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Mardy Fish Children's Foundation

Mardy Fish, With Borrowed Racket, Still Can’t Beat Bryan Brothers in Windsor Exhibition

Randy Walker · January 20, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Not that you need to find an excuse when you lose a doubles match to Bob and Mike Bryan, the greatest doubles team of all time, but Mardy Fish had one.

Traveling from his home in Los Angeles to Florida to not only play a tennis exhibition, but to play in his charity golf fundraise and the Hilton Vacations Tournament of Champions Celebrity Golf Event, Fish brought his tennis racket, but just forgot to bring it to the court, leaving it at his parents’ house.

“My racket made it all the way from Los Angeles and then it didn’t make it from my parents’ house to here,” said Fish. “I brought my shoes and everything and I forgot my racket.”

Fish borrowed one of the Solinco rackets that belonged to the Bryans, but it wasn’t able to propel he and his good friend, sometime caddy and former Harvard All-American Thomas Blake to victory over Bob and Mike Bryan, who won 16 major doubles titles together and 119 ATP doubles titles as a pair.

The sold-out intimate exhibition was played on one of the feature courts at Windsor’s eight Har-Tru courts, surrounded by lush hedges, that was designed by former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Stan Smith and where Fish’s father Tom has been the Director of Tennis since 1991. Half of the proceeds for the event were also donated to the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation. Also in attendance was Windsor co-founder, the Hon. Hilary M. Weston, her son Galen G. Weston and his wife Alexandra and their two sons Graydon and Griffin.

“It’s great to come here,” said Bob Bryan. “Windsor is such a beautiful place and is so special.”

“I’ve put a lot of hours on these courts over the years and all up and down A1A and Riverside Park,” said Fish, a honorary Windsor member. “It’s nostalgic coming back. I played golf down in Jupiter yesterday and drove back and took the long way back down A1A, and called my wife had said, ‘I’m taking a long way home’ and going past Riomar, and our old house on Honeysuckle Lane and Beachland Elementary School and all that. It’s really fun to get back, and certainly, to get back here to Windsor.”

The Bryans announced in late 2019 that their 2020 season would be their last on tour, but due to the global pandemic, they were not able to have their career send-off in front of appreciative fans at the 2020 U.S. Open, which was one of the first events to resume but was played in front of no fans. Instead, the final official match for the brothers came in the USA vs. Uzbekistan Davis Cup match in Hawaii in early March 2020 where they played for Fish, who was into his second year as the U.S. Davis Cup captain.

“We’ve been on the road for so many years, 23 years on tour and before that it was crazy in the juniors,” said Bob Bryan. “We are now spending more time at home with the family. Just them pick up, taking them to tennis, they’re playing lots of music. We still have our band. We’re jamming a little bit. Playing chess. But we’re traveling a little. We’re doing some appearances like this, and do a couple of weeks (commentating) with the Tennis Channel. But it was a great time on tour, but this is a special time in life as well.”

Said Mike Bryan of his retirement, “I had a baby so, I’m changing diapers. We’ve been enjoying retirement for a few years and just see where the next part of our lives takes us but we’re still going to be in tennis. We love doing these type of things and giving back to the kids. We have a foundation too, so, we are working hard at that too.”

Following their 6-2, 6-4 win, the Bryans announced they would donate $10,000 to the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation. To watch the post-match interviews, click this link to watch on YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA8hAcIwqmI&t=352s

Thomas Blake, Mardy Fish and the Bryan Brothers at Windsor
Thomas Blake, Mardy Fish and the Bryan Brothers at Windsor

Features Bryan Brothers, Mardy Fish, Mardy Fish Children's Foundation, Thomas Blake, Vero Beach, Windsor

Mardy Fish, Other Top Tennis Celebs, Star at MFCF Golf Fundraiser at Windsor

Randy Walker · January 20, 2022 · Leave a Comment

A record 80 golfers participated in the 2022 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Golf Fundraiser on Monday, January 17 at the Windsor Club in Vero Beach, headlined by Foundation namesake and Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, the current U.S. Davis Cup captain. Fish played the 143-yard par 3 17th hole for every foursome in the scramble format, networking and taking photos with all donors and participants. Among the celebrity competitors were former top-flight tennis stars Hall of Famer Ivan Lendl, the three-time U.S. Open champion and former world No. 1, Mikael Pernfors, the 1986 French Open singles runner-up, Richey Reneberg, the former Wimbledon and U.S. Open doubles champion, Herb Fitzgibbon, the former champion at the now Western & Southern Financial Masters in Cincinnati, and Thomas Blake, the former All-American at Harvard, as well as former Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield.

The winner of the event, by a long shot, were the thousands of at-risk children in Indian River County who benefit from funding from the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation. The winners of the competition were Meg Brossy, Marcy Wilson, Melissa Stahel and Jeremy Nevius, who were, ironically, the last team to enter the tournament. The team shot a net score of 52, which was two shots better than the runner-up team of Pernfors, Bob and Jane Oberrender and Wendy Riefler. The team of Steve Owen, Matt Avril, Bobby Bird and Jerry Shulock won the low gross score with a 61.

Fish, who uses the Vero Beach event as a bit of a warm-up for the annual Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions pro-celebrity golf event in Orlando, pledged $10,000 to his charity for the event and challenged people to match his donation. Bob and Mike Bryan, who played a special fund-raising doubles tennis exhibition on Saturday, January 15 also at Windsor, matched Fish’s contribution. One golfer during the Monday event pledged to match Fish’s $10,000 if Fish could hit his tee shot on the par 3 17th hole within the shot of one of the low-handicap golfers in their group. After this golfer hit the ball within 15 feet of the hole, Fish calmly hit his 9-iron shot in the blustery 20 mph winds that morning to within three feet, the ball flirting with the rim of the cup, which would have been Fish’s first career hole-in-one.

Craig Dolch of TCPalm.com spoke to Fish during the event and posted this story “Mardy Fish takes a stroll down Memory Lane on visit to hometown Vero Beach” https://www.tcpalm.com/story/sports/golf/2022/01/18/vero-beach-native-mardy-fish-enjoys-round-golf-windsor-club/6557743001/

Winners of the 2022 MFCF Golf Fundraiser with Mardy Fish
Winners of the 2022 MFCF Golf Fundraiser with Mardy Fish

Features Mardy Fish, Mardy Fish Children's Foundation, Windsor

Mardy Fish (And Mike Bryan) Highlight MFCF Golf Fundraiser at Windsor Monday, January 17

Randy Walker · December 28, 2021 · Leave a Comment

U.S. Davis Cup captain and Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, along with several former star pro athletes, highlight the field of celebrities who will play in the 2022 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Charity Golf Fundraiser to be played Monday, January 17 at The Windsor Club in Vero Beach, Florida

The event is headlined by Fish, the current U.S. Davis Cup captain former Top 10 tennis star and 2004 Olympic silver medalist. Also participating in the event will be Fish’s former Davis Cup teammate Mike Bryan, half of the “Bryan Brothers,” the greatest doubles team of all time, former standout Major League Baseball pitcher Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox, former top tennis professionals Mikael Pernfors, the 1986 French Open finalist and Vero Beach resident, former European Ryder Cup player and captain Paul McGinley and former ATP player and Harvard University tennis star Thomas Blake.

Fish has been described by six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus as “the best non-professional golfer that I have ever seen play” and has translated his talents on the celebrity golf tour. Fish will be gearing up to attempt to win the celebrity title at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club  for a fourth time just days after appearing at this event. Fish also won the prestigious American Century Celebrity Golf Championships at Lake Tahoe in 2020.

Golfers interested in participating in the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Golf Fundraiser should email Mardy Fish’s father, Tom, the President of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, at Tfish@aol.com or Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Executive Director Lynn Southerly at Lsouth1072@gmail.com. Paid positions for a tax deductible contribution of $500 are available. Non-golfers are also encouraged to attend for the same price and receive a VIP experience on the 17th hole at Windsor, where Fish will be playing the hole with each participating foursomes, along with breakfast and for the awards lunch. Registration and breakfast begin at 8:00 am with an 9:00 am shot-gun start, followed by a 1 pm luncheon and awards presentation. PNC Bank, a long-time supporter of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, is the presenting sponsor of the event.

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the 18-hole links style course at Windsor is a masterpiece in traditional golf course architecture. The par 72 course features an undulating panorama of native trees that border gentle rolling fairways, unobstructed by houses.

The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org) was founded in 2007 and 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 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation also hosts an entry-level U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit event April 25 – May 1, The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, that will be held at The Boulevard club in Vero Beach. Sponsorships, box-seats, tickets and pro-am spots are available for the event by emailing Fish or Southerly.

Mardy Fish and Paul McGinley
Mardy Fish, the U.S. Davis Cup Captain, with Paul McGinley, the former European Ryder Cup Captain, at the 2020 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Golf Fundraise at Windsor

Features Mardy Fish, Mardy Fish Children's Foundation, Mike Bryan, Vero Beach, Windsor

Matthew Segura Once Again Wins Mardy Fish "Wild Card" Event At Sea Oaks

manfr3dw · March 2, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Matthew Segura of Apopka, Florida, the great nephew of Tennis Hall of Fame tennis legend Pancho Segura, defeated fellow 18-year-old American Perry Gregg of Chicago 7-6 (0), 6-4 in the final of the “Wild Card” tournament for the 2019 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships Friday at the Sea Oaks tennis club.
It marked the second straight year that Segura won this specially-created tournament where the winner is awarded a main draw wild card entry into the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, Vero Beach’s $25,000 ITF World Tennis Tour professional tennis tournament that has been held since 1995. Segura will be among 32 players from around the world who will compete in the main draw of the event April 29 – May 5 at The Boulevard tennis club. Last year, Segura defeated Jack Vance of Henderson, Nevada 6-3, 6-4 in the championship match at Sea Oaks to earn a wild card into the 2018 event, where he lost in the first round to Nico Mejia of Colombia. One of the top junior players in the nation, Segura plays ambidextrously, hitting right-handed and left-handed and also using two-handed forehands and backhands just as his great uncle Pancho did during his Hall of Fame career.
En route to the title at Sea Oaks, Segura beat 39-year-old Brian Battistone in the round of 16 in what is believed to be the first ever pro tennis match played between two ambidextrous players. In the semifinals, he beat Jack Vance by the exact 6-3, 6-4 scoreline from their 2018 Sea Oaks final. In his two tournament appearances at Sea Oaks, Segura has won all nine matches in straight sets.
The full completed draw and schedule can be seen on TennisLink here:
https://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=235635#&&s=7Draws3 Thirty-two players from 11 states and three different countries were represented in the event. The event featured daily crowds of several hundred fans.
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation will also host a qualifying wild card tournament – or a pre-qualifying event – and a main draw doubles wild card event at The Boulevard Tennis Club April 24-27. To enter and for more information, go here on the UTR website: https://www.myutr.com/events/3744 Entries for these events are open to anyone, but players must have an ITF Ipin number in order to play in the official qualifying or main draw events, if they win these two tournaments.
Proceeds from these events 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 newly-named U.S. Davis Cup captain.
Tournament tickets and sponsorships for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships are now on sale and can be purchased at www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org Daily tickets cost $20 with daily “night” tickets purchased after 5 pm cost $10. Season tickets for all sessions cost $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 Ttfish10s@aol.com or Randy Walker at RWalker@NewChapterMedia.com
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.
SeaOaks2019SeguraWalker

Features, Vero Beach Champions Mardy Fish Children's Foundation, Matthew Segura, Perry Gregg, Sea Oaks, Vero Beach

Matthew Segura, J.J. Mercer And Brian Battistone Highlight Mardy Fish "Wild Card" Event At Sea Oaks

manfr3dw · February 25, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Matthew Segura, the great nephew of Hall of Fame tennis legend Pancho Segura, J.J. Mercer, one of the top junior players in the nation and a top recruit to play for the No. 1 ranked Ohio State University, and Brian Battistone, the volleyball-style serving, double-grip-racquet wielding former top 100-ranked doubles player, highlight entries into the Mardy Fish USTA Futures “Wild Card” tournament held this Wednesday, Feb. 27 through Friday, March 1 at the Sea Oaks tennis club in Vero Beach, Florida.
Segura, Mercer and Battistone are among a group of 32 aspiring players from around the world in the singles field of this tournament that will award a main draw singles “wild card” (tournament entry) into the 2019 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, the $25,000 ITF World Tennis Tour event held April 29-May 5 at The Boulevard Tennis Club in Vero Beach.
Play will begin Wednesday with opening matches featuring world-ranked players starting at 11:45 am with a feature match at 4:30 pm. Quarterfinal matches are scheduled to be played on Thursday followed by the semifinals at 10 am on Friday and the final on Friday at 5 pm.
The full draw and schedule can be seen on TennisLink here:
https://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=235635#&&s=7Draws3
Matches will be best-of-three set matches with a 10-point Match Tiebreaker played in lieu of a third set. Admission is free.
Segura, 18, won this wild card event last year at Sea Oaks defeating Jack Vance of Henderson, Nevada in the final. A resident of Apopka, Fla., Segura earned a main draw entry into the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships with the tournament win where he lost in the first round to Nico Mejia of Colombia. One of the top junior players in the nation, Segura hits with a two-handed forehand and backhand just as his great uncle Pancho did during his Hall of Fame career.
Mercer, 18, is one of the top junior tennis players in the country and a recruit to play for the No. 1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes men’s tennis team starting in 2020. A native of Huntington, West Virginia, Mercer comes from a family of standout tennis players as both his parents and older sister played Division I college tennis, while his younger brother is also a nationally ranked junior.
Battistone, 39, is best-known for having the most unique serve and most tennis racquet in tennis. The Las Vegas resident uses a volleyball-styled jump serve where he leaps into the court, switches his racket hand in mid-air and hits the ball before landing on court. He also uses a unique two-handled racquet, unlike anything seen anywhere else in the sport of tennis.
Other entrants include Vance, the singles finalist from last year from Henderson, Nevada, Vero Beach Tennis Club’s James and Joseph van Deinse, former Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation pupil Emilio Van Cotthem of Fort Pierce among others. International entries include Tommaso Carnevale Miino of Italy and Bernardo Costa of Brazil. Players from 11 states are also represented in the draw.
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation will also host a qualifying wild card tournament – or a pre-qualifying event –and a main draw doubles wild card event at The Boulevard Tennis Club April 24-27. To enter and for more information, go here on the UTR website: https://www.myutr.com/events/3744
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships is the USTA’s $25,000 ITF World Tennis Tour event that has been played in Vero Beach since 1995 and 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 newly-named U.S. Davis Cup captain.
Tournament tickets and sponsorships for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships are now on sale and can be purchased at www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org Daily tickets cost $20 with daily “night” tickets purchased after 5 pm cost $10. Season tickets for all sessions cost $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 Ttfish10s@aol.com or Randy Walker at RWalker@NewChapterMedia.com
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.

Matthew Segura
Matthew Segura

Features, Vero Beach Champions Brian Battistone, J.J. Mercer, Mardy Fish Children's Foundation, Matthew Segura, Sea Oaks

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tennisverobeach TennisVeroBeach @tennisverobeach ·
25 Jan

Nice to see this from the Australian Open on ESPN

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tennispublisher Randy Walker @tennispublisher ·
24 Jan

Yes....Ben Shelton has a big serve....he obliterated our sponsor signage with it at our @VeroFutures when he played our $15,000 Futures event in October of 2021. We had him sign the "fragments" and gave them to Bob Gibb of John's Island Real Estate

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tennispublisher Randy Walker @tennispublisher ·
23 Jan

I confront Ben Shelton in his post-match on-court interview at the $15,000 @VeroFutures in October of 2021 about the property he destroyed.... 🤣 https://youtu.be/oonrh9t4osQ via @YouTube

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tennisverobeach TennisVeroBeach @tennisverobeach ·
25 Jan

Looking Back At A Hallmark Event In The Career of Tommy Paul - His First ATP Point (Achieved In Vero Beach, Florida In 2014) https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/21667 via @WorldTennisMag

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tennispublisher Randy Walker @tennispublisher ·
22 Jan

How’s this putt by ⁦@MardyFish⁩ on NBC television?!? (Morgan Pressel, Aaron Krickstein’s niece, is the NBC color commentator)

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