hartman, have <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/2n45ympk" target="_blank">raised over $25,000 for UNICEF</a> to help with earthquake relief.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Shelby Comin' Round the Mountain</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDv15hSGLSYM8MX9F7xLzrjMCSMf9YxrdHN6FEHSR65Wu-6-2ln8du0nnpoaXGJ-hQ1_I9m2aC0DCBFU5qhUpEhTHCC4WJGsSJsSKpn-8JkyAMSi933QFHFS7FICtxX9qLACfa6vlBfBAs/s1600/Shelby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDv15hSGLSYM8MX9F7xLzrjMCSMf9YxrdHN6FEHSR65Wu-6-2ln8du0nnpoaXGJ-hQ1_I9m2aC0DCBFU5qhUpEhTHCC4WJGsSJsSKpn-8JkyAMSi933QFHFS7FICtxX9qLACfa6vlBfBAs/s320/Shelby.jpg" width="320" /></a>Shelby Rogers has a big game that has proven itself to shine brightest on clay. She knows how to move on the surface, she's good at constructing points, and has shown a willingness to gut out longer points with defense, hustle, and variety when necessary. Back in 2014, she made her first WTA final seemingly out of nowhere on the clay in Bad Gastein, Austria as a qualifier, beating Carla Suarez Navarro, Camila Giorgi, and Sara Errani before losing to Andrea Petkovic. This year she got to the Rio final, also on clay, falling to Francesca Schiavone in three sets.<br />
<br />
But very few people could have expected her outstanding run last month at Roland Garros, during which she beat three seeds to reach the French Open quarterfinals. She lost 7-5 6-3 to eventual champion Muguruza -- a match in which she held set point on her serve. Considering she was the last person to make the cut when the entry list came out, it was all in all a huge effort and, in this blog's humble opinion, a sign of even better things to come.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>6. Chirico, Que Rico!</b><br />
<br />
In the center of Madrid, in Puerta del Sol square, is a statue called El Oso y El Madroño. It replicates the city's coat of arms, which shows a bear attempting to get fruit from a strawberry tree. Earlier this spring at the Mutua Madrid Open, Louisa Chirico was that bear. And her opponents were those strawberries. And she picked off a bunch of them, en route to a huge semifinal berth.<br />
<br />
First she qualified against Falconi and Mariana Duque-Marino, dropping just eight games in four sets. Then she upset Monica Niculescu and Ana Ivanovic, got a walkover from Vika Azarenka, and toppled Gavrilova in the quarterfinals. She got double breadsticked by Cibulkova in the semis, but the streak helped vault her inside the Top 100 for the first time -- up to #76 in fact! Magnifico!<br />
<br />
<b>7. Querrey Quietly Quells Questioners </b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxokLET7JnWwAMKS-IxTi6EKEsdqBGEGzouln2APtprkn3odE3dWVbTMJEFj6gJN0sp0wY5jyLIRG2LkEBMMcoU-PcHzneqIV4mr2RZjQtm6WeVaTrOv9R9F4ckjeHJ43vZiaTt2ozX72/s1600/IMG_3457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxokLET7JnWwAMKS-IxTi6EKEsdqBGEGzouln2APtprkn3odE3dWVbTMJEFj6gJN0sp0wY5jyLIRG2LkEBMMcoU-PcHzneqIV4mr2RZjQtm6WeVaTrOv9R9F4ckjeHJ43vZiaTt2ozX72/s200/IMG_3457.jpg" width="149" /></a>The only American man to win a title this year? The one who leads the USA charge in the Race to London? The one who notched a win over a slam winner (del Potro) and another against a top 10er (Nishikori)?<br />
<br />
Sam Austin Querrey.<br />
<br />
Look, you never know with Sam. He's had a very nice career for himself, and at 28 he's younger than half the ATP Top 100. There will be plenty more opportunities for wins for him and his fans. We'll all just have remember to be patient when things don't pan out in a particular match.<br />
<br />
It's just the Way of the Sam.<br />
<br />
<b>8. Top Lads Flop Bad. Stop! Sad!</b><br />
<br />
John Isner, Steve Johnson, Donald Young came into 2016 with high hopes. Isner was a win away from having finished 2015 in the Top 10, Johnson was coming off his first career final, and Young was solidly inside the Top 50. But between them, the first half of 2016 was something of a horror show. Isner suffered through 5 losses in 5 third-set tiebreaks. Johnson went 6-13. Young dropped down to the Challenger circuit to gain some confidence, and ended up losing in the semis and quarters of the two events he played -- both to teenage Americans.<br />
<br />
Isner at least had a relatively rosy end to the half, reaching the French Open 4th round before losing to good ol' Andy Murray. And all three guys are hoping grass fixes what's ailed them. They're all playing Queens this week, and Johnson got a nice win over Gasquet while Young qualified and won his first round match.<br />
<br />
<b>9. Bethanie Makes Her (Olympic) Squad Goals come true</b><br />
<br />
She had to sweat it out a bit at the end there, but Bethanie Mattek-Sands will be able to call herself an Olympian come this summer. Despite being unable to come close to defending her 2015 Australian Open and French Open titles, Mattek-Sands won just enough doubles matches this spring to clinch a spot in the post-French Open WTA Top 10, which gives her automatic entry into the Rio Games. She and CoCo Vandeweghe teamed up to win Indian Wells, giving us CoCo fans hopes that that team will join the Williams Sisters in repping the Stars & Stripes in Brazil.<br />
<br />
... as long as she can get that left thumb healed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Sliced my way through my matches <a href="https://twitter.com/rolandgarros">@rolandgarros</a> with a fractured thumb but now it's time to heal up! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/I?src=hash">#I</a>❤️Paris <a href="https://twitter.com/WTA">@Wta</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZYjDfawxgp">pic.twitter.com/ZYjDfawxgp</a></div>
— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) <a href="https://twitter.com/BMATTEK/status/736311874778726400">May 27, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<b><br /></b>
<b>10. He's on the Right Track, Baby, He Was Bjorn This Way</b><br />
<br />
Finally, a big shout out to the only American to make his ATP Top 100 debut so far this spring: Bjorn Fratangelo. The Pittsburgher took a set off Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells (worth no money or points but plenty of cred), won the Savannah Challenger (and with it the USTA's French Open wild card), reached the Bordeaux Challenger final, and grabbed his first match win at a major over Sam Querrey in Paris.<br />
<br />
Bjorn is defending a good number of points this summer, so there could still be fluctuations, but it looks to this blogger like he's got the game, focus, and motivation to continue charging up the rankings.Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-41922698730419662512016-05-31T11:18:00.001-05:002016-05-31T11:18:14.261-05:00Catching up with Bradley Klahn<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJA6RQTs1Gqj2oa6XkmCIvewa6orHc6PzBoBzAkpow2BtU0E8AUj6K8S3ogB4Zmj-yPvrwA5DECD7yulICNzwNTMwe9_tjRdoIDheNwlhATcGmd7bYpt4l18HUcf_8nGIQEvuBQripn_DS/s1600/IMG_2190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJA6RQTs1Gqj2oa6XkmCIvewa6orHc6PzBoBzAkpow2BtU0E8AUj6K8S3ogB4Zmj-yPvrwA5DECD7yulICNzwNTMwe9_tjRdoIDheNwlhATcGmd7bYpt4l18HUcf_8nGIQEvuBQripn_DS/s320/IMG_2190.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bradley Klahn helping the Cardinal. Sameer Kumar is in the <br />background. (c) Jonathan Kelley, On the Rise</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<i>A couple of weeks ago, during the NCAA Regionals, I had the opportunity to talk with Bradley Klahn, the former Stanford star who has been serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the Cardinal. Klahn, who won the NCAA singles title in 2010, reached a career high of #63 on the ATP in 2014. Klahn hasn't played since February 2015, at which point he underwent back surgery and has been in rehab/recovery mode ever since.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>On this day, Stanford had just won the first round over Notre Dame, a match that was played indoors due to weather, with senior Nolan Paige clinching the win. The following day, Stanford would punch its ticket to Tulsa with a dramatic 4-3 win over host Northwestern.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<b>How are you enjoying your assistant volunteer coach gig? </b><div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It’s been fun. I’m very thankful to [Associate Head Coach] Brandon [Coupe] and [Head Coach] Paul Goldstein for letting me help out the team a little bit. Stanford tennis meant a lot to me and I’ve really enjoyed working with the guys. We’ve got a great group of individuals who work hard and are a lot of fun to be around. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>What’s your focus while you’re doing this? </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Right now it’s just trying to help the team as much as I can, if I feel like I have something to offer the team. Brandon was such a great assistant for me at Stanford and I’ve known Paul a long time. Like I said, I was very fortunate when they asked me to come on board and help out, and just do my best to help the team improve; see them improve as individuals on and off the court. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>A lot of people have been asking about how your recovery is coming. </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It’s coming along a lot better the last couple of months. I still don’t have any set timeline. At this point I’ve been out over a year and had some struggles, up and down, and dealing with injuries is never easy. But I’m still 100% committed to getting back and I feel like I have a good plan right now in place to get me back out there. I don’t have any expectations as to when I’ll get back out there, but I love playing tennis, I love playing professionally, and when it’s taken away from you for a while it gets tricky. I certainly was doing well before I got injured and I’ve dealt with it a while. Now it’s just about finding that happiness and being really grateful for the opportunity that I have to still try and play, and work hard to get back out there. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Are you following the pro tour much? </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I’ve been following it a little bit. I go in waves. Sometimes it’s challenging when you’re off for so long, you want to be out there, you want to be a part of it, have fun and do what you love. I’ve grown up playing tennis all my life, so when you don’t get that competition for a while, that’s what I miss most, just being out there, competing. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Are you in contact with friends on tour? </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I keep in touch with them a little bit, and I’m in LA, so I see a fair amount of the guys when they come and train in Carson. Those are a lot of my good friends that I’ve traveled with, grown up playing with through juniors. So that’s another hard part, not being able to spend as much time with them out there. And I keep in touch with my coach, Stanford Boster quite frequently. He’s working with Mitchell Krueger and Stefan Kozlov. He was with Bjorn Fratangelo last year and now Bjorn’s with Brad Stine. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Did you face Northwestern when you were in college? </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I don’t think we did. We certainly never played at Northwestern. I have family from the Midwest, so coming back to Chicago is nice. I love the area. But no, we never played. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Are you guys hoping for better weather for tomorrow?</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We’ll play wherever they put us. I think that’s the great thing about our team… indoor, outdoor, I think they’re ready. They’ve certainly played well in both places, and Notre Dame is a great indoor team.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
[Note: the Northwestern/Stanford match was played outdoors.]</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>Did you overlap with any of these players? </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No, the seniors this year came in right after I finished. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>So you helped recruit them? </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I certainly met them when they were coming on their recruiting trips when I was a senior. I’ve done my best to keep up with the guys on the team. And once a Stanford Cardinal, always a Stanford Cardinal. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Nice seeing Nolan get the clinch? </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Yeah, it was great to see. He’s a senior, came out, clinched both singles and doubles points. I’m just so happy for him, playing excellent tennis, staying calm out there and really had a lot of chances throughout the second set. He didn’t quite get them but just hung tough. The team played really hard today, competed tough. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Thanks a lot. </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thank you.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>For more Bradley, On the Rise contributor Beau Treyz had a wide ranging interview with him last summer. Enjoy! http://beautreyz.podbean.com/e/episode-15-steadily-climbing/</i></div>
Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-61457424783660817952016-05-19T13:29:00.001-05:002016-05-19T14:05:57.085-05:00Midwest Represents in Stanford/Northwestern tussleThe first point was between two brothers from Indiana. The last was between two rivals from Chicagoland. In between was some high drama, terrific tennis, and even some trash talking. In the end, the visiting Cardinal of Stanford defeated the host Wildcats of Northwestern 4-3 to reach the Round of 16 of the NCAA men's tennis championships in Tulsa.<br />
<br />
This was Stanford's first 4-3 win of the year. It couldn't have come at a better time.<br />
<br />
It was a chilly but mostly sunny day in Evanston, with two elite universities (the only two private colleges in their conferences) that often appeal to similar caliber student athletes facing off. The crowd was good sized and plenty engaged, with just enough Stanford alumni and Tom Fawcett friends and family to spice things up.<br />
<br />
Things started well for the Wildcats in doubles. Unlike most college matches, the big focus for many fans was at the #3 doubles spot, where Northwestern senior Mihir Kumar was, for the first time in his life, playing a competitive match against his brother, freshman Sameer Kumar. The Kumars, from a couple of hours away in Carmel, Indiana, were joined by their parents in what was an incredibly proud day for them.<br />
<br />
In the match, neither brother played their absolute best, with Mihir getting broken at 2-2 and then Sameer getting broken in the next game. The big point came with Sameer's partner, Yale Goldberg, serving at 3-4 and deciding point. Some excellent net play from Stanford secured them the hold, and poor net play from Northwestern in the next game let Sameer serve for the match. He held at 15 and thus put an end to his brother's stellar college career.<br />
<br />
Afterward, Sameer Kumar said of that moment, "It was a little bittersweet. He's done so much for me over my whole tennis career and even outside of tennis, he's helped me so much. I've been watching him since I was 7 or 8 and I came to a ton of Northwestern matches in the past few years. I know he's a little disappointed right now but he's meant the world to me, and I'm very proud of him for his great college career. He's going to do really well in the real world."<br />
<br />
Mihir was visually upset after the Cats' loss, but he pulled himself together enough to pose for a family photo. He can also console himself with his <a href="http://www.nusports.com/news/2016/5/12/academic-services-eichner-kumar-earn-big-ten-postgraduate-scholarships.aspx" target="_blank">post-graduate scholarship</a>, for which he deserves a hearty congratulations!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0iRf7Mk9N76TERxzFH3XrYbQKEdtP8PACNOmEwpbNgFs9jOnkbVINfNuO9JQPI7BDLVDOHioG3F6MD7hcN40z5XJnxs_3mlT8ffbuTrKzVhnNNpDNiJlWu3Io8GRqri3V6HBHYDXh8zAE/s1600/Kumars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0iRf7Mk9N76TERxzFH3XrYbQKEdtP8PACNOmEwpbNgFs9jOnkbVINfNuO9JQPI7BDLVDOHioG3F6MD7hcN40z5XJnxs_3mlT8ffbuTrKzVhnNNpDNiJlWu3Io8GRqri3V6HBHYDXh8zAE/s320/Kumars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Northwestern won the other two doubles matches, and thus the doubles point, with Sam Shropshire and Konrad Zieba playing some masterful tennis for a 6-2 at #2 and Strong Kirchheimer and Fedor Baev breaking Maciek Romanowicz for a 6-4 win at #1. Getting the break there was crucial, since Kirchheimer had failed to serve out the match in the previous game despite a 30-0 lead and a match point/deciding point. It also seemed to be a good sign for Northwestern, as they won nearly every dual this year in which they took the doubles point.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Northwestern breaks and wins the doubles point 2-1 with a 7-5 win on 1. Gripping stuff! <a href="https://t.co/RBd9s7xbS7">pic.twitter.com/RBd9s7xbS7</a></div>
— Jonathan Kelley (@jokelley_tennis) <a href="https://twitter.com/jokelley_tennis/status/731918401791217666">May 15, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Needing only to split singles, Northwestern got off to a bit of a slow start, with Stanford racing out to big leads at 1, 4, and 5 singles. Sameer Kumar at #5 was particularly solid against fellow freshman Ben Vandixhorn, going up 6-1 4-2* and controlling the action with his powerful groundstrokes and generally handing whatever tricky lefty stuff the Libertyville native was throwing at him. Vandixhorn, who has been a clinching machine this season for the Wildcats, managed to make things interesting toward the end, leveling the match at 4-4. After Kumar broke and served for the match, Vandixhorn immediately broke back for 5-5. But the relentless Kumar broke yet again and served out the match without incident to bring Stanford level at 1-1 and turn Kumar into a cheerleader.<br />
<br />
"My voice is shot," he said afterward. "Yesterday I was really cheering on my teammate, Nolan [Paige] and he came up really clutch, and today it was incredible by Tom and Konrad" in the final match.<br />
<br />
Oh, sorry, #spoileralert.<br />
<br />
Within seconds of Kumar's win, Paige closed out a 6-3 6-2 win over fellow senior Fedor Baev at #4 to put Stanford up 2-1. However, things had gotten complicated at #1 singles. Fawcett, who's merciless play got him three set points at 5-1* 40-15, started missing a bit, and Zieba held for 2-5. Zieba broke for 3-5 and then held from 0-30, winning a second deciding point/set point. Fawcett then reached two more set points thanks to a net cord dribbler at 30-30, but the net cord tooketh away on the next point, setting up a third deciding point/set point of the set ... again won by Zieba. In the next game, Fawcett missed an overhead and a volley to go down 5*-6, and then stunningly was broken again, and Zieba had the first set, saving seven set points in all.<br />
<br />
Next up, NCAA singles-bound Kirchheimer and Shropshire ended their exceptional dual seasons with straight set wins at #3 and #2 singles respectively. Strong has been outstanding for NU, losing just one match in the entire spring season, a three-setter to Illinois' Aron Hiltzik, while Shropshire went undefeated in regular season conference play. I only saw the last two games of Sam's contest, when he broke Michael Genender and then served out the match, out-poising the talented freshman just enough to seal the victory.<br />
<br />
"The guy's an absolute stud," said Northwestern head coach Arvid Swan of Shropshire. "He's been an elite player since he arrived on campus, and keeps improving his game. So mentally tough, incredibly mature, we expect him to win and he wins."<br />
<br />
Okay, so Northwestern up 3-2, but behind in the final two matches, at the top and bottom of the lineup. Each match had plenty of drama and jawing from players, coaches, and fans, demonstrating the stakes of the moment for both programs.<br />
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Over on 6, Stanford senior captain Maciek Romanowicz was up a set and was midway through the second against Alp Horoz. ("Alp plays long matches because he plays long points." - Swan.) It had become a testy affair. At one point, Romanowicz chose not to return a Horoz serve because he claimed someone -- I assume a coach -- was talking. The umpire gave Northwestern the point and Horoz went on to hold for a 4*-2 lead. But it would be the last game he won. An inspired Romanowicz held, broke, and held for 5-4* at which point Horoz tossed his racquet against the fence, causing Stanford to complain when the chair umpire didn't penalize him. In the next game, Romanowicz stepped up his game even more, hitting an overhead winner, a volley winner, and a forehand winner to set up three match points. He converted on his first, and held up a finger to his lips, shushing the Northwestern crowd.<br />
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So as if fate were guiding this entire affair, the match rested with the two best players in the regional: Stanford #1 Tom Fawcett, of nearby Winnetka, and Northwestern #1 Konrad Zieba, of also nearby Glenview. The two towns are a 15 minute drive from each other, and both are 15 minute drives from Evanston. Both guys played on their public school teams for a while -- Fawcett at New Trier (where he joined former Cardinal Robert Stineman in winning a state championship his sophomore year) and Zieba at Glenbrook South. They played "a bunch" growing up, according to Fawcett, and trained together last summer. Now both are ranked in the Top 20 in the country.<br />
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The Midwest was definitely representing.<br />
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By the time focus shifted to their court, things felt a bit anticlimactic. After Zieba's crazy first set comeback, Fawcett refocused himself, serving up a bagel in the second set. Fawcett then for the third set in a row raced out to a big lead: 4*-1 in this case, on a sweet forehand crosscourt pass. Two breaks up. Finish line in sight.<br />
<br />
But then the gathering crowd, or perhaps it was the desperation of the situation, helped lift Zieba. He quickly got to 0-40 on Fawcett's serve, and at 30-40 played an outstanding defensive point to break. Then, serving at 2*-4, Zieba went down 0-40, got it to 30-40 ... and then MORE DRAMA! Zieba hit a second serve long, which should have given Fawcett the break and the opportunity to serve for the match. Fawcett stuck his finger up, but Zieba and the Northwestern coaches argued that he had made the verbal call too late (after he'd missed the return). The chair umpire agreed, telling Fawcett, "I told you before," and taking the game to deciding point. Fawcett argued but smartly didn't let it consume him. Zieba then held and was down just 3-4*.<br />
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"It's hard because you get a lot of annoying calls throughout the year in college tennis, it's just part of it," said Fawcett of that moment. "So I argued for maybe 10 seconds and then there's not much you can do after that, you just have to kind of clear your head and think about the next point, so that's what I did. I'm kind of used to that situation."<br />
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<br /></div>
Fawcett, who admitted afterward he started thinking about the first set after his third set lead slipped, said, "You kind of just trust your training and go after your shots, and that's what I did." Stanford head coach Paul Goldstein said he told Fawcett, "Mentally strong people don't dwell on the past."<br />
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<br /></div>
Fawcett held at 15 for 5-3, and from 0-15 in the next game hit three fantastic returns to reach 15-40 -- three match points. But Zieba saved all three. So it was time for Fawcett to serve for the match. The crowd tried to rally behind their man, and Zieba got to 0-30. Fawcett looked like he was rushing. But a forehand-down-the-line winner and then an ill-advised Zieba dropshot got the score to 30-30. A Fawcett volley winner set up a fourth match point, and this one he converted with more aggression, finishing off the match with an overhead smash and his team rushing him and a bitterly disappointed home team and crowd.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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Happy Cardinal(s) <a href="https://t.co/jjSByuJ970">pic.twitter.com/jjSByuJ970</a></div>
— Jonathan Kelley (@jokelley_tennis) <a href="https://twitter.com/jokelley_tennis/status/731956721040674816">May 15, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
"It's amazing," said Fawcett of his clinch. "I had a lot of friends from home and family watching so it was a really cool experience, and just happy I could come through for the team." He added, "We're a young team, so the younger guys have to take more of a leadership role. I just tried to do that a little bit today."<br />
<br />
"We had two leaders of our team still on the court," said Goldstein of the team's comeback win. "Romanowicz at 6 is our senior captain. He probably didn't play his best tennis at the very beginning, but if there's a guy you want out there, it's those two guys. They've been leaders for our team all year."<br />
<br />
Swan, who recruited both Sameer Kumar and Tom Fawcett, said of Stanford, "They're an outstanding team, outstanding program, and I think they'll do well in the Round of 16." Of his own team, Swan said, he was "really proud." He added, "We're good. We're one of the best teams in the country. Didn't make the final site this year, but if you look at our record, the teams we've beat, we've got a good team. I feel real excited about what the future holds for our program."<br />
<br />
For lots of photos from last weekend's action, visit the On the Rise Facebook album at https://www.facebook.com/ontheriseblog/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1174492872585323
<br />
Next up for Stanford is their conference rivals, #2-ranked UCLA. "We're 0-3 against them in the season, so not a lot of pressure on us," said Fawcett. "We can just go out and have fun. I really believe in this team, I think we're going to do something special in Tulsa. " Both Fawcett and Goldstein noted that there was historical precedent for a Stanford team going 0-3 against the Bruins but then getting them back in the NCAAs -- the 1996 national championship team, which beat UCLA 4-1 in the finals.<br />
<br />
One of the players on that 1996 team?<br />
<br />
Paul Goldstein.Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-25107571775320899142016-05-15T00:23:00.001-05:002016-05-15T00:23:49.179-05:00Northwestern & Stanford advance to NCAA 2nd roundIt was a chilly day in Chicagoland, meaning the action planned for the Northwestern University outdoor courts moved inside. There, the men's tennis teams representing Stanford University and Northwestern University prevailed over the spirited opposition of University of Notre Dame and Valparaiso University, respectively, to reach the second round of the NCAA playoffs. The two victors will meet on Sunday afternoon to determine which will be one of 16 teams to head to Tulsa for the tournament's conclusion.<br />
<br />
The day began with the Stanford Cardinal winning a tight doubles point, in which all three matches went to 7-5, with Stanford's Tom Fawcett and Maciek Romanowicz getting the win at #1 and Notre Dame's Grayson Broadus and Nicolas Montoya winning at #3. It came down to #2, where Stanford's David Wilczynski and Nolan Paige fought off a couple of game points at 6-5* to break and claim the doubles point.<br />
<br />
Moving to singles, Stanford's blue chip freshman Sameer Kumar got off to a shaky start at #5, going down a double break at 0-3* before righting the proverbial ship and dominating Kenneth Sabacinski 6-3 6-1 to give Stanford a 2-0 lead. Sophomore standout Tom Fawcett, from nearby Winnetka, proved why he's one of the top players in the country (ranked #15) with his 6-2 6-1 takedown of #35 Quentin Monaghan at #1. Fawcett controlled his service games with his howitzer and outplayed Monaghan from the baseline en route to a 6-2 6-1 win.<br />
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"Tom's been a leader for us since the day he arrived on campus last year as a freshman," said Stanford coach Paul Goldstein. "Particularly with his work ethic, I've said it a bunch of times but I didn't want to come in and put a freshman at #1 the whole year last year and have to do it again this year. He's just owned that responsibility and I thought he came out -- a true workmanlike effort. I have a lot of respect for Quentin. So I was really pleased for [Fawcett]."<br />
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Notre Dame's only wins on the day were both thanks to a freshman: Grayson Broadus. In addition to his doubles win, Broadus overpowered Cardinal senior captain Maciek Romanowicz 6-3 6-3 at #6 singles.<br />
Of Broadus, Notre Dame coach Ryan Sachire said, "Grayson has done a heck of a job this year. He is a guy who has improved throughout the year. We talk about the effect that our seniors have had on our program -- they've set the tone and the younger guys have really benefited. I think Grayson, the level you saw from him today was a byproduct of all that he's put into it, but it starts with our seniors and the culture they've set."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nolan Paige. (c) Jonathan Kelley, On the Rise</td></tr>
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It was a big day for Stanford senior Paige, who also got the clinch in singles. Paige's 7-6(3) 7-5 win over fellow senior Alex Lawson was particularly clutch as Notre Dame was up a set and on serve in the second set at the two remaining singles spots (#2 and #3). Paige trailed early in his first set tiebreaker but reeled off the last 5 points (it may have been 6) to take the set. Then at 5-5 in the second set, he broke Lawson at love to serve for the match. Paige double faulted on his first match point, but a backhand down the line pass gave Stanford the win.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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Senior Nolan Paige hits the backhand that puts <a href="https://twitter.com/StanfordTennis">@StanfordTennis</a> into the 2nd round 4-1 over Notre Dame! <a href="https://t.co/FJnzTPuxqA">pic.twitter.com/FJnzTPuxqA</a></div>
— Jonathan Kelley (@jokelley_tennis) <a href="https://twitter.com/jokelley_tennis/status/731536726078935043">May 14, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
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"That's two seniors going at it, two athletic guys, with just I think one break all match, and it comes down to execution," said Goldstein. "And Nolan, the last two games, executed."<br />
<br />
About clinching both the doubles point and the match, Paige said, "I was really locked in. I was feeling the flow. I wasn't really thinking. It felt good." When asked if he felt added pressure knowing his two teammates were down in their matches, he expressed faith in them. "I knew I didn't have to win. I knew [Michael Genender and David Wilczynski] could come back. But yeah, I was playing really confident and going after my shots." Paige, who will be attending Vanderbilt Divinity School next year, reflected on what it means that every match could be his last. "Yeah, I was thinking about that this morning. I've been playing tennis since I was 3 years old, and I just want to make every match count, just do my best, because I'm definitely going to miss it next year."<br />
<br />
Notre Dame's seniors surely hoped for a better result in their final match (although Monaghan and Lawson will be playing doubles in Tulsa, and 2015 NCAA semifinalist Monaghan will also be playing singles). But Sachire took time to praise the culture his five seniors set for his program.<br />
<br />
I asked Sachire specifically to talk about what Monaghan has meant to Notre Dame. "Q -- and all the seniors on our team, but him in particular -- works so hard and from a culture perspective, he's advanced our program a couple of levels since he's been at Notre Dame," said Sachire. "I've never coached a harder worker, I've never coached a fiercer competitor than Quentin Monaghan. He's won so many big matches and come through in so many big moments for us. He's a champion."<br />
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<br /></div>
Goldstein was hyped up by the win. "That's a class team, led by a class coaching staff," said the former Cardinal. "We knew it was going to be tough and it was. It was everything we expected it to be in terms of how those boys competed. We had several matches this year, where we lost that <i>identical </i>match. We came out today and that's the match we've been losing -- we get up a little bit against a quality opponent but we're right there, but we don't put our foot on the pedal and finish. And we finished today, and that's what I'm pleased about."<br />
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<b>Northwestern ekes out a 4-1 win</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
There were some understandable nerves for Northwestern, hosting a regional for the first time since the NCAAs were expanded to the current 64-team format in 1999. Expectations ran high for a win over Horizon League champion Valparaiso. In addition, they faced an impressively loud contingent of Valpo fans who made the 70 mile drive from the northwest Indiana school. Mostly, though, they faced a young, energetic, and talented Valpo team (made up entirely of players from the Big 10/Midwest region), which made the Wildcats work for all four points they won.<br />
<br />
"Credit to Valpo. I thought they were outstanding," said Northwestern head coach Arvid Swan. "Really well coached team, plays with a lot of energy and heart. It was very clear to me why they won their league, and in quite a convincnig fashion. We're happy to advance."<br />
<br />
Valparaiso came to play from the first point. Their #1 dobules team of Jeffrey Schorch and Charlie Emhardt went up an early break on Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer while at #3, Chad Kissell and Kyle Dunn came back from an early break to get back on serve at 3-4 against Alp Horoz and Mihir Kumar on a ball that touched the roof. But then a fired up Kumar helped engineer a break and the Cats held for the 6-3 win and the doubles point. (Sam Shropshire and Konrad Zieba had previously won 6-2 at #2.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam Shropshire & Konrad Zieba. (c) Jonathan Kelley</td></tr>
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Shropshire was excellent in singles, and handily won his match 6-3 6-2 over Kissell at #2, putting NU up 2-0. When Strong Kirchheimer, Northwestern's winningest player this year, went up 6-1 in his match (one of 5 first-set wins for NU), it looked like it could be a quick afternoon. But then suddenly the worm turned, and Valpo came alive.<br />
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At #4, Emhardt beat Baev 6-2 7-5. According to Valpo's Ministry of Information, this marked the first time a Horizon League team hasn't been shut out at the NCAAs since 1994. That's 22 years, folks.<br />
<br />
At #1, Schorsch went up 5-2* in the 2nd on Zieba and at #3 Dave Bacalla did the same to Kirchheimer. And at #5, Garrett Gardner split sets with freshman Ben Vandexhorn and went up 2-0 in the third. All of a sudden it was close. Things were tense. The crowd was super into it.<br />
<br />
"The crowd really lifted them up," said Valparaiso head coach Jim Daugherty of his players. "As a matter of fact, when the chips seemed down in the middle of the match and we lost a lot of first sets, the crowd really lifted them up. We really needed that. They had to dig deep and the crowd really helped them dig deep. I'm glad they played off of that well."<br />
<br />
But neither Schorsch nor Bacalla could serve out their second sets. Kirschheimer ended up winning the last 5 games of the match to put Northwestern up 3-1. "That guy's a winner," said Swan of Strong. "He's had a great year -- I think he's lost one dual match. I thought he played really well at the end of the second set, he gave no unforced errors, made every return, made Bacala play on every shot."<br />
<br />
At #1, Zieba and Schorsch went to a tiebreaker, which the Crusader won to the delight of the Valpo fans. However, just then, Vandixhorn, who had broken back for 2*-2 and then dug out of a 15-40 hole at 3*-3, broke for 5*-3 on a second consecutive deciding point and quickly served out the match. The freshman got his umpteenth clinch of his remarkable season.<br />
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"I think we were all a little bit nervous so just to play hard and get through that first one is good for our team as we look forward to tomorrow," said Vandixhorn, who denied this blogger's joke that he tanked the second set just so he could set up another yet clinch. "He started making a few balls, I didn't really hit out on my shots, and let him step into the ball." He also was disappointed with his serve, and was seen practicing that shot after the match.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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Vandixhorn clinches again for <a href="https://twitter.com/NUMensTennis">@NUMensTennis</a>. 4-1 vs Valpo. Comes from a break down in the 3rd. This kid is gutty <a href="https://t.co/wq1iPsiyKq">pic.twitter.com/wq1iPsiyKq</a></div>
— Jonathan Kelley (@jokelley_tennis) <a href="https://twitter.com/jokelley_tennis/status/731579521984540672">May 14, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<br />
About Vandixhorn, Swan said, "The guy's clutch. He's mentally tough, hard worker, great kid. Pleased that we have him on the team, that's for sure." Senior Kumar also had praise for the youngster from the northern Chicago suburb of Libertyville. "Ben has done incredibly. He's just so tough. He stays the course in all his matches. Things get rocky, he always ends up on top." Reflecting on his own four years, Kumar said, "Our team has just improved so much and we're setting records. It's been a great journey for me."<br />
<br />
Looking ahead to Sunday, both teams are trying to accomplish something big: the first Round of 16 NCAA appearance under the current coaches. True, Goldstein has only been coach for 2 years now, but given Stanford's legacy and his own expectations, the Cardinal no doubt expect to be contending for national champion soon. Swan, for his part, has coached the Wildcats since 2007, and has taken what was a middle-of-the-Big 10 team to unseen heights.<br />
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And then there are the Kumars. A senior and a freshman, from a few hours away in central Indiana, Mihir and Sameer will be playing against each other at 1:00 p.m. at #3 doubles on Sunday. Mihir said he was happy that his parents got to see both kids play at the same site.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sameer Kumar cheerleading following his singles win.<br />(c) Jonathan Kelley, On the Rise</td></tr>
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"We've never played in a competitive match before," said Mihir. "So it's ironic that what could be my last match will also be the first time I've played my little brother. It'll be interesting to see what colors my parents will be wearing."<br />
<br />
When asked, their mother said their father had a plan.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
The Kumars' dad tells me he's going to wear a <a href="https://twitter.com/NUMensTennis">@NUMensTennis</a> shirt and a <a href="https://twitter.com/StanfordTennis">@StanfordTennis</a> hat tomorrow. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/breakingnews?src=hash">#breakingnews</a></div>
— Jonathan Kelley (@jokelley_tennis) <a href="https://twitter.com/jokelley_tennis/status/731588054981447680">May 14, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-45708670051523008012016-05-13T13:06:00.000-05:002016-07-12T00:10:05.830-05:00The ups and downs of international tennis travel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beau in Baku</td></tr>
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<i>by Beau Treyz</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I thought that if I enjoyed the traveling from tournament to tournament it meant I wasn’t focused on tennis. Most of the time when I tell someone I’m playing professional tennis and that in the last seven months I’ve been to eight different countries including South Africa, Azerbaijan and Tunisia, their first question is about the places I’ve been, not my tennis. I always took that as a slight insult. But now I think it’s just the more interesting topic for most people, and unless they’re tennis buffs, I agree. I usually spend three weeks in each country, because tournaments run in strings of three, so with some days off I can get a pretty good feel for the culture in that area. Hands down my favorite place to live and compete was Stellenbosch, South Africa; definitely go if you can.<br />
<br />
I’m not a hippie, but my number one rule when traveling now is to pay attention to the vibe of the place I’m in. Before I started traveling I thought a tennis court was a tennis court and I would be able to just put my head down and compete anywhere I went for as long as I stayed there; I was wrong. Now I know that I play my best when I also have a life outside the courts. In Stellenbosch I was with great guys, and the town had a college in it, so it was like being in any college town in the States and playing tournaments. I was hitting twice a day, going to the gym, walking around the town getting to try the local food and drink; it was amazing. In South Africa they have what’s called a “Red Cappuccino”, which is actually a shot of Rooibos tea rather than the traditional double shot of coffee; after my first one it became my favorite drink while I was there. Even coffee purists would have to admit it’s pretty good. The people of Stellenbosch were friendly, not just polite, but actually warm and welcoming to us players who were constantly wandering the town aimlessly. I felt good in Stellenbosch and that helped me be focused on the court, and I really didn’t have a bad day for the three weeks I was there; the energy of the place was contagious and I’m sure I’ll be going back next November to play the same tournaments. <br />
<br />
I spent nine weeks in Egypt, and because of the shape the country is in, leaving the resort wasn’t a particularly enticing option. These tournaments are held at all-inclusive resorts with decent courts, and an average gym, but right on the water with great beaches. Players go here because there are typically at least 6 weeks of tournaments in a row, which allows the players to get comfortable in the environment, save money by not traveling and get into a routine which can help us play well. The thing I disliked about Egypt though was that it felt fake. I was in the same hotel for nine weeks, surrounded by tennis players and old Ukranians and Russians trying to get some sun on vacation. I wasn’t at all able to get a feel for Egyptian culture; all I could see was my next opponent and old Ukrainian guys in speedos: imagine Larry the Cable Guy speaking Ukrainian.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beau and friends in Egypt</td></tr>
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On the tennis side of being in Egypt I will try to avoid going back there because the vibes of the tournament were so bad. Futures tournaments are big business for the hotels that host us, but the tournament directors set the price each night for the rate of the room, and they always over charge. In Egypt the rate for a single room was 90 euros per night, and a double and triple room were the same price at 60 euros per night; online we could have booked a double room for 27, a triple for 20 and a single for 60 euros. Talk about bad vibes; that makes all of us players instantly pissed off knowing that the tournament director is punking us on the prices. Some guys move to different hotels, but then they have to pay for practice courts, sometimes up to 30 euros per person per hour to split the court with four people; that’s ridiculous. On top of that you have to factor in that because you’ve moved out of the official hotel the tournament director will make your life as hard as possible, giving you dead practice balls, making you play first round main draw on Tuesday after playing qualifying matches Saturday, Sunday and Monday; our options are basically pay the extra money and stay in the tournament hotel to be able to be treated fairly, or stay somewhere else and take your chances. Needless to say, Egypt is not high on my list of places to go back to.</div>
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After Egypt, I spent two weeks in Heraklion, Greece, which is on the island of Crete, and it was fantastic. The tournament is hosted at an all-inclusive resort, but a bunch of players, including myself, were staying at a smaller bed and breakfast in town because it was much cheaper and had a homier feel than the hotel. After so many weeks at an all-inclusive resort they all blend together and you forget what country you’re in, so as<br />
long as staying somewhere else is worth it, the change of scenery is welcomed by all of us. In Greece, the tournament directors didn’t give those of us who weren’t staying in the official hotel a hard time, which made me a lot more comfortable. What was cool about Heraklion is that it is absolutely a tourist town, and while I was there it wasn’t tourist season so everything was dead. There were three grocery stores, a few cafes, a bakery and a butcher shop; our bed and breakfast was the only hotel open besides the official hotel. The two guys I was rooming with, Robbie Mudge and Rob Galloway, both Americans and former college players at NC State and Wofford respectively spent a decent amount of time at this café up the street playing backgammon in our time off. Walking through the town we could count on seeing old men having an espresso and a cigarette or six, talking and playing backgammon every afternoon. We really got to see what life in this part of Heraklion was like for people as they waited for tourist season to come around. We all felt comfortable and played well there, and I know that was not a coincidence.<br />
<br />
Without a doubt, traveling the world playing tennis is what I want to do for as long as I can. Getting to see the Pyramids of Giza was one of the coolest days of my life; standing there looking at the Pyramids and the Sphinx had me in awe. It may not instantly put my life in perspective for me, but it raises questions that I might never be forced to answer if I wasn’t traveling. Being submerged in someone else’s culture makes you think about the way you act and the way you think, and getting to take the good things you pick up from different places and work it into your own life is really interesting. Although I didn’t fall in love with every place I went like I did with Stellenbosch, I still learned something from every place I went and that’s the point of traveling and growing as a competitor and as a person.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beau and Brandon Anandon in Egypt</td></tr>
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Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-91718945603028518232016-04-11T22:41:00.004-05:002016-04-11T22:50:32.917-05:00Theater of the absurd: Gail Falkenberg, John McEnroe, and finding the fun in tennisThe tennis Twitterverse was a-tweet today with the highly unusual story of Gail Falkenberg, the 69-year-old woman who faced Taylor Townsend in the 2nd round of qualifying at the $25K ITF tournament in Pelham, Alabama. The fact that she was even out there competing was remarkable enough, but that it was a <i>second round match </i>-- that she had already won a match! -- made her story that much more compelling.<br />
<br />
The <i>Wall Street Journal</i>'s Tom Perrotta had a <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/meet-the-69-year-old-tennis-pro-who-took-on-taylor-townsend-1460417441" target="_blank">wonderful article</a> that gave background and context to the remarkable scenes on Court 8 of the Pelham Racquet Club today. To no one's surprise, Falkenberg lost 6-0 6-0, but simply by playing she became something of a folk hero. (A lesser blogger would have called her a "falk hero." Be glad I am not a lesser blogger.)<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Meet the 69-year-old tennis pro who took on Taylor Townsend. <a href="https://t.co/59Eqw3XAgY">https://t.co/59Eqw3XAgY</a> <a href="https://t.co/hJ82iF0K6S">pic.twitter.com/hJ82iF0K6S</a></div>
— WSJ Sports (@WSJSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/WSJSports/status/719672893718863872">April 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
Falkenberg's amazing adventure got me thinking back to Friday, and another example of an older tennis player who commands attention by his mere presence.<br />
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John McEnroe was the undisputed star of the PowerShares qqq Challenge, the first tournament of the 2016 <a href="http://www.powersharesseries.com/" target="_blank">PowerShares Series</a> of "senior tennis" events, which took place in Chicago at the UIC Pavilion -- the site of his last ATP tournament title (and, amazingly, the same site at which a <a href="http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/03/11/crowds-pack-uic-pavilion-to-see-trump-protesters-mass-outside/" target="_blank">planned but aborted Donald Trump rally</a> led to mayhem last month, but I don't want to go there in this post). From what I could tell, the crowd mostly consisted of weekend hackers, definitely fans of some version of the pro sport; while plenty of kids were there, the audience generally skewed a bit older me, the most vocal of whom were men who I'd wager grew up absolutely idolizing "Johnny Mac."<br />
<br />
McEnroe knows his role on the senior circuit: give it his all, yes, but also ham it up ... play to the crowd ... provide them their money's worth. He didn't need to utter his trademark phrase (I won't repeat it for you, although at least one person in the crowd did; it starts with "You" and ends with "serious" -- a word that most definitely did not describe the mood of the fans), or even get too mad at calls (a casualty of unlimited Hawkeye challenges). But even so, he made the event his own, on two occasions successfully challenging his own serve that his opponents, Mardy Fish and James Blake, failed to call out. He also took time to shake Mayor Rahm Emanuel's hand, and was increasingly dramatic with every out call he made.<br />
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(Who knows how much stock to put in the match results. Mardy Fish, who eight months ago gave up just four games to current Top 25 player Viktor Troicki, somehow couldn't win the set against a guy 23 years his senior. His backhand -- one of the most effortless strokes of any player who's come up in the past couple of decades -- was iffy and found the bottom of the net on a crucial point late in the contest? Okay, sure. Why not.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Knowles interviews John McEnroe<br />(c) Jonathan Kelley, On the Rise Blog</td></tr>
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Blake ended up winning the whole thing, showing off some sweet groundies in his first match against Andre Agassi, a player who, while very successful and very popular and very charismatic, doesn't in 2016 quite grab the public's imagination as completely as McEnroe. Perhaps once Agassi graduated from the "rebel"/"Image is Everything" world, he no longer had a <i>shtick </i>that the general public -- and thus marketers -- could hold on to. Whereas McEnroe <i>always </i>has had a shtick. And boy has it worked for him.<br />
<br />
Now it's age itself, more than surliness, that is the central element of McEnroe's shtick. He hobbled around the court seemingly more exaggeratedly than even his 57 years warrant. He complained pointedly in his interview after his first one-set match that he was already "running on fumes" prior to the final. But still he was out there, competing like mad, inspiring even the most jaded of us to believe that diminished skills in some areas don't mean you have to hang up your Nikes completely.<br />
<br />
Which brings me back to Gail Falkenberg.<br />
<br />
Falkenberg is a full 12 years older than McEnroe. She had already reached the "tennis retirement age" of 30 when McEnroe was exploding onto the scene as tennis' 18-year-old <i>enfant terrible</i> in 1977. She was never a highly ranked pro and she's not playing a senior circuit for money or attention. She's just plugging along, enjoying her time on the courts, playing this peculiar game. (Both she and McEnroe employ plenty of underspin on their shots, a tactic that nearly all of us who play will recognize as something of an equalizer that prevents younger players from overpowering older players.)<br />
<br />
Falkenberg's own explosion into the public's imagination over the past 24 hours provided plenty of opportunity for snark (Tweeter's highest art form), for condescension over the state of women's tennis or her opponent's career struggles, for empty platitudes about age and dreams and not having limits and never giving up and yadda yadda yadda.<br />
<br />
But mostly, it provided a welcome dose of absurdity to tennis.<br />
<br />
We live in an absurd world. A world in which spectacle gets more eyeballs substance every time, in which it pays to be preposterous (see: West, Kanye), in which Donald Trump is the leading Republican candidate for president (oh look, I did go there). So ... absurdity can be bad. But it can also be good! I mean, absurdist humor has given us gems like <i>30 Rock</i> and Steven Wright. Either way, to be absurd is to be fascinating -- and both Falkenberg's doomed match against Townsend and McEnroe's on-court antics (and still-remarkable shotmaking) fit that bill.<br />
<br />
It's easy for tennis folk to get weighed down by the seriousness of it all. We root like hell for our favorites and are despondent when they lose. We fervently, and rightly, dissect the broader social issues involved with the sport. We see gambling and doping and other threats to professional tennis as threats to our ideals, to the very essence of right and wrong. It can all get a little heavy.<br />
<br />
How nice is it then, whether in person on a snowy night in Chicago or virtually on a sunny afternoon in Alabama, to be able to share in the joy that is supposed to be at the heart of the sport, to remind each other not to take tennis -- or ourselves -- too seriously? To revel in the ridiculous, to applaud audacity, to marvel at the miraculous? To find the fun in the absurdity of it all.<br />
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Because let's face it: <i>nothing </i>in the world is more absurd than watching other people hit a ball over a net.Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-69778443087587068262016-04-06T13:39:00.000-05:002016-04-06T13:43:28.661-05:00Team USA Olympics doubles raceNow that we're about 3/4 of the way through the Race to Rio, I thought I'd try to tackle the chances for various Americans to make the team via doubles. Wish me luck here, because it's complicated.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IA88NsOuN2Y5OIRSGHtCfw7zmTY3PpBBvMPaGIMYVpKUJRp-1yoccvme39-dXUBFBdfksNeb77S60Kkgo7vGbaEGNHpaUU6vE3LMSNOxbtN0jNLht8ULgX4kVAffk0X6EEYV0B_2QOiC/s1600/Rio2016.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IA88NsOuN2Y5OIRSGHtCfw7zmTY3PpBBvMPaGIMYVpKUJRp-1yoccvme39-dXUBFBdfksNeb77S60Kkgo7vGbaEGNHpaUU6vE3LMSNOxbtN0jNLht8ULgX4kVAffk0X6EEYV0B_2QOiC/s1600/Rio2016.png" /></a>The USA Olympic Tennis Team will be made up of anywhere between 8 and 12 players. Four men and four women will play singles. Each country can also have up to two men's and two women's doubles teams, along with up to two mixed doubles teams. The doubles teams could include some of the singles players and/or other players. The mixed doubles players can only be drawn from players already on the team in singles or doubles.<br />
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The ITF formula for the 32-draw men's and women's doubles tournaments is on <a href="http://www.rio2016.com/sites/default/files/users/rio2016_files/itf-tennis-en_0.pdf" target="_blank">page 4 of this memo</a>. Up to 10 teams will get automatic entry based on the Top 10 ATP and WTA doubles players as of the rankings cut-off date of June 6. Those players can pair with *any* countrymate in the rankings.<br />
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Beyond that, "A further 14 teams will gain Direct Acceptance based on their combined world rankings (using the players’ singles or doubles rankings, whichever is better)." And then they'll go with teams made of players already in the singles draws.<br />
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So where does this leave Team USA? Things are a bit unclear.<br />
<br />
I've compiled the Top 30 ATP and WTA players as of the April 4 rankings, along with the points they have to defend through the French Open. ATP doubles rankings use best 17 results, while WTA uses only the best 11 results for doubles. My numbers are approximate, because there are vagaries concerning mandatory tournaments -- I tried to incorporate them but can't guarantee I did so perfectly. Please let me know if you see any errors!<br />
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<br />
<b>Men's Doubles</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="400" scrolling="yes" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yAa1-nD1HyFJuVKWfayic46JcycS90WRHQ3uMpcY5N0/pubhtml?gid=1336496505&widget=true&headers=false" title="ATP Race to Rio Doubles 4/4/16" width="75%"></iframe>
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The Bryan Brothers are defending Olympic gold medalists and were the #1 players for almost the entire time between then and the end of last year. However, with a rough start to 2016 they've dropped to #7 and #8, and are outside the Top 10 in the Race to Rio. However, even if they fall to, say, #20 & #21, as far as I can tell, there aren't 14 teams that can be made up of two players from the same country with combined rankings better than 41. So if I'm not mistaken, they're safe ... <i>unless </i>someone like Rajeev Ram or Eric Butorac makes a huge jump past them. But with Ram 1200 points behind, that's a very tall order.<br />
<br />
The question then becomes, which 2 out of the 4 singles players will make up the second US men's doubles team? Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey have the best results lately as a team, but the best combined ranking would likely go to Jack Sock and John Isner (who are 0-2 as a team). I'm not certain what the criteria the captain will use. (Also it should be noted that the singles players are still undetermined -- Kudla, Fritz, Ram and Young are all fewer than 400 points behind Querrey for a spot.)<br />
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<b>Women's Doubles</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="400" scrolling="yes" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yAa1-nD1HyFJuVKWfayic46JcycS90WRHQ3uMpcY5N0/pubhtml?gid=1390793102&single=true&widget=true&headers=false" title="WTA Race to Rio Doubles 4/4/16" width="75%"></iframe>
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One would think the Williams Sisters will be one of the teams. They are the two-time defending gold medal winning team, after all. But if by chance they don't feel up to it, it's pretty certain Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys would be up for giving it a shot.<br />
<br />
The other team will likely feature Bethanie Mattek-Sands. BMS started the month with only 2235 points, which would have put her around #25 in the Race to Rio. But titles in Indian Wells and Miami meant that she vaulted up to #6 in the Race, nearly 1000 points ahead of 11th-place Carla Suarez Navarro. Things are looking good for her to get automatic entry.<br />
<br />
Being in the Top 10 would allow BMS to have any other American as a partner, as long as the coach consents to it. One would think she'd go with CoCo Vandeweghe, given their success in Indian Wells, their great chemistry, and <a href="http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/coco-co/56220/#.VwVCgJwrLDc" target="_blank">Vandeweghe's Olympic heritage</a>. But there's also a small chance CoCo could make the team on her own merit: she's only 500 spots behind Elena Vesnina for the 10th spot in the race. Abigail Spears and Raquel Atawo are also only 500 points behind -- something to keep an eye on.<br />
<br />
<b>Mixed Doubles</b><br />
<br />
I honestly have no idea how this will play out. On the one hand, you have to think the Bryans would want these spots, like in 2012 (Mike won the bronze with Lisa Raymond). Mike would do well to pair with Bethanie Mattek-Sands -- after all, they won the 2015 French Open together. Then again, Mattek-Sands and Querrey teamed up at the 2015 US Open last year and made the final. Then again again, Mattek-Sands and Bob Bryan just played the 2016 Australian Open, reaching the quarters. Then again again again, Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock might be the best chance at a gold medal, especially if Sock doesn't play men's doubles.<br />
<br />
And don't forget CoCo, who in only her second-ever Mixed Doubles event reached the Australian Open final ... teaming with Horia Tecau to take out BMS/Bob Bryan in the quarters! Keys is also a tempting pick, given her fun personality and deadly weapons.<br />
<br />
And as hard as it is to imagine the Williams Sisters wanting to play, who knows? It's quite likely their last Olympics, after all. Maybe one of them could complete the gold medal set! And if not, who will pick the non-BMS mixed team, and how? Will Bob Bryan even want to play both events, given that he hasn't made a final in the discipline since 2010? And again, if Sock manages to vault past the brothers and into the Top 10 of the rankings, he'd have first dibs to play.<br />
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The team captains will have some tough choices ahead, that's for certain.<br />
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What mixed doubles teams would you most like to see at the Olympics? Vote for 2 in the poll below!<br />
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<br /><h2 class='title'>What 2 pairs are your Olympic Dream Teams?</h2>
<iframe allowtransparency='true' frameborder='0' height='260' name='poll-widget8290588099999338457' style='border:none; width:100%;'></iframe>Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-39274672837768777862016-04-04T20:00:00.001-05:002016-04-04T20:02:14.972-05:00The Schneids of March"Who says March is supposed to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb? That's a lot of bull. All it's done this March is rain. I'm sick of it." - <i>Then Again, Maybe I Won't, </i>Judy Blume<br />
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March 2016 was ... not a great month for American tennis. In fact, it stunk. It was a real poo-burger. A depressing amalgam of increasingly gut-wrenching losses in winnable matches for some of our best players.<br />
<br />
It was a month that tried fans' patience.<br />
<br />
March started out okay, truth be told. In Monterrey, qualifier Nicole Gibbs reached her first WTA quarterfinal (thanks in part to a retirement win over countrywoman Christina McHale) and that weekend John Isner and the Bryan Brothers powered the USA Davis Cup to a first-round win against host Australia. Super!<br />
<br />
Then the tours moved to the USA. Home turf. A chance for Team America to shine at two of the biggest tournaments on the tennis calendar. And we did ... not so well.<br />
<br />
American women went 16-16 in the Indian Wells main draw and 14-14 in Miami. That's 30 match wins, down from 36 in 2015. American men, meanwhile, went 10-16 in the desert and 7-14 on the beach -- 17 match wins compared to 21 last year.<br />
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The word "schneid" is short for "Schneider," a term that I just learned is used in gin, referring to losing all the hands. By no means did American pros lose all their matches in March -- hell, 47 match wins beats the 34 they got just 3 years ago at the same events -- but at times it felt like we were definitely on that darn schneid.<br />
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For the women, most disturbing was the number of upsets suffered by top women:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li> Serena losing to Azarenka in Indian Wells and to Kuznetsova in Miami. </li>
<li>Venus losing to Nara in Indian Wells and to Vesnina in Miami. </li>
<li>Sloane losing to Bouchard in Indian Wells and to Watson in Miami. </li>
<li>And while Madison Keys (who lost to Gibbs in Indian Wells) got a nice win in Miami against Roberta Vinci, she then really kind of flopped against Kerber. (Keys also began and ended a coaching relationship with Mats Wilander during March.)</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqxq-z7DgbKNZ3natn2TCsmfntRsnhfXQYzypcnX4kPceq_f1uXb6J8UOBY0Rx-YV_kVYuBT-hyd3B3BxgrlU3Xh17s1vUxaDdE3aJHY3864QfCqvttS7Nja88h4UdfSqb1tvcn9d5FZV/s1600/Isner+loses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqxq-z7DgbKNZ3natn2TCsmfntRsnhfXQYzypcnX4kPceq_f1uXb6J8UOBY0Rx-YV_kVYuBT-hyd3B3BxgrlU3Xh17s1vUxaDdE3aJHY3864QfCqvttS7Nja88h4UdfSqb1tvcn9d5FZV/s320/Isner+loses.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This isn't from 2016 but is exactly how I felt most of March.</td></tr>
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On the men's side, few of the losses were upsets. Outside of Sam Querrey giving up against Adrian Mannarino in Miami, there's no match you can look at and say a clear American favorite lost to a non-American underdog. Hard court losses to Berdych, Nishikori, Djokovic and Raonic are nothing to be too upset about. And while Isner's loss to Smyczek in a third set tiebreaker was remarkable, and likely led to his parting ways with his coach Justin Gimelstob, it had the flip effect of being a great win for Smee! But given that it was our courts, having only 1 man reach the 4th round at either event is dispiriting.<br />
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And for those who pay attention to such things, there were some disappointing performances in the Challengers and ITFs, with only a couple of bright spots: Michael Mmoh and Peter Kobelt each grabbed Futures titles, a couple of guys made Challenger semifinals, and Madison Brengle made a top-seeded run to win the Osprey $50K, a tournament that finished in April.<br />
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The one saving grace was that wonderful world of doubles. The best performance by far was from Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who became just the third player in history, after Natasha Zverev and Martina Hingis, to win Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back with different partners. One of those partners was CoCo Vandeweghe, who moved into the Top 20 this week. Vania King also had a great run, teaming with Alla Kudryavtseva to upset world #1s Hingis/Mirza in California and reach the quarters in both tournaments. And Maria Sanchez teamed with Petra Martic to reach her second career WTA final, in Monterrey.<br />
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On the men's side, Jack Sock got to the Indian Wells doubles final with Vasek Pospisil, and Rajeev Ram did the same in Miami with Raven Klaasen. (Both teams lost to Mahut/Herbert.) So that was nice.<br />
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Now comes April, and the notoriously difficult clay. Great. Already this past weekend, 6 of the 7 American women playing Charleston qualifying lost to Europeans in third sets, while the seventh, Samantha Crawford, had to withdraw with a broken hand. Ugh. Today, Christina McHale had a rough loss to Dominguez Lino to start the Charleston main draw, as did Irina Falconi (to 2009 champion Lisicki) and Shelby Rogers (to Laura Arruabarrena).<br />
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Further west, all four American men in the final round of Houston qualies lost, including Jared Donaldson in a third-set tiebreaker. Tough to get more depressing than that.<br />
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It's important to take the big picture with such stretches. American tennis is manifestly better than it was even two years ago. USA is still overall the <a href="http://ontherisetennis.blogspot.com/2015/11/which-is-best-tennis-country.html" target="_blank">best tennis nation</a>. Wins will come - there's enough talent and I'm pretty sure the hunger is there. As I was finishing this article, Denis Kudla notched a rare third-set tiebreaker win for USA (and, you know, for himself) in the first round of Houston. That sets up a match against Isner and guarantees an American quarterfinalist.<br />
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A light shines.<br />
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Still ... the number of times I've thrown my phone in frustration with a final score over the past several weeks has been startlingly high. That's the problem when you dare invest anything emotionally in things that are completely outside your control. And I know this! I can't really be mad at the players -- their job is to play tennis, not make me feel better about my life choices. While a repeat of last year's three-finalist week between Charleston and Houston would be nice, I will cope even if the week turns out to be a disaster for America on both sites. I'm a survivor.<br />
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Maybe it's time for me to get a new hobby, something less intense, guaranteed to make me smile at the end. I heard there's an election this year....Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-74763170337110019422016-03-28T21:20:00.003-05:002016-03-28T21:20:33.198-05:00Juki's Junior Week in Review, March 21-March 27, 2016<b>Chinese players sweep Grade 1 Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup Titles</b><br />
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Held on the island of Borneo, the 27th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup saw a pair of 16-year-old Chinese players take home the singles’ titles. It was top seed Yibing Wu who claimed the boys’ trophy, defeating Brit Alastair Gray in the final 6-2 5-7 6-3. This was his second consecutive Grade 1 title after winning the G1 held in Thailand last month. Currently #16 in the junior rankings, Wu should move up a few more spots now with a seeding all but guaranteed for the next two junior grand slams. The runner-up Gray has enjoyed an impressive and consistent 2016, reaching the QF or better of his last four tournaments including a title last month at an indoor G4 tournament in the Netherlands. After starting the year outside the top-130, the 17-year-old is now well inside the Top 100 and will be one to keep an eye on at upcoming tournaments.<br />
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The girls’ draw saw a major surprise as China’s Zhima Du, an unseeded player, upset top seed and world #9 Charlotte Robillard-Millette of Canada 6-3 6-3. Ranked only #160, Du has shown promising form lately, winning a G3 tournament in Shenzhen and qualifying into a Chinese $10K Pro event two weeks ago. The 16-year-old Du is one of several upcoming players from Yunnan province in southwest China, where a substantial number of ethnic minority groups live. Du herself belongs to the small Musuo ethnic group, which is associated with Tibetan Buddhism. Her title run in Borneo, over one of the world’s top juniors, should make her one to watch throughout the year. This was the first stop for Robillard-Millette in an Asian swing that will include pro events in Japan and the ITF Junior Masters in China next month. The 16-year-old lefty has had a troubled start in 2016, crashing out early at both tournaments in Australia.<br />
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<b>South American Junior Tour closes with GB1 Campeonata Sudamericano Individual</b><br />
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Held in Mar del Plata, Argentina the red clay GB1 tournament is open only to competitors from the South American region. The Brazilian 18-year-old Filipe Meligeni Alvescame took home the boys’ title after taking out 4 Argentinian players, including second seeded Genaro Alberto Olivieri in the final 6-2 6-7(1) 6-4. Meligeni Alves, the nephew of 1999 French Open semifinalist Fernando Meligeni, fought three multiple tight three set matches, including a 6-3 6-7(5) 7-6(5) SF victory over 16-year-old Camilo Ugo. While Meligeni Alves’ victory came after a difficult stretch, runner-up Genaro Olivieri continues an extremely impressive run of form. Currently at #15 in the junior rankings, Olivieri’s recent success includes a SF at GA Copa Gerdau and QF at G2 Argentina Cup.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="189" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RWMeSXuteCo" width="336"></iframe><br />
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Dominating in the girls’ draw was 17-year-old Peruvian Dominique Schaefer, who only dropped 15 games in her five matches. Schaefer has previously represented the United States but her decision to switch to playing for her birth country has already provided her with the chance to play Fed Cup. Schaefer faced her toughest match of the tournament in the final taking out 15-year-old Colombian Emiliana Arango 6-3 6-3. Arango, who trains in Florida, posses a topspin heavy game which has grabbed the attention of IMG and Trans World Sport, and it will be interesting to watch her game develop over the coming years.<br />
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<b>Spain and Italy play host to Grade 2 clay tournaments</b><br />
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The first Spanish ITF Junior tournament was held last week in Vinaros and featured a surprise winner in the boys’ draw as Alexandru Vasile Manole of Romania claimed the title over sixth seeded Elliot Benchetrit of France 4-6 6-2 6-2. Ranked only #362 in the world, the title is the most significant of the 17-year-old’s career, and included a victory over junior #40 Eduard Guell Bartrina in the second round. In the girls’ draw there was no surprise as top seed and recent Australian Open semifinalist Rebeka Masarova took home the title with an easy 6-1 6-1 victory over young Serbian Olga Danilovic. This was only the second tournament for Masarova following her Australian Open run, and she only dropped one set on the way to title. While only winning two games in the final, it was still an encouraging week for 15-year-old lefty Danilovic, the daughter of former NBA player Predrag Danilovic.<br />
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In Florence, Italy the singles finals were held on Monday, as the tournament took Easter Sunday off. It was an all-Italian boys’ final in which Riccardo Balzerani defeated Mattia Frinzi 6-1 6-2. The fifth seeded Balzerani, ranked #121 in the world, never dropped a set on his route to the title. With decent results in Australia and Croatia earlier this year, Balzerani looks better than his ranking and could be a dark horse through the European clay season. An Italian also claimed the girls’ title as hard-hitting Ludmilla Samsonova knocked out top-seed Georgia Andreea Craciun of Romania 6-4 6-2. The powerful Italian, who formerly represented Russia, has shown flashes of greatness at both the junior and pro levels but has had inconsistent results. A needed title should help her confidence and if firing her game can be dangerous against anybody.Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-78337905978316861712016-03-19T15:03:00.000-05:002016-03-21T18:47:24.992-05:00The differences between college and the pros, by Beau Treyz<div>
<i>On the Rise contributor <b>Beau Treyz</b> has been slugging it out in the Futures over the past few months. For his second column, he discusses the differences he's found between his pro career and college tennis. Follow Beau on Twitter at @B_Treyz and his podcast at http://beautreyz.podbean.com/. </i></div>
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Here’s the biggest difference between college tennis and professional tennis: in pros there is no lineup and there is no graduation date. Everyone is your competition, and no one cares about you. At most colleges the athletes have great facilities, capable coaches, a steady diet and the comfort of both staying in one place (campus) and being highly respected and liked around town. Futures level tennis players typically don’t have coaches, getting a practice court can be tough depending on the venue of the tournament, the food is hit or miss (again depending on the country you’re in), and, for the most part, the tournament directors don’t really care that you’re in their event. Fans are pretty much nonexistent, so getting energy from the crowd is no longer an option. Those are the basic, and obvious differences between the two; here's a more personal appraisal. Try this:<br />
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In college my biggest concern was keeping my scholarship and my spot in the starting lineup; I was not focused on improving. I knew how good the guys were on my team, and I knew what kind of recruits the coaches were going to bring in; all I wanted to do was outperform those guys. In my opinion that kind of thinking is deadly to a player’s improvement, and a trap a lot of college players fall into. But when your education is riding on your scholarship it’s hard to see anything else. <br />
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I felt like I was maintaining my level in college more than I was improving it. The pro circuit is like a cruise ship buffet: the competition ranges from young up and comers to college guys like me, to Djokovic and Federer. You never know who’s going to show up in the draw, you have to be ready to compete every match. I prefer this way of competing though because the focus is on improving and pushing yourself, not being comfortable playing your position on the team. If you’re just starting out then you have to qualify and then you get your shot at a main draw guy, and then if you’re too good for Futures you can take on the Challenger Tour and then the ATP Tour; there is no end to the competition out here, whereas in college I felt stuck. I felt like no matter what I did the coach already had the lineup set in his mind, so what was in it for me to bust my ass and still play #6? Out here there are no lineups and you can go as far as your skill and determination allow you to.<br />
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I’ve been in Egypt now for the past six weeks, and it’s been a nice change to being on the road. There’s an adequate gym here, it’s got a beach and swimming pools to relax in, courts are hard but not impossible to get, and staying in one spot does help you get comfortable and play better. But what I wasn’t prepared for was how to manage my game, my body, and my head when I’m competing for six straight weeks.I spent the first week of February lifting a little more than normal, but it left me sore and slow on match day, a loss. Bummer. One of my twelve weeks gone. Ok, the next week I did more running; doing 30-meter sprints I felt a little pull in my hamstring that hindered my flexibility and movement on court, coupled with a tough draw first round; another loss, another week gone. Shit. That’s two weeks and one thousand dollars down, a few lessons vaguely learned. So the third week I decided to spend more time on court and try meditating once in the morning and once before bed. I thought maybe I was distracted and getting my head straight would help me compete better. I gave it a shot. It didn’t really seem to help; was I even doing it right? The meditation app on my iPhone wasn’t the best teacher. I lost again. Fuck. That’s three weeks. Now it’s building on itself and almost one of my three months is gone and I haven’t gotten any rankings points and every adjustment I’ve made has failed.<br />
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But now I’m thinking, "I only gave each new adjustment a week to work ... what if I had spent two weeks lifting more? Would I be stronger now and have a better backhand because of it?" If something isn’t working right away, I feel like I have to change it; there’s no one out here to tell me I’m on the right path. So how long am I supposed to wait to see results? Do I relax more? Spend time with guys having a beer at night and talking, or should I go to my room and spend an hour every night stretching before bed, trying to focus on tennis all the time? I have to trust myself. But man, it takes time to know yourself and time is the one thing I don’t have enough of. I’m hoping these weeks will pay off before I get back to New York, but what should I be pushing for? Points or improving my game?<br />
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Another big change from being a Husker is that no one cares about me anymore. The Brazilian guy that I’m playing first round doesn’t even know what college tennis is, and I don't know what he’s been doing in Brazil. When the Nebraska Huskers played the Michigan Wolverines, I knew who they’d beaten, which guys on their team were injured, so going into a dual match I know a bit about what was coming my way. I got used to walking around campus feeling proud. I loved wearing that ‘N’ on my chest. People respected me for being a Husker tennis player. Out here I’m just another guy paying an entry fee. There are no fans at the events I’ve played; just other players who are waiting for you to get off the court so they can practice. They don’t care who’s winning unless it’s close or someone starts yelling and throwing rackets. Unless you make a scene you’re just another guy. Getting used to not mattering to other people has been ego-busting, but liberating too. <br />
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Being out here alone has given me a feeling of control and freedom that I never experienced in college. I can find the warm up routine, and the conditioning routines that work best for me instead of doing the generic ones the whole team had to do in college. And on the court, because I don’t have to represent anyone but myself, I can compete and behave any way I want; I don’t have to worry about rubbing my coach or teammates the wrong way. In college I won many challenge matches against guys higher in the lineup, but I never got to take their spot. I felt like there was a lot of pressure put on us, but the payoff was never really there. That was very demoralizing for me and even pushed me to transfer schools. I always felt that the guys who played at the top of the line up were “safe” from the competition of the rest of us; that no matter what we did, we were never really allowed to go after the guy that played 1. Now the gloves are off. If I want my shot at a guy in the Top 300, I have to qualify for it, but then it’s all mine. There is no protection from coaches out here; I feel no pressure to keep up a façade like I’m a team player or that I don’t want my own goals to come true. As a professional I can compete as hard as I want every day and get exactly what I deserve, or at least close to it.<br />
<br />What has been the biggest adjustment for me going from college tennis to professional tennis is getting used to competing for myself. In college I felt really burdened by trying to impress the coaches and get myself into the lineup; I was constantly checking to see where the coaches were during practice and matches to see if they saw the last shot I hit. It strangled me. When I first got out here, I was playing so free; nobody knew me, nobody was watching me, it was liberating and I played well as a result. As of late it has felt like I’ve gone back to playing and being worried about my spot in the lineup; I’ve been uptight and irritable on court, instead of being focused on improvement and enjoying the freedom. So for these next few weeks I’m going to try and get back to how I felt in South Africa, where every time I got on court was exciting and challenging. I want to get back to the point where I’m sweating through insecurities and playing through my doubts, and overcoming them instead of falling to them like I have been doing lately. I need to remember that I’m out here for me and there is no coach who can take me out of the lineup or criticize my shot selection anymore.Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-84597552078376966652016-03-09T00:03:00.002-06:002016-03-09T00:05:58.739-06:00USA Race to Rio: Pre-Indian Wells Olympics Update <i>Please note that this table doesn't include the qualifying for Indian Wells. For my previous Road to Rio posts, see <a href="http://ontherisetennis.blogspot.com/2015/10/usa-race-to-rio-olympics-update-1.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://ontherisetennis.blogspot.com/2015/12/usa-race-to-rio-olympics-update-2.html" target="_blank">here</a>. - Jonathan</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigzAQEhB42YgDszmLEBTCMQUhlJdfwoJ4UN0Lh7rf1d1QsQy-4cBOtq84cr0eGPci6MqvHTv6JCoE57Q97tCN26HP2BFcxAX_qfJGDqHFFd2mpwIuvqNc3kiv-rkoRi0YKY2svYsNOqrfu/s1600/Rio2016.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigzAQEhB42YgDszmLEBTCMQUhlJdfwoJ4UN0Lh7rf1d1QsQy-4cBOtq84cr0eGPci6MqvHTv6JCoE57Q97tCN26HP2BFcxAX_qfJGDqHFFd2mpwIuvqNc3kiv-rkoRi0YKY2svYsNOqrfu/s1600/Rio2016.png" /></a>There are only three months to go until the cut-off for the 2016 US Olympic team, but there is LOTS of tennis left to be played. To start we have Indian Well, Miami, Charleston, and Houston; then come Monte Carlo, Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome; and then we end with the French Open -- which, so long as a player is still in the draw, she or he is theoretically alive for a spot on the team.<br />
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On the women's side, Serena and Venus Williams used an Australian Open final and a Kaohsiung title, respectively, to put even more distance on the field at the #1 and #2 spots. The big news was Sloane Stephens' two titles, which helped her leapfrogged Keys for the #3 spot and helped Vandeweghe (325 points), Lepchenko (526), Brengle (663), and the rest even farther back of a potential spot in Rio. It will take a big run at a tournament or two from someone (or an injury) to narrow the gap.<br />
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As for the men, it was a great first couple of months for two players: Sam Querrey, who passed Denis Kudla for fourth place, and Taylor Fritz, who vaulted from 10th to sixth. Querrey's win over Fritz in the Acapulco quarterfinals gave him a 308 point lead over the surging youngster.<br />
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Meanwhile, with a 740 point lead on second place Jack, John Isner is almost certainly a lock. Sock, Steve Johnson, and Querrey are less than 100 points apart in the 2-4 spots, and all are over 250 points ahead of Kudla. This means that for any of the as-of-now also-rans to catch up, they'd need to win the equivalent of a Houston *and* do a little better than one of the players ahead of them.<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yAa1-nD1HyFJuVKWfayic46JcycS90WRHQ3uMpcY5N0/edit?usp=sharing" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration: none;">See the full database of Americans in the Top 200 and where they stand in their respective races</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">. I believe these are correct, but if you see anything wrong please let me know in comments!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Race to Rio - USA Women as of March 6, 2016
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<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">Race to
Rio points</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">03/06/2016</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">1. S. Williams</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #5f497a;">5360</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">2. V. Williams</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #5f497a;">2743</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">3. Stephens</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #5f497a;">1467</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">4. Keys</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #5f497a;">1421</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">5. Vandeweghe</span></b></div>
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<td style="background: #DFD8E8; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #5f497a;">1096</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">6. Lepchenko</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #5f497a;">895</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #DFD8E8; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">7. Brengle</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFD8E8; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #5f497a;">758</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">8. McHale</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #5f497a;">728</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #DFD8E8; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">9. Mattek-Sands</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFD8E8; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #5f497a;">687</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #5f497a;">10. Gibbs</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #5f497a;">675</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Race to Rio - USA Men as of March 6, 2016
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<b><span style="color: #76923c;">Player</span></b></div>
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<td style="background: #C2D69B; border-bottom: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">Race to
Rio points</span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">03/06/2016</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">1. Isner</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">1780</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">2. Sock</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">1040</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">3. Johnson</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">1026</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">4. Querrey</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">965</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">5. Kudla</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">680</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">6. Fritz</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">657</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">7. Ram</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">622</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">8. Young</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">591</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">9. Krajicek</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">416</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 81.9pt;" valign="top" width="109">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">10. Smyczek</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #76923c;">369</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-44310756416083288812016-03-07T20:37:00.004-06:002016-03-09T08:05:04.429-06:00Juki's Junior Week in Review, Feb. 29-March 6, 2016<b>Tomas Martin Etcheverry claims second Grade 1 title of year</b><br />
The South American junior swing moved to Lambare, Paraguay for the Grade 1 Asuncion Bowl, which saw a strong boys field that included eight top-50 juniors. The draw’s top seed was Japanese player Yosuke Watanuki, who moved up to #13 in the junior rankings following last week’s G2 Argentina Cup title. Watanuki survived two tough opening three-set matches but fell in the quarterfinals to American JJ Wolf, the 7th seed. Wolf, a native of Cincinnati, backed up his victory over the #1 seed with a win over 6th seed Gabriel Descamps 6-3 1-6 6-2 to reach the final. This was a strong victory as the tall 16-year old Descamps is major prospect for Brazilian tennis, moving up the rankings quickly over the last six months. Despite losing in the final, Wolff should now be well inside the entry cut-off of future junior grand slams following his run, which could take pressure off his shoulders in the final two events of the South American tour. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAtbEBf6mXJySjJknHshK6KgyRlkDt0DCQV54NhLNXNUDnnvOsKuvlhZnzaIrFzW2WE4EqXvQ-wPGsobgEEfMG3Pw09eithyphenhyphengs8nWKmcHZnePGZlW00RyQbi5dbu7YuAC7TR6GcKkguJV/s1600/Asuncion+Bowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAtbEBf6mXJySjJknHshK6KgyRlkDt0DCQV54NhLNXNUDnnvOsKuvlhZnzaIrFzW2WE4EqXvQ-wPGsobgEEfMG3Pw09eithyphenhyphengs8nWKmcHZnePGZlW00RyQbi5dbu7YuAC7TR6GcKkguJV/s320/Asuncion+Bowl.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tomas Martina Etcheverry (L) & JJ Wolf (R). Source: El Dia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsK8to6tN92JhnnJyDGxdOJ7Suh1BfjY2cD245yQEbuFfW7GH_Umb1gipM0-h41yrrto5v7BO7tYUBBp32JaU7QjNlB9GH6mYGvy7e5X9HP0pRENUaZoDUGn1boKgqeUP14jDatdnVqoUR/s1600/Yibing+Wu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>The player who defeated JJ Wolff was Tomas Martin Etcheverry (<a href="https://twitter.com/tometcheverry">@tometcheverry</a>), a 16-year old Argentinian who captured his second G1 title of the year following the Colombian Copa Barranquilla in January. The player from Buenos Aires, who got a chance to hit with Rafael Nadal last month, easily won in the final 6-3 6-1. Etcheverry’s best win in the tournament came against second seeded American Nathan Ponwith in the quarterfinal, surviving the contest 6-7(3) 6-2 6-2. One of the youngest juniors in the Top 50 of the boys' rankings, Etcheverry will surely be one to keep an eye on this year heading into the European season. The doubles champions were the team of Felipe Melgeni Rodrigues Alves of Brazil and Matias Soto of Chile. The Brazilian is the nephew of former French Open semifinalist Fernando Meligeni. <br />
<br />
The Asuncion Bowl’s girls draw was limited to only 32 players, which is the first time in several years a G1 tournament has had such a small draw size. Lacking the competitive depth of the boys' field, the American girls who made the trip to Paraguay had enormous success, with three into the semifinals. Reaching the final from the top half was 14-year-old Caty McNally, playing her first tournament of the year. McNally, also from Cincinatti, enjoyed a great U14 career and should be competing for major junior titles soon with her strong forehand. Coming from the bottom half of the draw and into the final was 16-year-old Morgan Coppoc of Oklahoma, who has committed to play college tennis for Georgia. Coppoc has had an under-the-radar rise up the rankings, consistently posting solid results playing tournaments in Central and South America. Coppoc’s age gave her the edge in the final, outlasting McNally 6-4 0-6 7-5; she will move inside the Top 50 of the junior rankings with the title.<br />
<b><br />Yibing Wu and Baijing Lin claim titles in Thailand</b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsK8to6tN92JhnnJyDGxdOJ7Suh1BfjY2cD245yQEbuFfW7GH_Umb1gipM0-h41yrrto5v7BO7tYUBBp32JaU7QjNlB9GH6mYGvy7e5X9HP0pRENUaZoDUGn1boKgqeUP14jDatdnVqoUR/s1600/Yibing+Wu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsK8to6tN92JhnnJyDGxdOJ7Suh1BfjY2cD245yQEbuFfW7GH_Umb1gipM0-h41yrrto5v7BO7tYUBBp32JaU7QjNlB9GH6mYGvy7e5X9HP0pRENUaZoDUGn1boKgqeUP14jDatdnVqoUR/s320/Yibing+Wu.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yibing Wu at the Australian Open. <br />
Photo: Robert Prezioso/Getty Images</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
The second G1 tournament of the week took place in Nonthaburi, Thailand and was won by two 16-year-olds showing great promise. Top seed in the boys' draw was Yibing Wu of China, who has emerged over the last year as his country’s premier junior boy talent. Prior to this week Wu had only won titles in China, but did have a strong result at Eddie Herr where he reached the QF. Wu went through the draw in Thailand relatively uncontested, dropping one set in the semifinal but wasn’t pushed in any other set he played in the tournament. In the final Wu defeated 17 year-old Uzbek Khumoun Sultanov 6-3 6-2, which should see his junior ranking move inside the Top 20.</div>
<div>
<br />
The girl’s final featured an interesting match-up between two players who faced off recently at the Australian Open, Baijing Lin of Australia and Lucie Kankova of the Czech Republic. At the Australian Open the two faced each other in the second round, with the Australian wild card coming through 6-4 7-6(4) to advance. Lin, who was born in China and uses the English name Jeanette, went on reach the quarterfinal of her home grand slam where <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oaWIHVh_P4">she lost to Sara Tomic</a> in three sets. Facing Kankova in Thailand, the powerful ball striker once again won with a similar scoreline of 6-3 7-5. A major story of the tournament was the run to the semifinals by 13 year-old Himari Sato, a Japanese talent who has excelled in her age group including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBIeGtMgScA">reaching the semis of Les Petits As</a> in January. The youngster took advantage of a nice draw to win four matches and play Kankova, missing three set points to fall in straight sets. Sato’s run comes a week after Marta Kostyuk’s impressive week in Lithuania, indicating the best 2002 players are already capable of competing with the top juniors. <br />
<b><br /> Two strong tournaments coming up this week</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b>As the South American clay tour moves to Sao Paolo, Brazil for the G1 Banana Bowl, European juniors will clash in the strong indoor G1 Perin Memorial in Croatia. The <a href="http://cosat.org/Juniors2016/Torneos/GiraCOSAT/09-Banana/18VS.pdf">boys' draw</a> in Brazil is very strong with highly ranked American, German, and Japanese players now in South America preparing for next week’s Grade A event in Porto Alegre. The <a href="http://cosat.org/Juniors2016/Torneos/GiraCOSAT/09-Banana/18DS.pdf">girls' draw</a> is weaker and the door is open for another great event for the strong American contingent to make deep runs and score upsets. Both 64-player draws in Croatia are strong, with players across Europe looking to score a title as the European clay court season begins. </div>
Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544695462477652139.post-69884643155951450152016-03-05T14:56:00.003-06:002016-03-05T14:56:45.069-06:00Discovering the ITA Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHfWX88g6AYl8DfPtzr5ZKM2BiUUuTVT68LpsQ_DSsY_9EqCg3ETENJ12qwStpG4LFlKtpxPoNODRMrlSQb4DdbNqssHrEo9WkU8e6lFbastr7oYruoOKPgrhS1bNcU61GEunAvq-tqa2/s1600/ITA+HOF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHfWX88g6AYl8DfPtzr5ZKM2BiUUuTVT68LpsQ_DSsY_9EqCg3ETENJ12qwStpG4LFlKtpxPoNODRMrlSQb4DdbNqssHrEo9WkU8e6lFbastr7oYruoOKPgrhS1bNcU61GEunAvq-tqa2/s320/ITA+HOF.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ITA Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame entrance<br />(c) Jonathan Kelley, On the Rise</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While covering the Charlottesville Challenger last fall, I took a side trip 120 miles east-southeast to Williamsburg, Virginia to visit a monument to an underappreciated segment of the tennis world: the <a href="http://itahalloffame.org/" target="_blank">ITA Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame</a>. I arranged ahead of time to meet with Millie West, the museum's official curator and a <a href="http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2013/millie-west-to-be-homecoming-grand-marshal123.php" target="_blank">legendary figure</a> in the College of William and Mary athletics world, who graciously gave me a tour of the facility and sat down for an interview.<br />
<br />
I wasn't sure what to expect; after all, few tennis fans I'd talked to about it had even heard of the facility. Turns out, it's quite nice -- in fact, I'd argue it's a must-see for any fan of tennis history.<br />
<br />
The Hall of Fame is located on the second floor of the multi-million dollar <a href="http://www.williamsburgtenniscenter.com/" target="_blank">McCormack-Nagelsen tennis center at the College of William and Mary</a>. The tennis center is home of the William and Mary Tribe men's and women's tennis teams, and its six indoor courts are also available to the general public. (The Tribe's outdoor courts, about a mile and a half away, are named after West herself.)<br />
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The artifacts are nifty, from the Ted Tinling gowns, a couple of cases of shiny trophies (including two of Louise Braugh's four Wimbledon singles trophies), and a library of Billie Jean King-related books. Adorning the walls are photos of all the ITA team and individual champions over the decades and individual displays on each of the 72 inductees, giving you a fascinating tour through (primarily American) women's tennis history.<br />
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But how did the Hall of Fame end up in Williamsburg? It's not like William and Mary is <i>particularly </i>noted for its women's tennis heritage, and it's not like tennis was part of the colonial American history that has made this otherwise smallish college town a tourist mecca.<br />
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As West tells it, in the 1980s, William & Mary President Paul Verkuil was visiting the University of Georgia, and saw the ITA Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame (constructed with financial help from Kenny Rogers ... yes <i>the</i> Kenny Rogers). He asked Dan Magill, the legendary UGA tennis coach and Men's Hall of Fame curator, "Where's the women's hall of fame?" to which Magill replied, "Well we don't have room for it. If you're interested in that, get in touch with David Benjamin," the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's longtime executive director. Verkuil did just that and in 1988 the ITA gave William and Mary the right to establish the Hall of Fame, putting West in charge. But without much money (beyond some early funds from ITA sponsor Rolex) it was a slow process.<br />
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Fast forward a few years. IMG founder Mark McCormack (William and Mary Class of 1951) had expressed a desire to help improve his alma mater's tennis program. He and his wife, former Top 10 pro Betsy Nagelsen, became the major donors that helped the tennis complex and Hall of Fame to finally open together in 1995. After McCormack's death in 2003, Nagelson has continued to be a major Hall of Fame supporter. (Although she's <a href="http://itahalloffame.org/endowment-donors/" target="_blank">far from the only one</a>. "We've had good friends who've helped us and been very loyal to carry on the spirit and financial end of the Hall of Fame," noted West.)<br />
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<b>A trip through an amazing past</b><br />
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The first thing that struck me was how many true legends of women's tennis were represented in the Hall of Fame. For decades, college has been considered a less fruitful route for players serious about a pro career. But in the pre-Open era, when nearly all women still played as amateurs, it was quite common for women -- American women, at least -- to balance higher education with playing at the highest levels.<br />
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Helen Wills Moody (University of California Berkeley). Althea Gibson (Florida A&M - an historically black university). Billie Jean King (California State Los Angeles). All of these women went to college while playing grand slams. However, they weren't playing "college tennis" as we know it today, as women's sports were a decided afterthought in the world of intercollegiate athletics. It wasn't until 1958 that Darlene Hard of Pomona College won the first-ever nationally sanctioned intercollegiate tennis championship -- 75 years after the first men's intercollegiate champion, Harvard's Joseph Clark, was crowned. She would go on to win three grand slam singles titles.<br />
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In the late 60s and early 70s, women's tennis experienced a sea change: the Open Era started, the WTA was formed, and tennis became more and more internationalized. Despite the passage of Title IX, it became increasingly rare to find female tennis prodigies make their way to college. Why would they, when teenagers were making major finals, and earning a tidy sum in the process?<br />
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One of the nice things about the ITA Women's College Tennis Hall of Fame is that it tells so many different stories about women's tennis, and measures success in different ways. Too often, tennis aficionados focus on grand slam singles titles as the sole lens for viewing history. But many of the honorees here didn't play professional tennis, and still had incredible careers in the tennis world.<br />
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Here, the march for equality and respect is told. The incomparable Hazel Wightman (University of California, Berkeley, Class of 1911) gets her own corner of the museum. You can learn more about the revolution brought on by Title IX. ("I was a real die-hard about Title IX, I was on the stump every day, and I created a lot of enemies," remembers West.) Read about programs, such as Rollins College in Florida, whose remarkable heydays have since passed.<br />
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(Even if you can't make it in person, the Hall of Fame's <a href="http://itahalloffame.org/milestone-timeline/" target="_blank">timeline page</a> is worth perusing.)<br />
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Coaches are here, too. In 2012, longtime University of Florida coach <a href="http://itahalloffame.org/inductees/andres-v-brandi/" target="_blank">Andy Brandi</a> was inducted alongside his most successful player, <a href="http://itahalloffame.org/inductees/lisa-raymond/" target="_blank">Lisa Raymond</a>. "It was an honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame," Brandi told me. "I was very fortunate in all those years that I had tremendous players there that made my life and job easy and I was able to accomplish a lot because of them." Brandi said being inducted with Raymond was "icing on the cake." He added, "It was a joy to watch her over those two years, then as a professional continuing her career and success. She's like a daughter to me, so it was very touching to be inducted at the same time."<br />
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West recalls the first induction ceremony, in 1995, with fondness. "Well it was classic, really. Because of the two things together -- Mark and Betsy, we had a lot of those charter members back, and it was combined with the [tennis center] opening. Mark's grandfather [Dr. T. J. McCormack] dedicated Blow Gym on our campus, in 1925. So it was very meaningful to him. Mark brought in a lot of tennis pros to do an exhibition. So we had an exhibition, we had the opening, we had a dinner at the Lodge."<br />
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The most recent induction took place in November 2014, and featured, among others, current USTA president Katrina Adams.<br />
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<div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/WeAreITA/photos/a.10152541393904423.1073741900.44553009422/10152541394404423/?type=3" data-width="500">
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<blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/WeAreITA/photos/a.10152541393904423.1073741900.44553009422/10152541394404423/?type=3">
Inductee Katrina Adams (r) with Betsy Nagesen McCormack of the ITA Women's Tennis Hall of Fame<br />
Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WeAreITA/">Intercollegiate Tennis Association - ITA</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WeAreITA/photos/a.10152541393904423.1073741900.44553009422/10152541394404423/?type=3">Tuesday, November 18, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Erica Perkins Jasper, ITA's Chief Operating Officer, was an assistant coach at William and Mary in the mid-Aughts. "Millie is an unbelievable contributor to women's college athletics. To be around someone like her for two years was incredible. The way she's built up the Hall of Fame makes the ITA and college tennis proud. The memorabilia, the building, it's a beautiful facility. And it's of cool to have the Hall of Fame in such an historic city like Williamsburg."<br />
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Every tennis fan would do well to check out the ITA Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame. If you're near Williamsburg or plan to be, definitely make a point of it. I guarantee you'll come away with a renewed appreciation for this lamentably overlooked section of our great sport.<br />
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(For more photos, check out the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1119860521381892.1073741835.911243532243593&type=3" target="_blank">On the Rise Facebook album</a>.)</div>
Jonathan Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16166009893791396533noreply@blogger.com0