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Mardy Fish Children's Foundation

USTA Foundation Issues Over $1 Million In Grants; Mardy Fish Youth Program In Vero Beach Among The Benefitting NJTL Chapters

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The USTA Foundation, the charitable arm of the United States Tennis Association Incorporated (USTA), has awarded grants totaling more than $1,070,000 to 105 National Junior Tennis & Learning chapters (NJTL) in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The grants are designated to support under-resourced youth through tennis and education programs designed to improve health, build character and strive for academic excellence. This is an initial investment as the USTA Foundation will award approximately $4 million in grants in 2021.

Among those receiving grants was the Treasure Coast Tennis Association in Vero Beach, Florida. The NJTL chapter, run by former Baylor University varsity tennis coach Tim Palmer, is the organization that executes the youth tennis programming on behalf of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, the charitable foundation of the U.S. Davis Cup captain and former top 10 star. The Treasure Coast Tennis Association conducts most of its tennis programming at Vero Beach’s beautiful Riverside Park tennis complex, the public park which is the site of where Fish first began to learn the game with his father Tom Fish.

These grants, targeted towards community programs designated by the 105 NJTL chapters, are anticipated to support 60,000 youth participants at the selected chapters, including 30,000 who are estimated to pick up a racquet for the first time.  In total, these chapters will offer more than 56,000 hours of education and 95,000 hours of tennis activities, including the creation and expansion of after-school and summer camp programs. The USTA Foundation also designated $100,000 of the grants towards 20 new NJTL network members. 

“We’re thrilled to provide grants to help these NJTL chapters fund their essential programming for under-resourced children during these difficult economic times,” said USTA Foundation President Kathleen Wu. “These grants are a reflection of the tremendously impactful work that NJTL chapters do every day in local communities.”

Cycle 1 grants cover the first of two annual grant periods. Applications for Cycle 2 grants will open on Aug. 2, with Cycle 2 grants ranging from $2,500 to $40,000. Selection is based on each NJTL’s stated goals, including the number of youth, implementation of educational curricula, mentoring, social-emotional learning, and improved tennis delivery using USTA on-court resources.

The USTA Foundation also recently launched the Rally for the Future campaign, the largest single fundraising campaign in USTA Foundation history with a $20 million target over the next three years. Rally for the Future is targeted towards planning and building the future strength of NJTL chapters, which are supported by the USTA Foundation. NJTL chapters provide free or low-cost tennis and education programming for more than 160,000 under-resourced youth across the country in over 250 diverse communities to ensure all children have equal access to participate in the sport.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A FULL LIST OF GRANT RECIPIENTS

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USTA Foundation Incorporated (USTAF or USTA Foundation), the national charitable arm of the United States Tennis Association Incorporated (USTA), utilizes the powerful combination of tennis and education to enhance the lives of under-resourced youth through its support of the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more than 50 years, NJTL has impacted thousands of youth across the nation, and today the network features more than 250 chapters that reach more than 160,000 young people annually. The USTAF supports these chapters by providing financial grants, scholarship opportunities, curricula, technical assistance, and training. USTAF raises money and public awareness through private donations, corporate sponsorships, foundations, and fundraisers, including the US Open Opening Night Gala, the US Open Paver program, and various Pro-Ams, to name just a few. To date, the USTA Foundation has awarded more than $50 million in grants and scholarships. For more information on the USTA Foundation, visit www.ustafoundation.com, or stay connected through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok (at @USTA).

Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation’s “Six Healthy Habits” Will Serve You Well In This COVID-19 Era

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by Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

When the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation was founded in 2007 the main mantra of the non-profit organization helping at-risk children in Indian River Country was Mardy’s “Six Healthy Habits.” With the current heightened focus on personal health in this era of coronavirus / COVID-19, these healthy habits become even more important to children, and people of all ages.

“Fighting disease and viruses starts with having a good immune system and you build that up by having a healthy lifestyle,” said Tom Fish, the President Emeritus of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation and Mardy’s father. “We want to teach children, early in their life, the importance of starting to live a healthy life. It’s not just good advice for children but for everyone.”

Mardy’s Six Healthy Habits are as follows:

  • Get Sleep
  • Drink Water
  • Eat Healthy
  • Exercise Daily
  • Brush and Floss
  • Make Friends

Sleep

Sleep performs a range of vital functions, including restoring damaged tissues, boosting learning and memory, and flushing toxins from the brain. Sleeping too little can have serious long-term health consequences, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“Sleep is an important behavior and routine because that’s when your body regenerates and cures itself,” said Fish. “If you are sick or injured, one of the best things you can do to get rid of germs and illness is to sleep. It’s important to get about eight hours of sleep a night. Roger Federer recently posted that ideally he likes to get ten hours of sleep each night. That’s 10 pm to eight in the morning. Naps are also good if you can do it. Getting enough sleep keeps you alert, gives you more energy and allows you to learn more.

Drink Water

Being hydrated flushes out your system and gets any bad elements in your system out. It flushes out waste and helps your digestive system. Having properly moisturized skin, nostrils and mouth also prevents viruses and bacteria from infecting you and getting into your body. It also helps you have the proper blood pressure. It is recommended that you drink about two to three liters of water per day and to have at least a swig of a drink every 15 minutes, even when you do not feel thirsty.

“It’s good to have a water bottle with you and certainly drink during and after physical activity,” said Fish. “Water is the best liquid to drink and if you don’t like the taste, squeeze a little lemon in it for some extra flavor. It’s amazing the wonders your body will do when it is properly hydrated.”

Eat Healthy

Your body needs healthy food and a balanced diet to get all the vitamins it needs to grow and maintain strong muscles, bones and fight off sickness. Overeating and eating poorly – especially too much sugar – can cause conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Studies show that when people, especially children, are well nourished, they perform better in at work and school and they have positive learning experiences. Healthy foods give you energy and keep your body feeling great.

“Food is fuel and you want to put ‘good gasoline’ in your tank and not bad,” said Fish. “Get a good balance of fruits, vegetables, proteins, carbohydrates and don’t eat too late in the evening and give your body a chance to fast and digest. Also make sure you don’t eat too much and avoid junk food and fast food.”

Exercise Daily

Exercise and moving your body is an essential every day activity. Exercise or physical activity is very important because it strengthens your heart, muscles, and bones. Exercise also helps your brain work and puts you in a great mood. It helps keep your mind active and alert throughout the day. When you exercise your body, you are also exercising the mind. It stimulates blood flow and brings oxygen to the brain to enhance its function. You are testing and conditioning your body and your lungs for stressful situations and when an unexpected stressful situation occurs, you are prepared and can endure.

“Your body is full of moving parts and you have to keep them moving to keep them functioning and strong,” said Fish. “Exercising creates a strong body that creates a strong person and a strong immune system. You can do powerful things when you are strong and in shape.”

Brush and Floss

Taking care of your teeth is essential, brushing and flossing your teeth twice daily is recommended. Tooth decay and gum disease can develop when plaque is allowed to build up on and between teeth, thus the need to brush and floss daily. Plaque is full of bacteria that you need to extract from your body. Healthy teeth allow you to chew thoroughly, which is important for digestion and also to allow you to speak clearly and look good when you smile. It also cleans your mouth and prevents you from having bad breath, which can also hurt you socially.

“Brushing and flossing your teeth in the morning and at night before you go to bed should be part of your every-day routine,” said Fish.

Make Friends

Social interaction is a vital part of daily mental health. Friends help you make better lifestyle choices and contribute to an overall state of well-being. Spending time with friends gives you a more positive disposition. You are also using your brain more when you interact with people. By contrast, loneliness is adverse to your health and contributes to a mental and physical decline.

“Personal relationships are important for mental health and promote your sense of general well-being,” said Fish. “Being with people, especially friends, creates improved mental sharpness. It helps create a more positive outlook on life a creates long, happier and more meaningful lives with the joyful interaction of friends and family.”

For more information on the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, go to www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org

 

Mardy-Fish Children's Foundation Healthy Habits
Mardy-Fish Children’s Foundation Healthy Habits

 

Denis Istomin Further Validates Wild Card Events – From The Australian Open To USTA Vero Beach Futures

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By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher

Whether it is for the Australian Open or for the $15,000 USTA Futures event in Vero Beach, Florida, wild card events are becoming more and more a fabric of professional tennis.

Wild cards, or entries into professional tennis tournaments for players who do not qualify on ranking, were (and still are)  often only subjectively awarded to players by tournament directors, coaches and administrators from the tennis governing body for the respective nation. Sometimes wild cards are awarded to big-name players who do not previously enter the tournament, so as to enhance ticket sales and excitement in a tournament field. Controversy often follows wild card selections as players – and coaches, parents and observers – make arguments why someone should or should not have received this free tournament invitation.

Roger Federer, who has not needed a wild card into a tournament since he was a junior player, is still in touch with the complexities and sensitivities to wild card selections.

“It’s like at a wedding — where do you make the cut?” he said in 2015. “It’s like there shouldn’t be one, but unfortunately there has to be one. I feel like it’s similar. It’s just annoying, you know?”

To avoid controversies and to provide for additional competitive playing opportunities where players actually EARN their wild card positions, more and more tournaments are instituting wild card tournaments, where the winner will be awarded the wild card invitation to the event. This also prevents any argument as to whether one player or another is more deserving of a wild card selection – it is settled on the court!

The Australian Open hosts two wild card tournaments, one exclusively for Australian players and another for players from Asian nations (held in China) so as to more closely associate the tournament as the Grand Slam of Asia Pacific.

Curiously, one of the winners of these wild card tournaments, the Asian wild card tournament winner Denis Istomin, became the story of the tournament with his upset of No. 2 seed and six-time event champion Novak Djokovic in the second round. At the same time as Istomin’s upset, on the other end of the spectrum of the tennis world, 36 men competed in another wild card tournament on the other end of the planet in Key Biscayne, Florida. They, however, were fighting in another wild card tournament to earn a main-draw entry into the $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit “Futures” level tournament, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, to be played April 21-30 in Vero Beach, Florida.

Junior Alexander Ore, a 24-year-old from Maryland and a former standout from Texas A&M University, rightly earned his right into the main draw of the Vero Beach Futures by defeating Brazil’s Felipe Frattni 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

The Key Biscayne wild card tournament is the first four different wild card events for the Vero Beach Futures, for which I serve in the role as co-tournament director. We are allowed two main draw singles wild cards for Futures events and the second wild card event is tentatively scheduled for Vero Beach in late February – likely in between USTA Pro Circuit events in Orlando and Indian Harbor Beach, Florida. Even in doubles, the wild cards will be earned with a doubles wild card event being scheduled to be played simultaneously as the singles qualifying event April 21-24, using the FAST4 modified scoring system. Our final doubles wild card event will be determined in a popular local Vero Beach doubles tournament series called “King of the Hill.”

While these wild card events do provide players with the opportunity to earn their spots, providing extra competitive opportunities to test their physical and mental skills that will help serve them down the road, they also have other purposes. For the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, all the profits for the event benefit the non-profit foundation that benefit children in Indian River County, Florida. The wild card events become additional revenue streams for the Foundation as, under a deal struck with the wild card tournament directors, half of the entry fees go to the Foundation.

These wild events – whether it’s the Australian or U.S. Open or a USTA Pro Circuit Futures event – also provide opportunities to pre-promote an event for sponsors and fans. For the Australian Open, they can promote the Australian Open brand in China with their Asian wild card event. The USTA have a nationwide wild card event for the U.S. Open called the “U.S. Open National Playoffs” where the winners of 17 sectional tournaments throughout the year play in a wild card tournament to determine who will receive a wild card into the U.S. Open qualifying tournament.

For our Key Biscayne wild card event, we can take advantage of the larger player base in the Miami area to gain more tournament entries (36 players in this wild card event was the most we had had) and also to further expose the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation brand (www.MardyFishFoundation.com) to the South Florida audience.

In 2016, we hosted two singles wild card tournaments – one at the Disney ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando and the other at Ballen Isles resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The Disney event also featured a doubles wild card tournament, The wild card singles final at Disney featured one the greatest final of a wild card event ever played at any level as 18-year-old Adam Ambrozy of Florida beat former Colombian Davis Cup John Medina 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 in an incredible 3 hours, 20 minutes under the hot Florida on the slow clay center court that used to host the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships. Not only did Ambrozy rightfully earn his position in our 2016 draw, but gained an amazing, confidence-building experience in winning a grueling singles final against a seasoned veteran player.

 

Denis Istomin
Denis Istomin

Support Mardy Fish and The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation at the Delray Beach Open With Special Offer

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Tennis fans can support U.S. Davis Cup hero Mardy Fish and his foundation The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation at the 2017 Delray Beach Open that starts February 17 in Delray Beach, Fla.

Fans can purchase tickets for the event at a discount with proceeds being donated back to the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundation.com) of Vero Beach, Florida.

The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation discount includes a 10% discount of Stadium Court Box & Reserved (A – J) tickets with 20% of proceeds donated back to the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation. The discounts only are available for the sessions from Friday Feb. 17 through Friday Feb. 24 (Sessions 1 – 13) at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center.

To order tickets, call 561-330-6000 or go to YellowTennisBall.com Click “Schedule/Buy Now” & enter promo code FISH17. Discounted tickets are limited, & must be purchased by January 31st, 2017.

The event kicks off with the ATP Champions Tour event held Feb. 17 – 19 featuring Team USA featuring Fish and his former U.S. Davis Cup teammates James Blake and Vince Spadea against an International Team of Vero Beach, Fla., resident Mikael Pernfors of Sweden, Sebastien Grosjean of France and Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. The ATP World Tour event will be held February 20-26 headlined by 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic, 2016 Olympic silver medalist Juan Martin del Potro, Ivo Karlovic, Jack Sock, Steve Johnson & the Bryan Brothers.

Fish, a native of Vero Beach, will be featured in three sessions during the ATP Champions Tour event, including a kick-off “Battle of Vero Beach” match against Pernfors on Friday, Feb. 17 at 6 pm. Fish’s match days and times are listed below.

  • Fri., Feb. 17 (6:00pm) Mardy Fish (USA) vs Mikael Pernfors (INT’L)… Session 1
  • Sat., Feb. 18 (2:30pm): Mardy Fish (USA) vs Fernando Gonzalez (INT’L)… Session 2
  • Sat., Feb. 18 (8:00pm): Mardy Fish (USA) vs Sebastien Grosjean (INT’L) … Session 3

Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundation.com and @MardyFishFound on Twitter) currently supports over 2,100 children in 15 elementary schools and six middle schools in Indian River County, Florida by providing after-school exercise, nutritional and enrichment programs in a safe environment to prepare them for healthy, productive and successful lives. The Foundation introduced the “Six Healthy Habits” in 2012 which are Get Sleep; Drink Water; Exercise Daily, Eat Healthy; Brush and Floss; Make Friends.

 

Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish

Citi Open Observation: Can Doubles Be Played Before Singles To Help Tournament, Player and American Tennis Promotion?

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

An interesting question came up today while I was reviewing the Friday quarterfinal order of play at the CitiOpen in Washington D.C.

I looked at the schedule of play and thought that if I was the event’s tournament director, how could I make the schedule more appealing and promotable?

What stood out to me first was the fact that all of the women’s matches, including an attractive match between former U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur against upstart American Jessica Pegula (whose father owns the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres) were not scheduled for the Stadium Court. However, that is not what this column is about.

What also stood out to me was that match between John Isner and Stevie Johnson, the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked American tennis players, was scheduled for not-before-3 pm start in the sweltering summer sun and heat and not the showcase night match in prime time. The other men’s quarterfinals were Ivo Karlovic, the 37-year-old, 6-foot-10 big-serving Croat, vs. U.S. Davis Cupper and No. 3-ranked American Jack Sock, which kicked off play at 1 pm, the prime time night match at 7 pm with Sam Querrey, the No. 4 American fresh off an seismic upset over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, against the entertaining Gael Monfils of France, and the not-before 9-pm match featuring Alexander Zverev of Germany against Benoit Paire of France.

On Twitter, I suggested that the Stadium schedule should be Karlovic vs. Sock at 1 pm, followed by Stosur vs. Pegula starting at not-before-3 pm and Isner vs. Johnson at not-before-7 pm and then Querrey vs. Monfils as the night-cap. Those were the four best match-ups and most intriguing storylines to me and for an American audience in Washington, D.C. (Sorry to Mr. Zverev and Mr. Paire, but you are not household names yet in the USA, although Zverev has been tagged as a potential future No. 1 player). Isner vs. Johnson is a match you can – and should – really hype – the top two American players playing in prime time in the nation’s capital – Washington, DC! It was also a rematch of an amazing semifinal at this same event a year ago, Isner winning 11-9 in the third-set tiebreaker 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (11-9). These guys deserve to play in front of the biggest American audience possible – more fans in the stands enjoying the night session on site after work and more TV viewers in prime time on The Tennis Channel. If we want to promote tennis in America, we have to promote and give the best possible visibility to American players, especially our top two players.

I quickly deduced that the reason for the original order of play was because of a not-really-official but practiced rule in tennis that says singles matches need to be played before doubles matches. Sock and Johnson, in prepping to play Olympic doubles in Rio next month, were scheduled to play a doubles quarterfinal on Friday as was Querrey, partnering Chris Guccione of Australia. Therefore, their matches had to be played earlier so they could also play in doubles after their singles, Querrey playing his doubles match in the late-night slot after his prime-time singles.

So the question I ask is ‘Why is it such a big deal not to play doubles before singles?’

While serving as tournament director of the 2016 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation tennis championships in Vero Beach, Florida, a $10,000 USTA Futures tournament, I worked diligently with USTA Supervisor David Littlefield daily to figure out the most appetizing order of play. This ritual turned into kind of a jigsaw puzzle, figuring out what was fair for the players and what was appealing to the fans to help us get the best possible audience in attendance to sell more tickets and promote the sport. One of the elements that came up in this process was a player having to play a singles match before a doubles match. At times, this “rule” hurt us when we wanted to put the most attractive match of the day as our feature night match. It even affected our “finals” day when we had been promoting our doubles final to start at 11 am to lead into the crescendo of the tournament with the singles final at a not-before-1 pm start time. However, when Jonas Ljuetjen of Germany reached the singles and doubles final at our event, we had to play the singles final first at 11 am and the doubles to follow. As a result, some fans missed the singles final due to the early start time, which had been significantly pre-promoted.

Another situation where getting rid of this singles before doubles “rule” is that it may prevent a player – particularly a star player – from not putting forth the best physical or mental effort in a doubles match played after they are eliminated from the singles competition. A player might lose in the second or third round in the singles tournament and then later that afternoon or night, so distraught over losing in singles and eager to get home or to the next tournament, will not put forth their best effort in the doubles in order to move on out of town. If you can keep that marquee player around for another round of doubles, that can also help with selling tickets and promoting the sport. If you put the doubles on court first before the singles, the player will be all-in for his doubles match, theoretically, and may win that and then play singles later which the player, theoretically, could lose but would still be in the tournament based on the doubles win earlier.

Is playing singles before doubles discrimination against doubles? Sure, doubles has less prize money, less attention from fans and media, but if you’re only playing a two-set match – covering half the court with shorter points – with a 10-point tiebreaker played in lieu of the third set and with no ad scoring, it’s not that much of a relative effort, right? A men’s pro doubles match, two-sets with no-ad scoring and 10-point tiebreaker played in the third lasts, on average, only about an hour. So what’s the big deal about having that done before a singles match? It can be, more or less, a warm-up or practice for a singles match. John McEnroe has always said that the reason he played so much doubles was because he didn’t like to practice and playing doubles matches served him in that “practice” role.

While this scenario is not going to happen all the much, it would be advantageous for players, tour supervisors and promoters to have a bit more flexibility with this rule. In the big picture of promoting the sport of tennis as a spectator sport to an audience that is increasingly having more and more entertainment options, every little move can help.

 

Citi Open in Washington, DC
Citi Open in Washington, DC

Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Student Micah Nalzaro Receives Call-Back For Potential US Open Singing Performance

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Micah Nalzaro, a 14-year-old from Vero Beach, Fla., and a tennis participant in the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation program, has been selected for a call-back try-out to potentially perform “America The Beautiful” at Arthur Ashe Stadium during the 2016 US Open tennis championships.

Nalzaro submitted a video of him singing “America The Beautiful” performed before the men’s semifinal matches in Vero Beach during April’s Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, a $10,000 “Futures” event on the U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit.

Nalzaro is one of a select number of contestants chosen from online submissions from children around the country for the in-person call-back audition June 28 in New York City. Winners selected from the call-back audition will perform “America the Beautiful” live during the night sessions at the 2016 US Open, which will be held Aug. 29 to Sept. 11.

“We are so proud of Micah, who is a terrific young man, an enthusiastic tennis player and a talented singer and performer,” said Tom Fish, chairman of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation and the father of Mardy Fish. “Our Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships is kind of like a mini-US Open for us in Vero Beach and it certainly would be amazing if Micah was able to turn his performance at our event into an opportunity to sing during the real US Open in New York.”

To view Nalzaro’s online submitted audition from the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, click here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XI_bb7h5d3w

The program is part of the USTA’s nationwide online casting as part of its 10th annual US Open anthem audition. For the second consecutive year, the audition age will be extended to children 14 years of age or younger to submit an online audition performance. Previously, the casting call was only open to those 12 and under. The USTA first launched an open casting call in 2006. All entries were reviewed by a panel of judges from the music and entertainment industry.

Nalzaro has appeared in Vero Beach stage performances since 2012, including his most recent role as the Prince in the Vero Beach Theatre Guild presentation of “The King and I” in 2016. He is currently a participant in the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Middle School Tennis League and also volunteers with the Foundation mentoring younger children. Micah and his father Edmund also participated in the foundation’s Team Fish Community Outreach program, where he volunteered to work in different philanthropic community events such as The Special Olympics. He also has served as a ball person at the USTA Pro Circuit event the last few years.

Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundation.com and @MardyFishFound on Twitter) is a non-profit foundation benefitting children and named for Vero Beach native and former top-ranked American player Mardy Fish. The Foundation currently supports over 2,100 children in 15 elementary schools and six middle schools in Indian River County, Florida by providing after-school exercise, nutritional and enrichment programs in a safe environment to prepare them for healthy, productive and successful lives. The Foundation introduced the “Six Healthy Habits” in 2012 which are Get Sleep; Drink Water; Exercise Daily, Eat Healthy; Brush and Floss; Make Friends.” Mardy Fish completed his ATP professional tennis career at the 2015 U.S. Open, highlighted by a career-high ranking of No. 7, six ATP singles titles, eight ATP doubles titles and an Olympic silver medal in singles at the 2004 Olympics. He reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and was a mainstay on the U.S. Davis Cup team from 2002 to 2012.

The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation recently completed its first year as the new operator of the $10,000 “Futures” tennis tournament in Vero Beach, one of the longest-running and best attended events on the USTA Pro Circuit. All proceeds from the event benefit the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation.

Micah Nalzaro Singing at Mardy Fish Children's Foundation Tennis Championships
Micah Nalzaro Singing at Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships

Juan Benitez of Colombia Shows In Vero Beach To Be The Polar Opposite of Bernie Tomic

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Much was made of Australian Bernie Tomic giving up on the final point of his 6-2, 6-4 first-round loss to Fabio Fognini at the Madrid Open by returning serve with his racquet handle butt.

The incident made something I saw recently in person – on the complete opposite end of the spectrum of professional tennis – become even more poignant.

In the quarterfinals of the USTA Pro Circuit event in Vero Beach, Florida – the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, for which I served as the co-tournament director – Juan Benitez, a qualifier from Colombia ranked No. 1,325, was playing Denis Shapovalov of Canada, a fast-rising 17-year-old ranked No. 450 and seeded No. 3 in the event.

Benitez, a former collegiate player at Baylor University, was on the verge of a relatively big victory for him at this $10,000 “Futures” level event, leading Shapovalov 6-3, 4-5, serving to stave of the Canadian from tying the match at one set all. A titanic struggle ensued for this important 10th game of the set, the match hanging in the balance as Benitez began to show signs of distress, grabbing his leg in an early stage of cramping. When Shapovalov eventually broke serve to even the match at one set apiece, most knew that he would go on to win as Benitez was struggling physically, playing his 12th match in the last two weeks, advancing through the qualifying rounds in the Florida sun for two consecutive events.

Benitez, however, did not give up the fight until the very last point. Trailing 5-1 in the final set, his cramping moved to his right hand and he tried to stretch out his fingers between points. Unable to even hold the racquet, Benitez proceeded to finish the last three points of the match playing left-handed. He did not bow out until the final point was contested, Shapovalov winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

The 150 people or so who watched this courageous effort in defeat were deeply impressed with the effort they had just seen. In his post-match on-court interview to the crowd, Shapovalov immediately gave props to Benitez. “It was very courageous for him to finish the match,” Shapovalov said. “I really respect him for that.”

“I can tell you that his courage is not only during the matches, but also in practice with the mental effort that he practices,” said Jean-Luc Fontanot, who has coached Benitez since December via his Tennis Pro Tour program (www.TennisProTour.com)

The effort from Benitez reminded me of Derek Redmond from the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona is one of the most touching moments in Olympic history as seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2G8KVzTwfw or Gabriela Anderson from the 1984 Olympic marathon as seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBasZWjd92k&feature=cards&src_vid=t2G8KVzTwfw&annotation_id=b5eb97c7-efc9-4edc-aa4d-c737ad0e42c9

What is so incredible about this match and the effort from Benitez was that there was only 190 dollars on the line for the match (the winner would be guaranteed to win at least $480, semifinal prize money at the $10,000 Futures level). There were also only 4 ATP points on the line (the loser earning 2 ATP points and the winner earning at least 6 ATP points as a semifinal loser).

As it turned out after the match, the struggles for Benitez were just beginning.

The on-site tournament trainer treated Benitez after the match for his cramping with stretching, hydrating and icing to get his body temperature down and placing Benitez in the pool to help cool his core. As he and his coach got into the car to drive to Fort Lauderdale to fly to Mexico for his next event, Benitez went into a full body cramp and needed to be sent to hospital to get an IV due to being “profoundly dehydrated” according to Fontanot.  “His kidney needed a lot of fluid,” he said.

Juan Benitez, in photo taken by his coach Jean-Luc Fontanot, at the Indian River Medical Center
Juan Benitez, in photo taken by his coach Jean-Luc Fontanot, at the Indian River Medical Center

After 24 hours at the Indian River Medical Center in Vero Beach, Benitez was discharged but he and Fontanot then could not find an affordable flight to Cordoba, Mexico, site of their next $10,000 ITF Pro Circuit Futures event. So a flight had to be arranged out of Miami on Sunday morning to Mexico City, where Juan had to rent a car and drive four hours to get to Cordoba, arriving just 30 minutes before his match was to start! Not surprisingly, he lost the first set to Gabriel Tumasonis of Brazil, but won 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 and then beat Priego Carrillo of Mexico 6-3, 6-0 to qualify for the main draw, where he was able to earn another precious ATP point with a first-round win over Camilo Erazo of Colombia 7-6 (6), 6-4. His run ended in the second round to American Adam Mihdawi 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

You may never hear of Benitez ever again, or, you may soon see him playing in ATP World Tour events. Who knows how his career will turn out. However, I will always remember his amazing effort to the bitter and painful end in Vero Beach and hope that others will too, in particular when reminded of the now famous wasted effort from Tomic.

 

Juan Benitez
Juan Benitez

USTA Pro Circuit Player, Former Georgia Star Nathan Pasha Aims To Inspire

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By Kevin Craig and Randy Walker

 

Nathan Pasha is enjoying life on the USTA Pro Circuit as he reaches the one year anniversary of his graduation from the University of Georgia, a school at which he was an All-American and has used his connections to work with and gain advice from fellow Georgia Bulldog John Isner.

What makes the life on the USTA Pro Circuit so fun for Pasha isn’t necessarily winning matches and earning money and points in the ATP rankings, but seeing the progress he has made as a person.

“You have to try to conquer yourself and see how good you can become as a person,” said Pasha about life on the pro tour. “From the discipline, to the sacrifices, and just dealing with struggles and pain of losing,”

Pasha, ranked No. 755 on the ATP computer for the week of May 2, claims that finding success on the USTA Pro Circuit is a matter of winning the ultimate battle with yourself. Looking at the general adversity of professional tennis as the most fun part of his life on the tour is Pasha’s way of keeping himself going week in and week out and not being discouraged if he comes across a rough patch of performance during the year.

Pasha’s goal for the near future is to reach the “three or four hundreds” of the ATP rankings and begin playing in more challenger level tournaments. However, the 2010 USTA National Boys’ 18 Doubles Champions is not going to let himself be distracted and discouraged if those goals are achieved further down the road than he hoped. Overall, Pasha just wants “to be the best [he] can be each day and then hope that everything takes care of itself.”

One thing that Pasha had to take care of himself early in 2016 was having to sleep in his car during a wild card tournament to get into the Memphis $25K event when he was unable to find housing.

“I’m more than willing to do it and to be honest, it’s not the worst thing in the world because, you know, with phones these days you can watch TV on your phone and it’s like you have everything there,” said Pasha about sleeping in his car. The time was spent watching “a little bit of tennis, a little bit of HBO, a little bit of South Park, really anything.”

Pasha came from a single-parent home in Atlanta, his mother Delmarie Payton raising Nathan and sister Natasha by herself, suffering economic hardships and being, at one point, being homeless as a family.

Pasha recently told a group of children at the Boys and Girls Club in Vero Beach, Florida of his struggles and eventual successes during the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, a $10,000 USTA Pro Circuit event. It was at a Boys and Girls Club in Atlanta where Pasha was first introduced to tennis when someone asked the group of children if anyone wanted to play tennis.

“I was kind of debating whether I should raise my hand or not,” Pasha told The Red & Black newspaper at the University of Georgia in 2014 of his decision to first start tennis. “Then I raised it. Then I started playing every Friday from there on out.”

“Nathan is an ambassador for what is really important in the world we live …kindness and mentoring,” said Joe Pappalardo, a board member of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club of Vero Beach. “He understands John Wooden, the late great UCLA basketball coach and mentor, who once said, ‘It takes one moment of time, one kind word to change a child’s life.’ Nathan acknowledged that he owes a huge debt to his Mom and to the Boys and Girls Club of Atlanta for giving him that ‘moment’ of time.”

Pasha has not let the financial struggles of the lower levels of professional tennis get to him, though, as “it all depends on how you look at things.” Pasha continued by stating that “the money part is what takes the fun out of tennis…I’ve just come to terms with the fact that I’m just going to be broke sometimes.”

No matter how successful Pasha’s career winds up being, he will remain humble and will not forget those who helped him get to wherever it is he ends up.

“My ultimate dream is to be top 20 in the world,” he said, “and ultimately be able to give back and help people as much as I can.”

 

Nathan Pasha
Nathan Pasha

Mardy Fish Wins First Career Pro-Celebrity Golf Tournament at Diamond Resorts Invitational

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Mardy Fish’s ATP Tour tennis career may be over, but his pro golf career is just beginning.

Just over four months after ending his pro tennis career, Fish won his first career golf tournament on the pro-celebrity tour Saturday with a win at the Diamond Resorts Invitational in Orlando, Florida. Fish, with his father Tom as his caddie, won the Stableford scoring event with 79 points – 14 points better than former Major League Baseball pitcher Rick Rhoden.

The 34-year-old Fish, who plays golf left-handed (stroking the golf ball as smoothly as he does his two-handed backhand), told Golf Channel’s Tripp Isenhour that he drew from his tennis-playing experience in closing out his victory on the golf course.

“I had some jitters this morning and in the middle of the night last night,” Fish said. “It’s a while since I have won a tennis tournament… in 2012.”

Fish’s golf game was praised during the television broadcast by Golf Channel commentators Lanny Wadkins, the 1977 winner of the PGA Championship, as well as Isenhour, also a former PGA Tour pro.

“He hit it long and straight on every hole and his short iron game was spectacular and he putted extremely solid,” said Wadkins after Fish closed with a birdie on the final hole for the win. Earlier in the round, after making a clutch three-foot putt for par, Wadkins said of Fish and his putting, “He always treats those three foot putts like a second serve…he’s always going to get them in.”

“I like a lot of his game,” said Isenhour of Fish’s game and if he could become a PGA pro. “If he ever wanted to do it, I think the opportunity is there.”

Isenhour’s comments prompted a response from Wadkins, who said, “I do too from what I have seen this week. I agree. It would take a lot of work and whole lot of commitment which may be the toughest thing for him after he’s committed almost his entire life so far to tennis to turn around and do it for golf. It would be huge commitment time wise.”

Fish closed out his win with a birdie on the final hole – his approach shot to the final hole can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7yvbsz-cho

Fish, who has tried to qualify for the U.S. Open in the past – and would earn a rare feat by doing so as explained here: http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/12210 – said after the win that he loves to play competitive golf but that money and free time would prohibit him for full-on pursuing a PGA career.

Fish will be hosting and competing in a golf fund-raising event for his Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation at the prestigious Windsor Club in Vero Beach, Florida (where is father Tom is the head tennis pro) on Tuesday, Feb. 23 with an 8:45 am shot-gun start for a $500 tax-deductible contribution per player. Interested parties should email Michelle@MFFKids.org for more information. For more information on the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, go to www.mffkids.org

Fish will also still be competing in tennis on the PowerShares Series tennis circuit for champion players. His first event will be April 9 in Charleston, S.C., playing alongside Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and James Blake. For more info, go to www.PowerSharesSeries.com

 

Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish