Joel Link started a road to redemption Friday in the opening round of the qualifying rounds for the 2017 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club.
Last month, Link suffered a devastating loss in the final of a “wild card” tournament for this $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit “Futures” event at The Boulevard, losing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours, 14 minutes in the final to 16-year-old Ivan Yatsuk. A win in the final would have given him a free entry into the main draw of this event – and a chance to immediately earn his first-ever ATP ranking point with just one win. However, the loss meant that Link had to play in the qualifying rounds where he must win four matches just to gain entry into the main draw.
He’s back in Vero Beach this week, though, with the same goal in mind – to earn a spot in the main draw of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships.
“The wild card tournament was tough obviously, losing 6-4 in the third,” Link said, “but at the same time it’s all good because it’s just practice and the year is long anyway. I have every week to play.”
Despite that tough loss, Link is optimistic about his chances this week and he got off to a good start in his qualifying campaign, upsetting the No. 8 seed Tyler Mercier of Omaha, Neb., 6-2, 6-3.
Link was born in Germany but has spent the majority of his life living in Sarasota, Fla. His dad, Julien, is a former coach of such players as Mark Philippoussis and Jennifer Capriati, and because of that, Link has many memories with professional tennis as a son travelling with his father. Now, he is determined to create his own professional tennis memories as a player.
“My goal this year is to be top 500 ATP by the end of the year, and in order to do that I have to play these kind of tournaments,” Link said.
These tournaments that Link refers to are difficult for aspiring tennis professionals, because no ranking points or prize money are awarded in wild card events or qualifying tournaments. Those are only received once you can get into a main draw, and players often have to win four qualifying matches to get there.
“Usually the consistency of the level is pretty high around the world in these tournaments,” Link said. “The level is so strong. Everyone is really close together.”
What separates the players when everyone’s level is so close together? In Link’s mind, it’s consistency.
“Everyone can play, it’s just being able to deliver consistently,” Link said. “If I can play my highest possible level every week then I’m going to be fine with my goal this year.”
The ultimate goal for professional tennis players is to make money and earn rankings points, but in a situation in which you can win four matches and still come out empty handed, it can be difficult to stay positive. Link, however, makes sure to keep things in perspective.
“In these tournaments you’ve got to see it as improvement purely, otherwise you’re going to go crazy,” Link said. “It just depends on how much you love the game.”
A perk of this event for the players is that many living in the nearby community open up their homes and host players for a few days, making accommodations easier for players with a very difficult travel schedule. While Link attempts to make a breakthrough in Vero Beach, he is being hosted by Joe Pappalardo, a board member of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, whom he met during the wild card event in March.
“He’s the man, best host ever. So much fun,” Link said. “I’m meeting a lot of cool people so that’s nice.”
In other action at Grand Harbor on day one of the qualifying tournament, many of the local favorites fell at the first hurdle.
Emilio van Cotthem of Fort Pierce displayed a valiant effort, but fell to Michael Lippens of West Long Branch, N.J., 6-2, 6-0, while fellow junior Andrew Mignolet of Vero Beach also lost 6-4, 6-2 to fellow American Joseph Correa.
The van Deinse brothers of the Vero Beach Tennis Club also battled hard, but James fell in two tight sets to Canada’s Vincent Lefebvre 6-4, 7-5, and Joseph lost to Ryan Hardin of Woodland Hills, Calif., 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Round two of qualifying action continues on Saturday at 10 am Grand Harbor, with the third round being played on Sunday starting at 10 am, and the final round on Monday, also at 10 am. Main draw action will begin on Tuesday at noon, with the final being played on Sunday, April 30.
Also getting underway on Saturday will be a doubles wild card tournament at The Boulevard, with 16 teams will be playing for a spot in the main draw of the doubles tournament at the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships. The field features 14 teams of players competing in the qualifying singles tournament as well as two local Vero Beach teams – Colin Lloyd and Boulevard Club director of tennis Christophe Delavaut and 67-year-old John Drnec and 82-year-old Paul Delaney, both of Vero Beach. Lloyd and Delavaut will play at 2 pm and Drnec and Delaney will play at 3 pm.
The full Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships tournament schedule is as follows. Tournament information can also be found at www.TennisVeroBeach.com
Saturday, April 22 – 10 am, Second round singles qualifying, Doubles “wild card” tournament starts (2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm and 5 pm)
Sunday, April 23 – 10 am, Third round singles qualifying, Doubles “wild card” tournament ends
Monday, April 24 – 10 am, Final round singles qualifying
Monday, April 24 – 5 pm-7 pm Tournament Pro-Am
Monday, April 24 – 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm “Tournament Party”
Tuesday, April 25 – Noon, Main draw singles/doubles starts
Tuesday, April 25 – 7 pm, Feature Night Match – “King of the Hill” winner/runner-up James Van Deinse (Vero Beach Tennis Club), Mike Alford (Quail Valley) first-round doubles match
Wednesday, April 26 – Noon, Main draw singles/doubles continues
Wednesday, April 26 – 7 pm, Feature Night Match
Thursday, April 27 – Noon, Main draw singles/doubles continues
Thursday, April 27 – 7 pm, Feature Night Match (Taco and Margarita Night in Food Court)
Friday, April 28 – Noon, Main draw singles/doubles continues (Kids Day!)
Friday, April 28 – 7 pm, Feature Night Match
Saturday, April 29 – Noon, Main draw singles semifinals
Sunday, April 30 – Noon, Singles and Doubles Finals
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships has been played in Vero Beach since 1995 and is regarded as one of the best entry-level professional tennis tournaments in the world. Proceeds from the event benefit the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundation.com), the non-profit tennis foundation benefiting children, named for Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, the former top 10 tennis star and a U.S. Davis Cup standout.
Advance tickets for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships are available at www.VeroBeachTennisTickets.com. Season tickets for all 10 days of the competition are available for $100. Daily buy-one-get-one free tickets for the qualifying rounds April 21-24 are for sale for $10, with daily tickets for the main draw sessions April 25-30 for sale for $20. A special “Happy Hour” ticket is available for $10 after 5 pm for night sessions on Tuesday, April 25 – Friday, April 28 that includes a featured 7 pm night match. Admission for children 18 and under is free. Tickets are also sold at the front gate. Approximately 3,000 fans annually attend the event, which is seen as one of the best-attended events in the world on the “Futures” level of professional tennis tournaments. The 2016 event featured 13 players who played Davis Cup for their country and was won by Jonas Luetjen of Germany, who defeated Latvian Davis Cupper Martins Podzus in the final.
Some of the past competitors at the USTA Vero Beach Futures have gone on to succeed at the highest levels of professional tennis, winning major singles and doubles titles, Olympic medals and Davis Cup championships and earning No. 1 world rankings. Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion who attained the world No. 1 ranking and helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 2007, competed in Vero Beach in 1999. Thomas Johansson of Sweden, who reached the second round of the Vero Beach Futures in 1995, won the Australian Open seven years later in 2002. Nicolas Massu, the 1998 singles runner-up in Vero Beach, won the singles and doubles gold medals at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, beating Fish in the gold medal singles match. Kyle Edmund, the 2013 champion in Vero Beach, helped Great Britain to the Davis Cup title in 2015. Other notable former competitors in Vero Beach include former world No. 2 Magnus Norman, former world No. 4 Tim Henman, 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic among others. Former Vero Beach competitors have combined to win 19 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Grand Slam tournaments. Six former Vero Beach players have gone on to play Davis Cup for the United States – Roddick, Fish, Taylor Dent, Jared Palmer, Donald Young and Ryan Harrison.
Corporate sponsors and donors for the 2017 tournament include PNC Bank, Boston Barricade, George E. Warren Corporation, Indian River Medical Center, Jake Owen Foundation, Syde Hurdus Foundation, Indian River Oxygen, Citrus Grillhouse, Coastal Van Lines, Rossway Swan, Publix, Ryan A. Jones and Associates, Tom Collins Insurance Agency, Vocap Partners, Riverside Café, Center Court Outfitters, David Walsh and Associates Real Estate, Peter Bernholz Family, John’s Island Real Estate, Gene Simonsen, Michael & Kathleen Pierce, Steve and Karen Rubin, Rob and Mickey Stein, William Barhorst, Dan Holman, John Klein, Mello Financial Services, Ocean Drive Elite Physiques, Rosato Plastic Surgery, Captain Hiram’s Resort, Absolute Protection Team, Minuteman Press, Technifibre, TeamChristopher.com, Fit for Life Strength, Diamond Resorts International, Wilson, Don Herrema and Lori Ford.
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.
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