Tennis Verobeach

Mardy Fish Children's Foundation

King of the Hill

James Van Deinse Wins 2023 “King of the Hill” Open Division, Earns Mardy Fish Doubles Wild Card With Tyler Rios

· · Leave a Comment

James Van Deinse of the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club, and Tyler Rios of the Magnolia Lakes Club in Port St. Lucie, the winner and runner-up respectively at the annual “King of the Hill” tennis competition that concluded Thursday night at The Boulevard, have been awarded a main draw doubles wild card into the 2023 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, to be held April 24-30 in Vero Beach.

Van Deinse and Rios were awarded the wild card by the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, the operators of the Vero Beach $15,000 U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit and ITF World Tennis Tour event as part of an agreement with the “King of the Hill” (KOTH) competition and organizer Gigi Casapu to give a wild card entry into the professional event to the KOTH winner and runner-up. Held since 1996, the “King of the Hill” competition features tennis teaching professionals competing in doubles play to determine the top player in the area and to benefit Youth Guidance in Vero Beach as its charity.

With a crowd of over 400 fans watching, Van Deinse won a 7-6 tiebreaker by seven points to five alongside brother Joseph Van Deinse, also the owner and professional of the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club, over Rios and Sea Oaks tennis pro Christian Docter to edge Rios for the title in the last of three sets played between the four finalists. Van Deinse, who also won the KOTH title in 2017, won all three sets he played Thursday night with all three of the other finalists.

“It feels amazing. It was some of my best tennis that I played today,” said Van Deinse. “I played some of my best tennis when I needed it the most.”

Van Deinse is fresh off playing the biggest tennis tournament of his career at the ATP Tour’s Challenger level event in Monterrey, Mexico, where he competed alongside several former top 25 world-ranked players. Van Deinse was able to play against world No. 130 ranked Yosuke Watanuki of Japan, fresh off advancing to the second round at the Australian Open. Van Deinse was defeated 6-0, 6-1 but said that the experience helped him in his King of the Hill final.

“It mostly prepared me to be sharp,” he said. “I felt like when a ball came at me quick tonight for a volley, or a return of serve, or whatever, I was ready for it, because I had practiced against a level that I wasn’t used to before.”

Van Deinse will get another opportunity on the professional tour stage when he competes in the main draw in doubles with Rios at the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, which is a level below the ATP Challenger level in the hierarchy of pro tennis. To boot, Van Deinse will be playing the tournament on the courts he owns and teaches on as the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation will be hosting the event at the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club.

“I can’t wait,” said Van Deinse of playing the Mardy Fish at his home club. “It would’ve been cool to play with (brother) Joseph, but I’m so excited to play with Tyler. He’s a nice guy, great player, and, hopefully, we can get a win.”

Van Deinse and Rios will play their first-round doubles match against world-ranked ATP touring professionals on Tuesday, April 24 at 6:00 pm. Rios, a first-time KOTH finalist, will be competing in a pro tennis tournament for the first time in his career.

WATCH the James Van Deinse post-match interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BxgwUYDLiI

“King of the Hill” Event For 2023 To Be Played Thursdays From January 19 to March 2

· · Leave a Comment

The 2023 “King of the Hill” competition will start on Thursday January 19th at 6:00p.m. at The Boulevard Tennis Club in Vero Beach with the first round of the open division and run through Thursday, March 2.

Here are the groups and the schedule of play for the entire 2023 King of the Hill event:

Thursday January 19th at 6:00 p.m. first round of the Open Division on four courts:

Group Mardy Fish: Slim Hamza (The Moorings), Yohann Prinsen (Twin Oaks), Joseph Van Deinse (Vero Beach T.C.), Pavel Zhdanov (John’s Island)

Group Andy Roddick: Robert Kowalczyk (The Boulevard), Erik Turnquist (Orchid Island), James Van Deinse (Vero Beach T.C.), Eddie Majcher (Stuart)

Group Rafael Nadal: Ching Wang (Sea Oaks), Anton Loef (John’s Island), Christian Docter (Sea Oaks), Andrew Mignolet (Twin Oaks),

Group Andy Murray: Kainoa Rosa (Orchid Island), Razvan Ilie (Vero Beach), Tyler Rios (Port St. Lucie), Chris Mignolet (Twin Oaks)

The winner and the runner-up in the Open Division will once again receive a wild card to play in the main doubles draw of $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Championships, USTA Pro Circuit event to be held April 24-30 at the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club at Timber Ridge.

Thursday January 26th at 6:00 p.m. semifinals 40’s Division on two courts:

Group Andre Agassi: Mikael Pernfors (The Boulevard), Mark Harrison (Melbourne), Nathan Dickens (Melbourne), Martin Illuzzi (The Legacy)

Group Peter Sampras: Lennart Jonason (John’s Island), Cullen DeWindt (Piper’s Landing), Billy Almeyda (Sea Oaks), Mario Cobo (Mariner Sands)

Thursday February 2nd at 6:00 p.m. semifinals 50’s Division on two courts:

Group Ilie Nastase: Henner Lenhardt (Aquarina), Joe Biedenharn (Sea Oaks), Micheal Phelipa (Suntree CC), Ed Shanaphy (The Boulevard)

Group Rod Laver: Tim Brueggeman (Vero Beach), Michael Van Dusen (Jupiter), Mario Cobo (Mariner Sands), Emile DeCuba (Ocean Village), 

Thursday February 9th at 6:00 p.m. – Semifinals Open Division on two courts

Thursday February 16th at 6:00 p.m.- 50’s Division Final

Thursday February 23rd at 6:00 p.m. – 40’s Division Final

Thursday March 2nd at 6:00 p.m. – Open Division Final

Winners of the 2022 King of the Hill:

50’s Division – Henner Lenhardt (Sea Oaks)

40’s Division – Mikael Pernfors (The Boulevard)

Open Division – Chase Perez Blanco (Quail Valley) 

Watch Pernfors, the 1986 French Open runner-up, speak after winning the 2022 KOTH title in the 40’s division here: https://youtu.be/NzQI99ipFLA via @YouTube

For more info, E-mail at Gigi Casaspu gcasapu@aol.com,  call or text message at 772-979-5582

James Van Deinse won “King of the Hill” Open Division in 2017

Perez-Blanco, Hamza Set For April 26 Tuesday Night Start At Mardy Fish Tennis After “King of the Hill” Success Awards Them “Wild Cards”

· · Leave a Comment

Chase Perez-Blanco of Quail Valley, the winner of Vero Beach’s “King of the Hill” competition, and Slim Hamza of The Moorings Club, the “King of the Hill” runner-up, have officially been awarded a main draw doubles wild card into the 2022 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, the $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour USTA Pro Circuit event to be played April 25 – May 1 at The Boulevard.

Perez-Blanco and Hamza will play their opening round doubles match against ATP-ranked professionals as the feature night match on Tuesday, April 26.

“We are so happy to award a main draw doubles wild card to the ‘King of the Hill’ winner and runner-up, which has become a nice local Vero Beach tradition,” said Tom Fish, co-tournament director of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships. “Chase has been a key figure in the Vero Beach tennis scene the last few years and Slim had been an exciting new addition to our community. Both played high-level and entertaining tennis at ‘King of the Hill’ and we are looking forward to seeing them compete against ranked professionals starting on Tuesday night at our official pro tour event.”

In 2019, Perez-Blanco and “King of the Hill” runner-up Andrew Butz came within two points of winning a first-round doubles match against ATP ranked players, losing to Andrew Watson of Great Britain and Paul Oosterbaan of Michigan 6-2, 4-6 (10-8)

Hamza has competed against such players as Jamie Murray and Ernests Gulbis and reached the doubles final at a $15,000 event in Tunisia in 2014.

For information on Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation tickets, including reserved seating, sponsorship seating and general admission, go to www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org or email Lynn Southerly at LSouth1072@gmail.com Daily tickets will be available for $40 ($30 paid in advance online). Season tickets will be $200 and reserved and sponsorship seating and packages are also available.

The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships is the USTA’s $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour tournament 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, 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.

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. Eight 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, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul.

Chase Perez-Blanco and Slim Hamza

Chase Perez-Blanco Wins 2022 “King of the Hill” Open Division

· · Leave a Comment

Chase Perez-Blanco of the Quail Valley Club won the “King of the Hill” open division title for a third time on Thursday, March 4 at The Boulevard making his claim as the top tennis player in Vero Beach.

The former University of Florida standout earned the most games in the final night of competition, beating out runner-up Slim Hamza of The Moorings Club, Robert Kowalczyk of The Boulevard and Joseph van Deinse of the Vero Beach Tennis Club.

The final night of the seven Thursdays of competitions attracted more than 500 spectators and closed out perhaps the best “King of the Hill” season ever.

“A lot of spectators came from The Moorings Club, supporting their local pro Slim Hamza, from Quail Valley for Chase Perez Blanco, from The Boulevard for Robert Kowalczyk and from Vero Beach Tennis Club supporting Joseph Van Deinse,” wrote Gigi Capascu, the King of the Hill organizer, in his wrap-up email on the event. “The players gave it all. Each round was very animated and the spectators were applauding  great moments of play and shot making. After two rounds Chase was in the lead. Joseph was Chase’s partner in the third round, and they played very well together. Chase made the necessary number of points to win the title by a point, followed by Slim, Robert and Joseph.”

The event benefits Youth Guidance in Vero Beach, Florida.

Mikael Pernfors Wins 2022 “King of the Hill” 40s Title

· · Leave a Comment

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

Mikael Pernfors is a “King of the Hill” once again.

The 58-year-old Swede, known best for his run to the French Open final in 1986 and his two NCAA singles titles for the University of Georgia, won the 2022 40-and-over division of the “King of the Hill” at The Boulevard.

Pernfors, who also won the same title in 2021, was the top winner of games in the round-robin doubles format beating out second-place finisher Lennart Jonason of the John’s Island (also from Sweden like Pernfors), third-place finisher Cullen DeWindt of the Piper’s Landing Club and Nate Dickens of Melbourne, subbing for Mark Harrison, who was unable to play.

“I had a decent career, not as good as many, but I find myself coming out here to have a good time, and I have a great time, but I start counting games, and I get nervous and I guess that means how much I love this game,” said Pernfors, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 10 and now lives in Vero Beach and plays at The Boulevard.

Watch the post-match speech by Pernfors here: https://youtu.be/NzQI99ipFLA

The final staging of the 2022 “King of the Hill” series will be Thursday, March 3 at 6 pm at The Boulevard with the final of the “Open Division” featuring Robert Kowalczyk of The Boulevard, Chase Perez-Blanco of Quail Valley, Joseph van Deinse of the Vero Beach Tennis Club and Slim Hamza of The Moorings. The winner and runner-up in the Open Division will receive a main draw doubles wild card into the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships ITF World Tennis Tour USTA Pro Circuit event, played at The Boulevard April 25-May 1.

The biggest winner of the “King of the Hill” series is the Youth Guidance charity that benefits at-risk youth.