Vero Beach Champions

Friday’s play at the $25,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships kicks off a noon with the last remaining round of 16 match, rained out from Thursday night, between Zimbabwe Davis Cupper Takanyi Garanganga against up-and-coming American Eliot Spizzirri of Greenwich, Connecticut. The singles quarterfinals as well as the continuation of doubles play also highlight Friday’s schedule that can be seen here: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/pdfs/20190429_VeroBeach_M_OP.pdf

One player remaining in the singles draw that has a local connection is 6-foot-8 Paul Oosterbaan of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Vero Beach tennis fans have started to adopt Oosterbaan a bit as their own because he has been training at the nearby Grand Harbor tennis complex with head pro Marco Osorio, the former Davis Cup captain for Mexico who reached No. 268 in singles. Oosterbaan is being housed by tournament hosts, Tom and Sally Fish. Both his parents and grandparents are shopping for homes in Vero Beach.

For all of his 23 years, Oosterbaan has been encouraged and motivated by his 6-11 father, J.P. Oosterbaan, who proudly displays his NCAA National Championship ring, earned as a backup center for the University of Michigan 1989 basketball team where he played with NBA stalwarts such as Glen Rice, Rumeal Robinson and Terry Mills.

Then at 18, Oosterbaan, who grew from 5-11 to 6-6 after his high school sophomore season, won the USTA National Boys’ doubles title in his former hometown of Kalamazoo, Mich., which earned him a wild-card berth into the main draw of the U.S. Open. Oosterbaan and partner Ronnie Schneider lost in the first round to Brian Baker and Rajeev Ram, but that’s where he met 6-11 John Isner, currently the top-ranked American at No. 9 in the world.

“That was the craziest experience,’’ said Oosterbaan after defeating his doubles partner and friend Andrew Watson of Great Britain, 6-4, 6-3 Thursday at The Boulevard tennis club to reach the quarterfinals. “I stayed with John in Tampa for awhile before I found a place and he has helped me out.

“He told me I’m a big guy, too, and it takes some time and not to overthink stuff. Bigger players seem to mature and develop a little slower than others, so just stick with the process. John just turned 34 and is playing the best tennis of his life so there’s a lot of time left.’’

Oosterbaan, who’s ranked 682 on the ATP and No. 348 on the newly formed ITF World Tour rankings, is hoping to join 15 ATP pros who are 6-8 or taller, but the big dream is to join late-bloomers’ Isner and 6-8 Kevin Anderson into the Top 10.

Anderson, 32, has won six ATP title and has reached the finals of Wimbledon last year and the 2017 U.S. Open. Isner — a former Georgia Bulldog as is Oosterbaan — has won 14 titles, including the 2018 Miami Masters 1000. Last year, Isner reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, losing to Anderson, and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, losing to 6-6 Juan Martin del Potro.

“Big guys are starting to do well and like them, I have to be a big server and take the racket out of my opponent’s hands because in the long rallies I struggle, not being the fastest guy out there,’’ Oosterbaan said.

Oosterbaan, who reached the finals of a $25,000 ITF event in Calgary last year, will play fifth-seeded Nicolas Alvarez of Peru on Friday.

Also reaching the quarterfinals is top-seeded Pedro Sakamoto of Brazil, who took advantage of two consecutive volleying errors by his doubles partner, Dominican Jose Olivares, at 5-5 of the first set before prevailing 7-5, 6-2.

Argentine Juan Galarza, the seventh seed, split sets with wild-card teenage entrant Andrew Dale of Leesburg, Va., before handing the lefty a bagel in the third set. Galarza will play second-seeded Sekou Bangoura, who edged 16-year-old prodigy Zachary Svajda of San Diego, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Bangoura’s ranking has dropped from 213th in 2016 to 400, but the 27-year-old Bradenton resident — an accomplished chess player – outmaneuvered Jamaican qualifier Rowland Phillips, 6-2, 6-3 in a rain-delayed match carried over from Wednesday.

Svajda, who also has been mentored by Isner while hitting with him for five months in Dallas, completed his rain-delayed first-round match from Wednesday with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over 26-year-old Romanian Dragos Constantin Ignat.

“I can’t really return John’s serve yet, so we did a lot of ground-stroke work,’’ said Svajda, who’s just 5-8 but possesses smooth, powerful ground strokes from both sides.

Svajda reached the pre-qualifying finals at the Indian Wells Masters 1000 in March, and thanks to Isner, practiced with the legendary Roger Federer for four consecutive days.

“Like John, Roger told me to play my game, that it’s a long journey and to stay positive,’’ Svajda said.

Dean Goldfine, a former coach of perennial Top tenners Andy Roddick and Todd Martin, now working with the USTA national coaches, is impressed by Svajda.

“He’s got great timing and feel,’’ Goldfine said. “He can generate easy power and defends very well. The next step for him is to take some chances and close out points at the net to make things easier on him. He’s got a great attitude and a lot of potential, but he needs to play more junior matches. It’s too hard now to skip levels.’’

In other matches, unseeded defending champion Juan Benitez of Colombia was sent into retirement 6-2, 7-5 by eighth-seeded Dmitry Popko, a native of Russia who plays for Kazakhstan, but trains in Boca Raton with coach Ilya Drozdov.

“That’s it, I’m done,’’ said Benitez, 23, who’s returning to Baylor University to pursue a career in communications. “It was [fun] at the time but my career could’ve been more; I was a bit unlucky. [Popko] just gets balls back and is solid.’’

Popko has dominated the ITF World Tour circuit this year, winning six tournaments, including three in Turkey, as well as Naples, Sunrise and recently Orange Park. Once ranked 178th in 2017, but now 608 after battling shoulder issues, Popko is ranked 12th in the ITF. This new tour is designed to help young pros earn enough ranking points to get into the Top 200 and compete in the higher Challenger level.

“I’m hungrier now and enjoying the wins,’’ said Popko, 22. “I don’t think that far into the future, but I just want no injuries and this year, get to the Challenger level.’’

In Popko’s afternoon match he outlasted Colombian teen Nicolas Mejia, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in an exquisite display of top-level tennis.

Popko has gotten used to winning as he’s after his seventh ITF World Tour title this year. He was ranked 12th in the new ITF ranking system and will most likely break into the Top 10 if gets past his quarterfinal opponent, top-seeded Pedro Sakamoto of Brazil, who he defeated 6-2, 6-1 in a second-round match of an ITF Futures $15,000 event in Turkey in February 2017.

“He’s always a dangerous player,’’ Sakamoto said. “He’s very solid.’’

Once ranked 178th in 2017, a shoulder injury and a coaching change saw him drop to 608 and relegated Popko from the Challenger Tour to the lower ITF minor league. He won three ITF tournaments in Turkey, as well as one in Naples, Sunrise and recently Orange Park.

Back with his boyhood coach Drozdov, believes all the winning breeds confidence and helped him pull out his late-afternoon match before the rains postponed the rest of the evening matches.

“That was a high-quality match,’’ said Popko, who plays for Kazakhstan but trains in Boca Raton. “I had to step up in the third set and I did. I have confidence and it also helped.’’

Mejia, who had an outstanding junior career, said he lost his concentration briefly in the third set, and it cost him.

“He’s one of the toughest players in the Futures; he’s won like 65 matches this year,’’ Mejia said. “I thought a little focus in the game I was broken at 3-2 him in the third set. I’m getting better and have to keep grinding. These are the kind of matches you live for and the type I have to win in order to get to the next level.’’

Popko has dominated the ITF World Tour circuit this year, winning six tournaments, including three in Turkey, as well as Naples, Sunrise and recently Orange Park. Once ranked 178th in 2017, but now 608 after battling shoulder issues, Popko is ranked 12th in the ITF. This new tour is designed to help young pros earn enough ranking points to get into the Top 200 and compete in the higher Challenger level.

“I’m hungrier now and enjoying the wins,’’ said Popko, 22. “I don’t think that far into the future, but I just want no injuries and this year, get to the Challenger level.’’

The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships 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, the non-profit tennis foundation benefiting children, named for Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, the former top 10 tennis star and the current U.S. Davis Cup captain. The event will be held April 29 – May 5 at The Boulevard tennis club in Vero Beach.

Tournament tickets and sponsorships for the event can be purchased at www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org Daily tickets for the April 29-May 5 are $20, with “night session” tickets starting at 5 pm from April 29 – May 4 costing $10. Season tickets for every session of the event are $100. Admission for children 18 and under is free. Fans can follow news and developments on the tournament on Facebook and on Twitter at @VeroFutures. Detailed sponsorship information can be obtained by emailing Tom Fish at Tfish10s@aol.com or Randy Walker at RWalker@NewChapterMedia.com Approximately 3,000 fans annually attend the event, which is seen as one of the best-attended entry-level professional events in the world.

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 and most recently world No. 50 player and teen sensation Denis Shapovalov, who played in Vero Beach in 2016. Former Vero Beach competitors have combined to win 19 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Grand Slam tournaments. Seven former Vero Beach players have gone on to play Davis Cup for the United States – Roddick, Fish, Taylor Dent, Jared Palmer, Donald Young, Ryan Harrison and Frances Tiafoe.

Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org and @MardyFishFound on Twitter) currently supports over 2,200 children in 15 elementary schools, six middle schools and two after school centers in Indian River County, Florida by funding 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.

The tournament schedule is as follows:

Friday, May 3
Main Draw Singles & Doubles – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm

Saturday, May 4
Singles Semifinals, Doubles TBD – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm

Sunday, May 5
Singles Final – The Boulevard Tennis Club, 1 pm
Doubles TBD

Tournament sponsors for 2019 include Presenting Sponsor PNC Bank, Grand Slam Sponsors Boston Barricade, George E. Warren Corporation and the Jake Owen Foundation, Cabana/Box Seat Sponsors John’s Island Real Estate, John Klein, Gene Simonsen, TeamChristopher.com, Dan Holman, Hadleigh Investments, Pene Chambers / Lynn Southerly, Lace and Bob Milligan / Mickey and Rob Stein, William Barhorst, CPA, Michael and Kathleen Pierce, The Pitcher Family, Shirley Becker, Scoreboard Sponsor Fit for Life / Syde Hurdus Foundation Backhand Sponsors Vero Beach Magazine, Rossway Swan, Nalzaro Music, Coastal Van Lines, Diamond Resorts International, Forehand Sponsors Karen and Steve Rubin, Mike and Meg Hickey / Premier Estate Properties, Shaklee / Suzie Sunkel, Indian River Animal Hospital – Charles B. Johnson, DVM, Marjorie Johnson, DVM, MS, DAVP, Serve Sponsors Cravings, Bistro Fourchette, Willem and Marion DeVogel, Foglia Custom Homes Topspin Sponsors Alex MacWilliam Real Estate, Eternal Water, Kit Fields Realtor, Patrick Williams / Tom Collins Insurance, Riverside Café, MinuteMan Press, Center Court Tennis Outfitters, Drop Shot Sponsors Treasure Coast Financial Planning, Inc., Peter and Judith Saidel, Deb Benjamin, Paul & Linda Delaney, Stewart Dunn, Susan Flannery (Aluma Tower), Tom Flannery (Malesardi, Quackenbush, Swift and Company LLC, Jim & Suzi Keegan, Don Moyle, Dee Patberg, Fran Smyrk (Treasure Coast Sotheby’s), Gary & Beth Williams, ABCO Garage Door Company, Inc., Barker Air Conditioning & Heating, Busy Bee Lawn & Garden Center, Coastal Comforts at the Village Shops, Colton, Williams & Reamy, CPAs, Complete Electric, Inc., Complete Restaurant Equipment, LLC, Glacier Clear Pool Service, Jack’s Complete Tree Service, Inc., Jimmy’s Tree Services, Ken’s Pool Service, ML Engineering, Inc., Nozzle Nolen, Inc., O’Haire, Quinn, Casalino, Chartered, Rich Look Lawn Care, Rick’s Custom Care, Statewide Condominium Insurance, Steve Supplee Construction LLC, Summit Construction of Vero Beach, LLC, Sunshine Furniture, White Glove Moving & Storage and Wilco Construction, Inc.

by Harvey Fialkov
Vero Beach’s Chase Perez-Blanco and Andrew Butz gave the standing-room-only crowd at The Boulevard plenty to cheer about in a riveting doubles match Tuesday evening in the first round of doubles play at the $25,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships.

Perez-Blanco, 23, a teaching pro at Quail Valley River Club, and Butz, both played for University of Florida, albeit at different times, were leading 6-4 in the third-set match tiebreaker against two ATP-ranked pros, Paul Ooserbaan of Kalamazoo, Mich., and Andrew Watson of Great Britain but lost the next five points before Butz blasted two service winners to save a couple of match points.

However, Oosterbaan, 23, ranked No. 682, who has trained recently across the street from The Boulevard at the Grand Harbor club, cracked a booming serve that Butz couldn’t handle, giving he and Watson a 6-2, 4-6 (10-8) victory.

“We both played college, so we’ve been abused worse,’’ joked Evans, a University of Memphis All-American of the incredibly one-sided crowd that was reminiscent of a Davis Cup match. “What’s tennis without a great atmosphere. I’m not complaining; we got the win.’’

No one expected a club pro and a sales rep for a family cushion manufacturing business to take a set off two young aspiring professionals. The raucous gallery, perhaps fired up from Happy Hour, roared when Watson double-faulted on set point.

“We kind of had it,’’ said Butz, a graduate of St. Edward’s school in Vero Beach. “When we first came out here, I wasn’t expecting much. I just started practicing three weeks ago after not hitting in three years. I enjoyed it.’’

Perez-Blanco, who is the boyfriend of Butz’ sister, couldn’t wipe the smile off his face throughout the match.

“We had a lot of fun but we wanted to win. You get competitive, too,’’ Perez-Blanco said.

Perez-Blanco will be out all week watching his longtime BFF, Baker Newman, who won is qualifying match Tuesday to advance into the 32-player main draw. Newman will play Jose Olivarez of the Dominican Republic in a noon match on the Grandstand.

“We’re best buds,’’ Perez-Blanco, 23, said of Newman. “He’s staying with me. We’ve trained together at Royal Palm Country Club since we’re six-years-old. We won four state titles together [at Gulliver Academy in Miami].’’

Wednesday’s feature 6:45 pm match at The Boulevard will look to equal the excitement of Tuesday’s doubles as defending champion and local crowd favorite Juan Benitez of Colombia will play Dmitry Popko, a member of Kazakhstan’s Davis Cup team. Top-seeded Pedro Sakamoto of Brazil opens the day session Wednesday at noon against Isaac Stoute of Great Britain.
On Tuesday, seventh-seeded Juan Ignacio Galarza, of Argentina ripped a running, down-the-line passing shot to secure a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory over Italy’s Lorenzo Frigerio. Galarza, 25, is ranked 534th but was ranked 380 in 2016 after winning seven titles on the Futures and Challenger circuits.
In a hard-hitting battle between two American teenage wild card entrants and friends, Eliot Spizzirri of Greenwich, Conn., came from behind to defeat Ronald Hohmann of Oyster Bay, N.Y., 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Hohmann, 17, who has lived in Parkland [Broward County) with coach Todd Widom since he was 14, is coming off a confidence-building title at the prestigious Easter Bowl Junior Tennis Championships in Indian Wells, Calif. He came out of qualifying to down four seeded players before taking out third-seeded Martin Damm from a set down.

However, on Tuesday, Spizzirri, a first-round loser at that Easter Bowl, turned the tables after getting blown off the court in the first set by Hohmann’s warp-speed serve and forehand. Hohmann, who at times seems as tightly wound as his strings, lost his composure and temper in the second set, allowing the calmer Spizzirri to get his claws back into the match.

“I played him several times in my life and I think I’m up 3-2 in the series,’’ Spizzirri said. “Sort of the same thing happened last week. I was down a set and a break and I raised my level a little bit. He dumped his level down a little, got a little negative and I saw an opening. It’s always hard to play a friend.’’

Spizzirri, 17, has trained at the indoor tennis club of eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl, a former Greenwich resident, who happens to know his aunt.

“It’s nice to have him around to get some advice,’’ Spizzirri said.

Widom, once ranked 200 in singles and 162 in doubles, said that Hohmann has become like his third son with wife Beth, along with sons’ 10-months-old Eli and 5-year-old Brandon.

“He’s going to play for coach Andi Brandi at LSU, a full ride, and it’s going to prepare him to be a professional,’’ Widom said. “He has power off both wings and a huge serve, clocked at 125-mph. He just needs more experience. He’s got the whole package.’’

Hohmann’s huge forehand let him down in the latter stages of the match and after losing the second set, he fired his racket and kicked his tennis bag.
Filling out the 32-player draw were eight qualifiers who won their second qualifying matches on Tuesday, including Romanian Dragos Constantin Ignat, who edged top-seeded Matic Spec, a former standout for the University of Minnesota, 6-4, 5-7, (10-7).

Ignat, 26, who has yet to crack the top 1,000, has overcome health issues, including a shoulder injury, dizziness and migraine headaches in six of the past eight years.

Ignat would play for an hour and then for two days, “I was a vegetable.” The doctors were mystified by his vertigo, but Ignat cured himself when he switched from two-week contact lenses to daily lenses.

“In the U.S., tournaments are very, very tough,’’ said Ignat, who played for Columbia University and manages a tennis club in East Hampton, N.Y., when he isn’t chasing ranking points. “There are a lot of college players who don’t have a ranking yet. “I’m finally happy with the way I feel and play. I enjoy it but my goal is still to play in the Slams.’’

Ignat said his victory over the Slovenian came down to a few crucial points but hung tough after wasting a match point in the second set when Spec’s groundstroke found the baseline. Spec, 24, is ranked 851st.

“He got confident after that but in the [super] tiebreaker I started well,’’ Ignat said. “I love it. This is my favorite tournament I’ve played so far.’’

Also advancing into the main draw was Italy’s Adelchi Virgili and Rowland Phillips, who took out Grey Hamilton, 6-3, 6-4. Phillips, 25, who plays Davis Cup for Jamaica, finally made it into the main draw here after three consecutive ousters in the qualifiers. He saved two match points in his first-round qualifying victory over Romanian Mihnea Turco.

“It feels good,’’ Phillips said. “I’m happy to win.’’

At just 16, Zachary Svadja of San Diego, is the youngest player in the tournament, yet that didn’t stop him from dispatching fellow teen, Dominican Yeudy Villar, who trains in Miami with Extreme Tennis, 6-0, 7-5. Svadja is into his first main draw of a professional tournament.

Also advancing out of qualifying was 18-year-old Ritik Sundaram of Boca Raton, after a 3-6, 7-5 (10-4) victory over Garrett Johns, also 18, of Atlanta. Seventh-seeded Naoki Nakagawa of Japan is into the main draw and will play Colombian Nicolas Mejia on the second match on Stadium Court.
British star Kyle Edmund won the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships in 2013 and then used it as a springboard to a career-high ATP rank of No. 14 last year.

When Tim Henman was 21, he reached the semifinals in this 25-year-old Vero Beach professional tennis event in 1995 and reached a career-high rank of No. 4 in 2002.

Andrew Watson of Great Birtain defeated Chilean Bastian Malla, 7-6 (3), 7-5 in a first-round main draw match.

Watson, 22, played four years for the University of Memphis where he earned All-America honors. The 6-foot-4 right-hander utilized a 120-mph serve to pin Malla, ranked 439th, against the back wall.

Still, Malla, held three break points at 5-5 of the second set but a litany of unforced errors enabled Watson to hold which elicited a loud, ‘Let’s go!’ Watson then broke Malla at love to end the 2-hour, 30-minute battle.

“I had a couple of tough losses last year and lost a bit of confidence,’’ said Watson, who has yet to reach a main draw of an ATP-level tournament. “I felt great last week and reset my mind. I feel I got my edge back this week and am looking forward to the next two weeks and then getting back to grass [in London].’’

Watson is hoping to join fellow Brits, Edmund, currently ranked 22nd, 46th-ranked Cameron Norrie, and 85th-ranked Dan Evans in the Top 100. Of course, all three are hoping to help fill the huge void created by the absence of former No. 1 Andy Murray, who is recovering from major hip surgery.

“I spoke to some coaches and he told me Andy is not feeling pain and hitting hard on the courts and moving around again,’’ said Watson, who has practiced with both Edmund and Murry in the past. “I don’t know how many years he has left but he will make the most of them.’’

Following Watson on Stadium Court was Zimbabwe Davis Cup stalwart Takanyi Garanganga, the fourth seed, and 18-year-old Matthew Segura, who made the 32-player draw by winning the special Wild Card tournament at the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club for the second consecutive season.

However, the slightly built teen was no match for the power of the 28-year-old Garanganga, who pushed the grand-nephew of the legendary Pancho Segura around the clay courts in a 6-2, 6-3 victory.

That said, Segura, who possesses a two-hand forehand like his Hall of Fame uncle, as well as a left-handed forehand, hung tough. He’s also able to serve right-handed from the deuce side and left-handed on the ad side, and was able to trim the lead to 3-5 in the second set.

Segura was serving at what he believed was 30-30. However, Ignat called out tournament referee David Littlefield and after a long discussion, Littlefield agreed the score was actually 15-40. A point later the match was over and an upset Segura littered the court with his rackets.

“It set me off at the beginning. I didn’t know what kind of strategy I should come across with,’’ Garangara said of his opponent’s two forehands and no backhand style. “That’s why it was turbulent, up and down, but then I figured it out, so I’m looking forward to the next match.’’

Segura’s parents, Jeff and Gianella, who live in Orlando, said that Pancho Segura – who coached tennis great Jimmy Connors — told them never to change his unorthodox style and that he believed Matthew would be a top pro someday.

“He used to teach Matthew while using a cane and then a walker,’’ Jeff Segura, said of his uncle who died two years ago at 96. “Even in his final years Pancho would call Matthew on the phone and coach him that way.’’

Wednesday, May 1
Main Draw Singles & Doubles – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Thursday, May 2
Main Draw Singles & Doubles – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Friday, May 3
Main Draw Singles & Doubles – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Saturday, May 4
Singles Semifinals, Doubles Final – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm
Sunday, May 5
Singles Final – The Boulevard Tennis Club, 1 pm

Tournament sponsors for 2019 include Presenting Sponsor PNC Bank, Grand Slam Sponsors Boston Barricade, George E. Warren Corporation and the Jake Owen Foundation, Cabana/Box Seat Sponsors John’s Island Real Estate, John Klein, Gene Simonsen, TeamChristopher.com, Dan Holman, Hadleigh Investments, Pene Chambers / Lynn Southerly, Lace and Bob Milligan / Mickey and Rob Stein, William Barhorst, CPA, Michael and Kathleen Pierce, The Pitcher Family, Shirley Becker, Scoreboard Sponsor Fit for Life / Syde Hurdus Foundation Backhand Sponsors Vero Beach Magazine, Rossway Swan, Nalzaro Music, Coastal Van Lines, Diamond Resorts International, Forehand Sponsors Karen and Steve Rubin, Mike and Meg Hickey / Premier Estate Properties, Shaklee / Suzie Sunkel, Indian River Animal Hospital – Charles B. Johnson, DVM, Marjorie Johnson, DVM, MS, DAVP, Serve Sponsors Cravings, Bistro Fourchette, Willem and Marion DeVogel, Foglia Custom Homes Topspin Sponsors Alex MacWilliam Real Estate, Eternal Water, Kit Fields Realtor, Patrick Williams / Tom Collins Insurance, Riverside Café, MinuteMan Press, Center Court Tennis Outfitters, Drop Shot Sponsors Treasure Coast Financial Planning, Inc., Peter and Judith Saidel, Deb Benjamin, Paul & Linda Delaney, Stewart Dunn, Susan Flannery (Aluma Tower), Tom Flannery (Malesardi, Quackenbush, Swift and Company LLC, Jim & Suzi Keegan, Don Moyle, Dee Patberg, Fran Smyrk (Treasure Coast Sotheby’s), Gary & Beth Williams, ABCO Garage Door Company, Inc., Barker Air Conditioning & Heating, Busy Bee Lawn & Garden Center, Coastal Comforts at the Village Shops, Colton, Williams & Reamy, CPAs, Complete Electric, Inc., Complete Restaurant Equipment, LLC, Glacier Clear Pool Service, Jack’s Complete Tree Service, Inc., Jimmy’s Tree Services, Ken’s Pool Service, ML Engineering, Inc., Nozzle Nolen, Inc., O’Haire, Quinn, Casalino, Chartered, Rich Look Lawn Care, Rick’s Custom Care, Statewide Condominium Insurance, Steve Supplee Construction LLC, Summit Construction of Vero Beach, LLC, Sunshine Furniture, White Glove Moving & Storage and Wilco Construction, Inc.

Vero Beach locals Andrew Butz, the former standout player from St. Edwards school and the University Florida, and “King of the Hill” champion Chase Perez-Blanco of the Quail Valley Club, will take on two ATP ranked professionals, Paul Oosterbaan of Kalamazoo, Michigan and Andrew Watson of Great Britain in Tuesday’s feature 6:45 pm night match in the opening round of doubles at the $25,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at The Boulevard tennis club in Vero Beach.
Perez-Blanco earned a doubles wild card by winning Vero Beach’s annual “King of the Hill” competition and is a former University of Florida standout who ranks No. 6 all-tie in school tennis history for most combined singles and doubles victories. Perez-Blanco was set to play with the second-place “King of the Hill” finisher Nandor Solymosi, also a teaching pro at Quail Valley, but Solymosi was unable to play due to injury and Butz was chosen to take his place. In 2017, Butz finished in a tie for second in the “King of the Hill” competition with Mike Alford of Quail Valley, but graciously ceded the wild card opportunity for Alford to play with event winner James van Deinse. Butz is a two-time Florida 1A state singles champion at St. Edwards and added doubles state title in 2010 as a senior. He reached the third round of the USTA Boys National Tennis Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 2010 and went on to play for the University of Florida..
“The King of Hill” is the annual doubles competition featuring tennis professionals from the Vero Beach area who compete in round-robin competitions on Tuesday nights to the determine the “king” of the local tennis professional. Proceeds from “King of the Hill” benefit the Youth Guidance Mentoring & Activities Program.
Oosterbaan, ranked No. 682 on the ATP singles rankings, is a former standout at the University of Georgia and stands at 6-foot-7, making him one of the tallest players in professional tennis. Oosterbaan has been training recently in Vero Beach at Grand Harbor. Watson is ranked No. 679 on the ATP computer and is a former standout at the University of Memphis.
Also highlighting Tuesday’s schedule is the start of main draw singles play. The Stadium Court Tuesday will feature three main draw singles matches starting at Noon where Watson will face No. 2 seed Bastian Malla of Chile. Matthew Segura, the two-time winner of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships “Wild Card” tournament at Sea Oaks and the great nephew of Tennis Hall of Famer Pancho Segura, will play the second Stadium match against Zimbabwe Davis Cupper Takanyi Garanganga. The third Stadium match will feature a battle of U.S. Tennis Association Wild Card entries between Ron Hohmann of Oyster Bay, N.Y., a semifinalist at February’s Sea Oaks Wild Card tournament and the winner of the prestigious Easter Bowl singles title earlier this Spring, taking on Elliot Spizzirri of Greenwich, Conn.
Magnus Johnson of Naples, Florida, the winner of last week’s special pre-qualifying wild card tournament, will play in the final round of qualifying at approximately 2 pm on the Grandstand Court against Baker Newman, a member of the Davis Cup team from The Bahamas. The feature 5 pm match on the Grandstand will feature defending singles champion Juan Benitez of Colombia, pairing in doubles with Nick Chappell of Dallas, Texas against former University of Minnesota standouts Felix Corwin and Matic Spec. Spec, the No. 1 seed in the singles qualifying event, will play his final-round qualifying match against Dragos Ignat of Romania in the first match on Grandstand starting at noon.
Spec, from Slovenia, relayed a fun story Monday about his first interaction with the tournament’s namesake, Mardy Fish, or the Fish family.
“Back in 2014 during my freshman year, me and my teammate Felix Corwin played in the final of the Big 10 Indoor Championship, Felix ended up winning, but Mardy Fish shared the update on Twitter,” said Spec of Fish, the former top 10 world-ranked tennis player, 2004 Olympic silver medallist, now the U.S. Davis Cup captain.“We were all confused on what was going on and then someone told us he was from Minnesota and he follows Minnesota sports very closely.”
Upon arrival in Vero Beach this week to play in his International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour event, Spec, and his former Golden Gopher teammate Corwin, were happy to meet Mardy’s father Tom, the co-director of the tournament who was raised White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and learn that he too was a University of Minnesota graduate and walk-on member of the men’s tennis team. Fish, and his wife Sally, then opened up their home to the two rookie tennis pros and allowed them to stay with them to offset their expenses and help some former Golden Gophers.
Spec was the first player to take the court Monday at The Boulevard tennis club and made easy work of the uniquely-named Kahaka’loikamalie Companion of Honolulu, Hawaii, winning 6-1, 6-0 in his first round of the 32-player qualifying tournament.
“I’m happy with the way I played today,” said Spec. “I kinda wanted to get into the rhythm ahead of the upcoming tough matches. I tried to do the things the right way and get a good feeling about the ball and the court, also settling for the next couple of days.”
Spec has been on the pro circuit for almost a year, but has lofty goals in the sport.
“My ultimate goal is to reach the top-100 on the ATP rankings list,” he said. “But I’m trying to develop my game as good as I can in order to win some Futures (entry-level) tournament sand go to the next level. I will give myself a couple of years and see how it goes before deciding what to do next.”
Spec is one of 16 players who won first round qualifying matches Monday and will play in final-round qualifying matches Tuesday to attempt to enter the 32-player main draw of the event.
Several players who play Davis Cup for their nations were also in action Monday. Former LSU standout Boris Arias, a member of Bolivia’s Davis Cup team, defeated Chris Rosensteel of East Windsor, N.J. 6-1, 3-6, (10-6) and Newman of the Davis Cup team from The Bahamas defeated Mwendwa Mbithi of Coconut Creek, Fla. 6-4, 6-0. Kyle Johnson of Charlotte, N.C., who plays Davis Cup for El Salvador, was defeated by Romania’s Ignat 6-3, 6-4. Rowland Phillips, who plays Davis Cup for Jamaica, won his first round match over Mihnea Turco of Romania 4-6, 7-5, 10-6.
“It is my first time here in Vero Beach but I heard really good things about the tournament,” said Arias. “Everyone told me it is very well-organized event and there’s a lot of people watching the matches. The atmosphere is great.”
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships 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, the non-profit tennis foundation benefiting children, named for Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, the former top 10 tennis star and the current U.S. Davis Cup captain. The event will be held April 29 – May 5 at The Boulevard tennis club in Vero Beach.
Tournament tickets and sponsorships for the event can be purchased at www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org Daily tickets for the April 29-May 5 are $20, with “night session” tickets starting at 5 pm from April 29 – May 4 costing $10. Season tickets for every session of the event are $100. Admission for children 18 and under is free. Fans can follow news and developments on the tournament on Facebook and on Twitter at @VeroFutures. Detailed sponsorship information can be obtained by emailing Tom Fish at Tfish10s@aol.com or Randy Walker at RWalker@NewChapterMedia.com Approximately 3,000 fans annually attend the event, which is seen as one of the best-attended entry-level professional events in the world.
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 and most recently world No. 50 player and teen sensation Denis Shapovalov, who played in Vero Beach in 2016. Former Vero Beach competitors have combined to win 19 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Grand Slam tournaments. Seven former Vero Beach players have gone on to play Davis Cup for the United States – Roddick, Fish, Taylor Dent, Jared Palmer, Donald Young, Ryan Harrison and Frances Tiafoe.
Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundation.com and @MardyFishFound on Twitter) currently supports over 2,200 children in 15 elementary schools, six middle schools and two after school centers in Indian River County, Florida by funding 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.
The tournament schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, April 30
Qualifying Tournament Ends, Main Draw Beings – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Wednesday, May 1
Main Draw Singles & Doubles – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Thursday, May 2
Main Draw Singles & Doubles – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Friday, May 3
Main Draw Singles & Doubles – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Saturday, May 4
Singles Semifinals, Doubles Final – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm
Sunday, May 5
Singles Final – The Boulevard Tennis Club, 1 pm
Tournament sponsors for 2019 include Presenting Sponsor PNC Bank, Grand Slam Sponsors Boston Barricade, George E. Warren Corporation and the Jake Owen Foundation, Cabana/Box Seat Sponsors John’s Island Real Estate, John Klein, Gene Simonsen, TeamChristopher.com, Dan Holman, Hadleigh Investments, Pene Chambers / Lynn Southerly, Lace and Bob Milligan / Mickey and Rob Stein, William Barhorst, CPA, Michael and Kathleen Pierce, The Pitcher Family, Shirley Becker, Scoreboard Sponsor Fit for Life / Syde Hurdus Foundation Backhand Sponsors Vero Beach Magazine, Rossway Swan, Nalzaro Music, Coastal Van Lines, Diamond Resorts International, Forehand Sponsors Karen and Steve Rubin, Mike and Meg Hickey / Premier Estate Properties, Shaklee / Suzie Sunkel, Indian River Animal Hospital – Charles B. Johnson, DVM, Marjorie Johnson, DVM, MS, DAVP, Serve Sponsors Cravings, Bistro Fourchette, Willem and Marion DeVogel, Foglia Custom Homes Topspin Sponsors Alex MacWilliam Real Estate, Eternal Water, Kit Fields Realtor, Patrick Williams / Tom Collins Insurance, Riverside Café, MinuteMan Press, Center Court Tennis Outfitters, Drop Shot Sponsors Treasure Coast Financial Planning, Inc., Peter and Judith Saidel, Deb Benjamin, Paul & Linda Delaney, Stewart Dunn, Susan Flannery (Aluma Tower), Tom Flannery (Malesardi, Quackenbush, Swift and Company LLC, Jim & Suzi Keegan, Don Moyle, Dee Patberg, Fran Smyrk (Treasure Coast Sotheby’s), Gary & Beth Williams, ABCO Garage Door Company, Inc., Barker Air Conditioning & Heating, Busy Bee Lawn & Garden Center, Coastal Comforts at the Village Shops, Colton, Williams & Reamy, CPAs, Complete Electric, Inc., Complete Restaurant Equipment, LLC, Glacier Clear Pool Service, Jack’s Complete Tree Service, Inc., Jimmy’s Tree Services, Ken’s Pool Service, ML Engineering, Inc., Nozzle Nolen, Inc., O’Haire, Quinn, Casalino, Chartered, Rich Look Lawn Care, Rick’s Custom Care, Statewide Condominium Insurance, Steve Supplee Construction LLC, Summit Construction of Vero Beach, LLC, Sunshine Furniture, White Glove Moving & Storage and Wilco Construction, Inc.