King of the Hill

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

Randy Walker · March 12, 2022 · 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 Wins 2022 “King of the Hill” Open Division

Randy Walker · March 7, 2022 · 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

Randy Walker · February 25, 2022 · 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.

Henner Lenhardt Wins 2022 “King of the Hill” 50s Title

Randy Walker · February 18, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Henner Lenhardt of Sea Oaks was the winner of the 2022 “King of the Hill” 50s division at The Boulevard tennis club, beating out second-place finishers Tim Brueggemann and Christophe Delavaut in front of about 300 enthusiastic tennis fans. Emile DeCuba, who substituted for an injured Joe Biedenharn, finished in fourth.

It was the seventh time that Lenhardt has won title at KOTH, the local Vero Beach tennis competition showcasing local tennis talent, mainly among teaching pros. The event benefits Youth Guidance in Vero Beach.

Delavaut qualified for the final after an inspirational performance in the semifinals as a last-minute substitute as you can read here: https://tennisverobeach.com/index.php/2022/02/06/comeback-kid-christophe-delavaut-unexpectedly-stars-at-king-of-the-hills-50s-division/

To read more about Henner, click here: https://www.seaoaksbeachandtennis.com/about/personnel/henner-lenhardt

The men’s 40s final, featuring 1986 French Open runner-up Mikael Pernfors will be held Thursday, February 26 at 6 pm and the Open Division will be Thursday, March 3 at 6 pm. The winner and runner-up of the Open Division will receive a main draw doubles wild card. The Open Division finalists are Joseph Van Deinse of the Vero Beach Tennis Club, Chase Perez Blanco of Quail Valley, Robert Kowalczyk of The Boulevard and Slim Hamza of The Moorings. Tickets are $10.

Comeback “Kid” Christophe Delavaut Unexpectedly Stars at “King of the Hill” 50s Division

Randy Walker · February 6, 2022 · 3 Comments

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

Comeback stories in pro tennis get a lot of attention.

Most recently, of course, you had Rafael Nadal, having not played competitive tournament tennis in almost six months due to a knee injury, winning his record-breaking 21^st major singles title at the Australian Open.

Back in 2017, Roger Federer won the Australian Open in similar circumstances. Billie Jean King had many comebacks in her career from knee surgeries and Monica Seles came back after an on-court stabbing.

In the cozy beachside community of Vero Beach, Florida, there was another tennis comeback that virtually no one is talking about, but is just as inspiring to an extent.

Christophe Delavaut, the popular and charismatic director of tennis at Vero Beach’s The Boulevard Tennis Club, had not played any type of competitive tennis in nine months and, more incredibly, was six months removed from major heart surgery. He only recently returned to the court to teach lessons.

But after a last minute scratch at the club at the town’s competitive “King of the Hill” tournament, that benefits at-risk children in Vero Beach, Delavaut was thrust back into competitive tennis.

During the staging of the opening round of the 50-and-over edition of the event on Thursday, February 3, Gabriel Barnabei of The Legacy club was a late scratch for the event minutes before the start of play, and Delavaut, three decades plus removed from his Division II All-American college career at Franklin Pierce College, was the only qualified and available last-minute substitute. The show must go on and there were over 150 paying fans – as well as sponsors – who paid money to watch tennis and raise money for the local charity, Youth Guidance.

“Hope you are going to pull out the compression socks,” said a club member to Delavaut, known for wearing colorful versions of the wraps around his calves, as he walked to his office to prepare for play.

The color choice for this evening was blinding bright pink.

After the first of three set rotations on the court (each player playing a set with each player), Karim Balagh, who works for Delavaut as a pro at The Boulevard, pulled his hamstring and could barely walk, let alone play.

Christian Docter, the 20-something pro at Sea Oaks who was watching his boss Joe Biedenharn play on the court, was then recruited to sub for Balagh so, once again, the show could go on. Of course, he could not advance into the final based on his age. So of the three remaining 50-something competitors on the court, two would advance to the final, along with the top two finishers from the other court of competitors.

Delavaut, Biedenharn, Docter and the fourth, Emile de Cuba of the Ocean Village club, then produced some of the most entertaining “King of the Hill” shot-making many could remember. Angled shots and precision volleys were the fired back and forth. Delavaut threw in an underhand ace of Docter and Biedenharn hit an around-the-post forehand winner off a sharply angled volley that certainly would have made the ESPN “Top 10” if someone had been filming with their Iphone.

Delavaut, and his pink compression socks, went from last minute replacement to then qualifying for the men’s 50 finals on February 17 along with Biedenharn and, from the other court, Henner Lenhardt from Sea Oaks and Tom Brueggeman, the winner of the event’s open division in 2001 and 2002.

The winner and runner-up of the King of the Hill “Open Division” (to be played Thursday March 3) receive a main draw wild card doubles entry in to the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships ITF World Tennis Tour and USTA Pro Circuit event to be played April 25-May 1.