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Mardy Fish Children's Foundation

Mardy Fish Children's Foundation

John’s Island Pros Herrera, Masala Earn Mardy Fish Main Draw Doubles Wild Card With “King of the Hill” Respective First-Place, Runner-Up Finishes

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John’s Island teaching pro Fernando Herrera claimed Vero Beach’s prestigious “King of the Hill” title on February 26 and, along with runner-up and fellow John’s Island teaching pro Matteo Masala, earned the traditional main draw “wild card” doubles entry into the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships USTA Pro Circuit event to be played May 4-10 at the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club.

Herrera and Masala will compete on the doubles court against world-ranked players from around the world in this entry-level pro tennis tournament and with a first-round win would themselves earn an ATP ranking point. Their first round match is scheduled to be played Tuesday, May 5 at approximately 5:00 pm.

Herrera claimed the win at “King of the Hill” by beating out fellow Vero Beach area standout players Chase Perez-Blanco from the Quail Valley Club and Ivan Ivars of The Boulevard in the final round-robin session of the series. Herrera and Masala were actually tied in the number of games won after the three rotations of the matches, but Herrera won the tiebreaker winning two nine-point tiebreakers alongside Ivars and Perez-Blanco.

For ticket and sponsorship information for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, contact MFCF executive director Lynn Southerly at 202-438-5225 or LSouth1072@gmail.com. All proceeds for the event benefit at-risk children in Indian River County via the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation. For more information on the Foundation, go to www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org

From left to right – Matteo Masala, Tom Fish, Fernando Herrera and Gigi Casapu

Mardy Fish Tennis Courts Dedicated In Riverside Park Ceremony

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The eastern tennis courts at Riverside Park, where Mardy Fish first learned to play the sport that launched him to international tennis glory, are now officially recognized as the Mardy Fish Tennis Courts.

The Florida section of the United States Tennis Association officially dedicated the courts in a first-class Sunday morning ceremony attended by Fish, his mother Sally and father Tom, Vero Beach Mayor John Cotugo, Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Lynn Southerly as well as friends and many of Vero Beach’s tennis enthusiasts.

The ceremony, that was hosted by former USTA Florida President Dana Andrews, can be seen in its entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RnREuPExqA

Watch The 2023 Mardy Fish Tennis Championships Review Video

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The 2023 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships was memorable for many reasons.

The long-time USTA Pro Circuit ITF World Tennis Tour event was held for the first time at the Vero Beach Tennis and Fitness Club at Timber Ridge – the third different venue in Vero Beach for this long-time professional tennis event.

The venue received positive reviews from the players and from USTA and ITF officials.

The club endured the worst weather week in the history of the event with the featured night matches being rained out every night. However, despite the terrible storm that closed clubs around the county, the Vero Beach Tennis Club was open and hosting play at 9 am the next morning, despite numerous tents being blown away in the wicked wind that blew through the night before.

WATCH the review video for the 2023 event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D42Y7d_JKeU

The dates for the 2024 tournament are April 22-28.

Mason Cisco Earns ITF World Junior Ranking While Competing In Europe

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Mason Cisco of Vero Beach is taking his tennis career to Europe and to new heights!

The Vero Beach High School tennis standout has been competing on the International Tennis Federation World Junior Tennis Circuit in Europe, the highest level of tennis where he has played. He also has earned a ITF World Junior Tennis ranking and seen improvements in his game.

Staying with his grandmother in Germany, Cisco has had the opportunity to get into several ITF World Junior Circuit events in Germany, Luxembourg and Italy and competing on the red clay courts against tough and talented European junior players.

Cisco was able to advance through qualifying at the J100 event in Neunkirchen, Germany, before losing in the first round in three sets to George Strasch of Estonia. He was able to get into the main draw of the J60 event in Schifflange, Luxembourg before losing in the first round Ilan Hediger of Switzerland but reached the quarterfinals in doubles. He reached the second round of qualifying at the J60 event in Fuerth, Germany and at the J60 level event in Veska, Czech Republic. He lost in the first round of qualifying at the J30 event in Cuneo, Italy, (J30 is the lowest level of ITF World Junior Tennis Tour events while J1000 events, the junior Grand Slam tournaments, are the highest.)

Cisco’s efforts have earned him an ITF World Junior Tennis Ranking of No. 3,445 and his Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) has moved from a 9.80 to his goal of over a 10, to a 10.12.

Cisco, who received early support for his tennis from the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, trains with former Mexican Davis Cup player Daniel Garza at The Boulevard and under Vero Beach High School tennis coach Mike Hickey.

Said Hickey of Cisco, “Mason’s tennis level has gone up and the shots he’s hitting are that of a professional level. His fitness level has gone up tremendously and he’s thinking more about shot selections. His steady attitude and emotional maturity on the court also are really inspiring and he handles himself professionally on the court. He’s been amazing to coach and really considers what you tell him and is curious about learning more and more”

Last season for Vero Beach High School, Cisco reached the state singles semifinals and the state doubles final with Bo Johnson. He is entering his senior year and looking at options to play college tennis.

Mason Cisco competing in Germany on the ITF World Junior Tennis Tour

Matthew Segura Wins Fourth Title at Mardy Fish Sea Oaks “Wild Card” Event

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Matthew Segura, the great nephew of Hall of Famer Pancho Segura, is now four-for-four at Sea Oaks.

The 22-year-old from Apopka, Florida continued his winning ways at the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships “Wild Card” tournament at the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club winning the title for the fourth time in four tries with a narrow 6-7(5), 7-5 (10-8) final-round win over Ryan Haviland of Greenville, S.C. Friday night in front of over 300 fans.

The win earns Segura a main draw “wild card” entry into the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships ITF World Tennis Tour U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit event April 24-30 at the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club at Timber Ridge.

Entering the final against Haviland, a 42-year-old former Stanford standout who also runs a tennis academy in Greenville, Segura had not even lost at Sea Oaks. However, Haviland ended that streak by winning the first set in a 7-5 tiebreaker. Haviland, who once had ATP rankings as high as No. 516 in singles and No. 307 in doubles before 11 surgeries sidetracked his career, quickly jumped to a 4-1 lead in the second set. Segura was able to fight back and win the second set 7-5. In the deciding 10-point match tiebreaker, Segura was able to take a 9-6 lead and held on to win 10-8.

Segura also won the event in 2018, 2019 and 2020. He did not play in the event in 2022 and the event was not held in 2021 due to the global pandemic.

Although Segura has an ATP ranking of No. 1,281, that can get him into the qualifying rounds at ITF World Tennis Tour events and some main draws, Segura entered the event at Sea Oaks as insurance and to look to guarantee that he will get a main draw start in Vero Beach.

To watch the post-match ceremony, including the presentation of the Paul Delaney Cup, click here https://youtu.be/8s4FePLNz3s

To watch Segura’s post-match comments, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z86U62UFi0&t=11s

To see the full draw from the event, go to the Universal Tennis website here: https://app.universaltennis.com/events/136050?d=2d99070e-5779-4e94-af9c-39e365c1ce65&t=3

Matthew Segura