For most of this winter, Vero Beach teaching pro Kriegler Brink played the rehearsal role of John McEnroe.
Wednesday at $10,000 Warren Insurance USTA Futures of Vero Beach, Brink got to feel a bit of what it is like to be John McEnroe.
Brink’s 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) first-round win Wednesday at The Boulevard club over Dennis Novikov, one of the top junior tennis prospects in the country, proved to be the major surprise in this entry-level professional tennis event.
Brink, the left-handed teaching pro at The Moorings Club in Vero Beach, Fla., was for much of this winter Ivan Lendl’s sparring partner as the Czech Hall of Famer meticulously prepared for his February 28 Madison Square Garden exhibition match with McEnroe, also a lefty. Despite being two years removed from playing competitive tournament tennis at Texas Christian University, Brink’s popularity in pro-am events around Vero Beach, as well as his solid play in practice sets against Lendl, a Vero Beach resident, earned him a wild card entry into the event here by tournament director Mike Rahaley.
“He’s a very nice guy, he understands the game, he’s polite and I felt he deserved a chance to compete,” said Rahaley of Brink, 24, from Johannesburg, South Africa.
Brink, who earns $65 an hour for a private lesson at The Moorings, had no expectations of sucess in this entry-level pro tournament, where he also competed in the doubles competition with Vero Beach resident Robert Kowalczyk, a former USTA national junior clay court champion and a good friend of Vero Beach’s No. 1 tennis citizen Mardy Fish. Brink said he was looking forward to having more fun in the doubles and that for the singles event, he was merely being “thrown to the wolves.”
Novikov, one of the top young players in the United States, was the first-round “wolf” that Brink drew. The 17-year-old from Boca Raton is currently ranked No. 5 in the United States junior rankings and a veteran of the recent Australian Open junior championships. Last year, he reached the quarterfinals of the US Open junior championships.
After about 10 minutes of play, Brink was down 3-0 and appeared headed toward an embarrassing loss in front of several of his students and friends. However, the South African settled into the match and began using his crafty spins and chip and charge tactics in the windy conditions to baffle the young Novikov, who struggled to find his rhythm. For Novikov, playing against a player who chipped forehands and backhands and charged the net at inopportune times, including off of second serves, was a style of play not seen much among fellow U.S. juniors or other players his age – or on the professional tour in general.
Brink credited his training sessions with Lendl for keeping him sharp and said that the three-time US Open champion would often offer him tips during their hitting sessions. Following the win, Brink called the result into Lendl, who encouraged him to keep up the good play.
Brink said Wednesday that he has no ambitions of making a go of it on the pro tour.
“This is great playing here in Vero in front of a supportive crowd and it’s a nice place, but I don’t want to go to Mexico or some place where I don’t know anyone and do that for two or three years,” said Brink. “There are thousands of players just like me.”
After some vacation time with his parents who are visiting from South Africa, he plans to return to his teaching pro job at The Moorings next season where he will continue to earn $65 an hour.
“We hope we can get him a raise,” said Rahaley.
For more information on the Warren Insurance USTA Futures of Vero Beach at The Boulevard, go to www.theblvdtennisclassic.com