Matthew Segura

Matthew Segura Advances Past Donald Young at Mardy Fish Futures

Randy Walker · October 22, 2021 · Leave a Comment

Vero Beach is Matthew Segura’s kinda town.

The great nephew of tennis Hall of Famer Pancho Segura advanced into the quarterfinals of the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships Thursday night at The Boulevard, defeating former U.S. Olympian and Davis Cupper Donald Young after leading 6-3, 4-0, with Young abandoning the match with a left hamstring injury.

The win puts Segura into the quarterfinals of an ITF World Tennis Tour event for the first time in his career. His first-round win over 16-year-old Cooper Williams earned Segura his first career ATP ranking point. Segura’s run this week marks another chapter in his run of success through the years in Vero Beach. He is a three-time winner of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation annual “Wild Card” tournament at Sea Oaks, where the tournament awards a main draw wild card into this event. Segura lost in the first round of this event in 2018 and 2019 after winning the “wild card” event but last year when the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships was held as a Universal Tennis event (not awarding ATP ranking points) Segura was the singles runner-up. Since Segura won the 2020 wild card event but was unable to cash in on his “free entry” at the 2020 tournament (since any player can enter at Universal Tennis event and there is not cut-off), Mardy Fish Championships tournament directors Tom Fish and Randy Walker saved the wild card for Segura to be used for the 2021 event, where he would need help to get in the tournament since he had no ATP ranking.

“Each year was a learning experience for me,” said Segura in his post-match interview that you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fK9iGbD4QA&t=22s

His win over the top-seeded Young, the 32-year-old who reached the fourth of the U.S. Open twice, but now ranked No. 425, is his best win in his career to date.

“I just went out there and trusted my ability and my game,” said Segura after the win, that was highlighted by many wicked double-and-single-fisted winners from the baseline that had Young a bit shell-shocked.

Segura will next face former University of Illinois standout Ezekial Clark, the No. 7 seed from Tulsa Oklahoma, who defeated 17-year-old Michael Zheng of Montville, N.J. Thursday.

The match of the day on Thursday came when Ben Shelton, seeded No. 4 in Vero Beach this week, registered a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Blaise Bicknell of Jamaica. There seemed to be no love lost between the former teammates at the University of Florida. Despite winning an NCAA national team championship together under the guidance of Shelton‘s coach/father Bryan Shelton, Bicknell, who went 32-0 in singles last year for Florida, transferred to Tennessee. Both players loudly celebrated winning shots as if it were playing against a hated rival in a heated college tennis match.. The slugfest turned early in the third said when Bicknell called for the trainer to treat a thigh injury with a heavy wrap after losing his serve in the first game of the set. Shelton kept his composure against an injured for and closed out the match.

“It was definitely a good match,” said Shelton in his post-match press conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oonrh9t4osQ

“We played on the same court a lot together. It was a tough battle. I knew coming in it was going to be a battle. I’m glad I was able to make it through to the next round.”

Next up for the left-handed Shelton in the quarterfinals at Noon Friday will be fellow 19 year old, the sixth-seeded Liam Drexl of Canada, who eked out a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Loris Pourroy of France and Florida State University. The No. 477th-ranked Drexl attends the University of Kentucky, where he was last year’s top seed in the NCAA singles championship. Draxl and Shelton are also in the semifinals of doubles as a team.

Friday’s feature 6 pm night match will feature a rematch of the 2018 Mardy Fish final where Juan Benitez of Colombia defeated Ricardo Rodriguez of Venezuela. Benitez, who was given a wild card into the qualifying rounds of this tournament by Fish and Walker, defeated No. 5 seed Juan Galarza of Argentina 7-5, 6-4 while Rodriguez defeated Ben Kittay of Potomac, Md., 6-4, 6-4. Benitez and Rodriguez also played in the quarterfinals of last year’s Mardy Fish Universal Tennis event with Benitez registering a stirring comeback over Rodriquez 7-6 (5), 0-6, 7-6 (5) in three hours and 15 minutes that was actually 45 minutes longer than when they played in an epic final of this event in 2018, also won by Benitez 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. In that match Benitez trailed Rodriguez 5-1 in the final set and appeared resigned to defeat after losing 11 of the next 12 games after winning a first-set tiebreaker. Rodriguez, the all-time leading Davis Cup player for Venezuela, however, was not able to close out Benitez, despite serving for the match at 5-2 and 5-4 in the final set and holding a 4-1 lead in the final-set tiebreaker. Benitez also saved a match point at 3-5 in the final set, losing the point before with a whiffed overhead.

Watch Ricardo Rodriguez talk about his affection for Vero Beach here: https://youtu.be/PB7eu9NdNRg

The world’s leading junior player Juncheng Shang of China defeated William Bushamuka 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 39 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals where he will face No. 8 seed Duarte Vale, who beat qualifier Diogo Marques 6-3, 6-3 in an all-Portuguese battle. Watch Walker interview Shang here:https://youtu.be/KYew7eOFtTI

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.

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.

World No. 7 Junior Mejia Beats Sea Oaks Hero Segura At USTA Mardy Fish Vero Beach Futures

manfr3dw · April 26, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Matthew Segura, the great-nephew of International Tennis Hall of Famer Pancho Segura, played his first career main draw match in a USTA Pro Circuit “Futures” Wednesday at the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships. Unfortunately for him, it only last one hour and 16 minutes.
Segura, the 17-year-old from Apopka, Fla., was defeated in the event’s first round, falling to Nicolas Mejia of Colombia 6-1, 6-2 at Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club.
Segura had become a fan favorite in Vero Beach after he won a special “wild card” tournament at the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club to earn an entry into the tournament. Segura’s tennis family lineage, as well as his ambidextrous playing style, also added to his following among Vero Beach tennis fans.
Despite his loss Wednesday, Segura said the experience he gained while winning the event last month at Sea Oaks and his match Wednesday will serve him well as his tennis career evolves.
“I think it was a good experience. The wild card tournament helped a lot,” Segura said. “It was kind of the first time playing in front of a crowd and getting used to it. I feel like I won the tournament (at Sea Oaks) feeling more comfortable playing in front of a crowd.”
There was another large crowd on hand at the Stadium Court at Grand Harbor, but Mejia, an 18-year-old from Colombia, was too good.
“Today was just one of those days. Things didn’t go my way today,” Segura said. “He played really well for the most part, he was not missing. I just couldn’t find the answers today.”
For Mejia, the win earned him his first ATP point, and he will now enter the ATP World Tour rankings in two weeks. This win wasn’t his first over Segura, as he remembered playing him in the qualifying stages of a Futures tournament in Tampa last spring.
“I was ready for a battle,” Mejia said, recollecting his three-set battle with Segura last year. “I think it was a tough match today even though the score doesn’t say so.”
Mejia is currently the No. 7 junior player in the world and is still focusing some of his tennis on that circuit for now. This is the last year that he is allowed to play on the junior circuit, and he is looking forward to bringing home some hardware.
“I’m still going to play the biggest events on the juniors circuit like the French Open and Wimbledon,” Mejia said.
“I think it’s going to be a really exciting year and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Another player who won on Wednesday and is looking to continue his success on the juniors circuit is Nicolas Hardt of the Dominican Republic. Hardt, a member of the Dominican Republic’s Davis Cup team, defeated American wild card Alexander Rotsaert of Boca Raton, Fla., in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.
“I played a really good match, a really solid match,” Hardt said, before stating that winning four matches in qualifying for a key for him going into today’s match. “I was pretty confident because of those matches in the qualies.”
Hardt said that he and Rotsaert have been playing against each other since they were 13 or 14 years old and are now good friends.
Hardt had previously been ranked in the ATP World Tour rankings after reaching the quarterfinals of a futures event in the Dominican Republic in December of 2015. He had since fallen off the rankings, but the win will earn him another ATP ranking point.
“It’s really big to have the first ATP point again after two years,” Hardt said. “I’m really happy for it and hopefully I can get more ATP points here.”
When Hardt is done playing in Vero Beach, he will also travel over to Europe to play in two of the biggest junior events of the year, the junior French Open and junior Wimbledon. Hardt has set some lofty expectations for those tournaments.
“I’m in my last year of juniors. Hopefully I can win a slam this year,” he said.
Another player who came through qualifying to earn their first ATP point was Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano of Mexico. After grinding through four qualifying rounds, including overcoming a three-set battle with the No. 13 seed Julian Bradley in the final round, Hernandez had a much easier day on Wednesday.
Hernandez advanced after his opponent, Adam El Mihdawy, retired from the match after dropping the first set 6-1.
“I didn’t expect to win like that,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez was proud to earn his first ATP point at this tournament specificially because of how difficult he felt his road has been to this point.
“It feels good. I think this is one of the hardest to get your first ATP point,” Hernandez said. “All the guys play really well.”
Hernandez had the opportunity to play in the junior U.S. Open and junior Wimbledon last year, and he feels like those are some of the best memories of his young career.
“Those Grand Slams are amazing,” Hernandez said. “When I first stepped on the Wimbledon courts, the grass courts, it was something unbelievable. Like, no words.”
Second round play in singles and doubles continues Thursday at noon at Grand Harbor. For more information, go to www.TennisVeroBeach.com
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships is the USTA’s $15,000 Futures-level tournament 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 a U.S. Davis Cup standout.
Tournament tickets and sponsorships are now on sale and can be purchased at www.VeroBeachTennisTickets.com Tickets for the qualifying rounds from April 20 – April 23 cost $10, while tickets for the main draw of singles and doubles from April 24 – 29 are $20, with “night session” tickets starting at 5 pm from April 24-27 costing $10. Season tickets that include both the qualifying and main draw events cost $100. Admission for children 18 and under is free. Approximately 3,000 fans annually attend the event, which is seen as one of the best-attended events in the world on the “Futures” level of professional tennis tournaments. More info on the event can be found at www.TennisVeroBeach.com
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. Six former Vero Beach players have gone on to play Davis Cup for the United States – Roddick, Fish, Taylor Dent, Jared Palmer, Donald Young and Ryan Harrison.
Sponsors for the 2018 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships are led by Presenting Sponsor PNC Bank and Grand Slam Sponsors Boston Barricade, George E. Warren Corporation, Jake Owen Foundation, Syde Hurdus Foundation / Fit For Life and Land Rover / Jaguar Treasure Coast, Backhand Sponsors Publix, Rossway Swan, Coastal Van Lines, White Orchid Spa, Foglia Contracting, Forehand Sponsors Steve and Karen Rubin, Willem and Marion de Vogel, Cravings, M&M Group – Keller / Williams Realty Vero Beach, Rosato Plastic Surgery, Riverside Café, Ocean Drive Elite Physiques, 14 Bones Barbeque, Gordon Food Service, Peter Bernholz, Swarovski, Soul Music, Minuteman Press and Elite Airways, Kit Fields Realtor / CharlotteTerry.com, Cabana Sponsors John’s Island, Gene Simonsen, Michael & Kathleen Pierce, William Barhorst CPA, Dan Holman, John Klein, Hadleigh Investments, TeamChristopher.com, Tom Collins, The Pitcher Family, Pene Chambers Group, Waldo and Candy Johnston, The Pappalardo Family, Mickey and Rob Stein, Lace and Bob Milligan and Drop Shot Sponsors Fresh Market, Brooklyn Bagel, Hutchinson’s Florist, Seaside Grill, A Pampered Life-Disney Spa, Avanzare, New Chapter Media, Smith & Company Landscaping, Center For Advanced Eye Care, Cast Electric, Citron of Vero Beach, Amerigas, Central Window of Vero Beach, Bill’s Audio and Video Innovations, ML Engineering, Capt. Bob’s Airboat Adventure, Busy Bee Lawn & Garden Center, Complete Restaurant Equipment, Wilco Construction, Nozzle Nolen, Southern Plumbing, Treasure Coast Sotheby’s, Jack’s Complete Tree Service, Complete Electric, Statewide Condominium Insurance, Abco Garage Door, O’Hair, Quinn, Casalino, Chartered, Rick’s Custom Care, Rich-Look Lawn Care, White Glove Moving & Storage, Coastal Comforts @ The Village Shops, Jimmy’s Tree Service, Thompsons Remodeling & Home Repairs, Summit Construction, Colton Williams & Reamy, Sunshine Furniture, Malesardi, Quackenbush, Swift, Aluma Tower Company, Alex MacWilliam, Inc., Charlotte Terry Real Estate, Ken’s Pool & Spa Repair, Vero Beach Orthopedics, Barker Air Conditioning & Heating, Treasure Coast Financial Planning, Engineered Services, Peter Bernholz, Deborah Benjamin, John & Faith Parker, Duke & Betty Foster, Paul & Linda Delaney, Timmy Wood Gary and Beth Williams, Don Moyle, Chuck Pollard, Stewart Dunn, Leslie London – LL Vinyl Designs, Dara, Hunter and Thom Morgan
Results from April 25
First Round Singles
(1) Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera, Chile d. Isaiah Strode, United States 6-4, 7-5
Junior Alexander Ore, United States d. (Q) Richard Torres, United States 7-6(5), 6-4
(6) Santiago Fa Rodriguez Taverna, Argentina d. Tyler Mercier, United States 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
(3)(Q) Matias Zukas, Argentina d. (Q) Axel Nefve, United States 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
Ricardo Rodriguez, Venezuela d. (WC) Christian Alshon, United States 6-0, 6-4
(Q) Jordi Arconada, United States d. Collin Johns, United States 6-2, 6-4
Eduardo Agustin Torre, Argentina d. (7) Jorge Montero, Chile 6-4, 6-2
(Q) Nick Hardt, Dominican Republic d. (WC) Alexander Rotsaert, United States 6-1, 6-1
(Q) Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano, Mexico d. Adam El Mihdawy, United States 6-1, 1-0 ret.
(5) Juan Benitez, Colombia vs. Pablo Irigary Guarne, Spain 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
(Q) Ryan Goetz, United States d. Raleigh Smith, United States 7-6(6), 7-6(2)
(Q) Nicolas Mejia, Colombia d. (WC) Matthew Segura, United States 6-1, 6-2
(2) Samuel Bensoussan, France d. Nick Chappell, United States 6-0, 7-6(2)
First Round Doubles
(4) Junior Alexander Ore, United States/Miles Seemann, United States d. Nick Hardt, Dominican Republic/Nicolas Mejia, Colombia 1-6, 6-2, 10-8
(WC) Boris Kozlov, United States/Karl Poling, United States d. Adam El Mihdawy, United States/Collin Johns, United States 6-1, 6-4
Schedule for April 26, Matches Starting at Noon
Stadium
(2) Samuel Bensoussan, France vs. (Q) Nicolas Mejia, Colombia
Not Before 1 p.m.
(8) Alejandro Tabilo, Chile vs. (Q) Nick Hardt, Dominican Republic
Not Before 3 p.m.
(1) Hunter Johnson, United States/Yates Johnson, United States vs. (WC) Tim Kopinski, United States/Tam Trinh, United States
Not Before 7 p.m.
(Q) Ryan Goetz, United States vs. (5) Juan Benitez, Colombia
Grandstand
(Q) Jordi Arconada, United States vs. Eduardo Agustin Torre, Argentina
Not Before 1 p.m.
(3)(Q) Matias Zukas, Argentina vs. Ricardo Rodriguez, Venezuela
Not Before 3 p.m.
(4) Strong Kirchheimer, United States vs. (Q) Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano, Mexico
Not Before 5 p.m.
Julian Bradley, Ireland/Isaiah Strode, United States vs. Ricardo Rodriguez, Venezuela/Eduardo Agustin Torre, Argentina
Court 2
(1) Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera, Chile vs. Harrison Adams, United States
Not Before 1 p.m.
(6) Santiago Fa Rodriguez Taverna, Argentina vs. Junior Alexander Ore, United States
Not Before 4 p.m.
(4) Junior Alexander Ore, United States/Miles Seemann, United States vs. (WC) Boris Kozlov, United States/Karl Poling, United States
Court 3
Not Before 4 p.m.
(2) Harrison Adams, United States/Nick Chappell, United States vs. Samuel Bensoussan, France/Santiago Fa Rodriguez Taverna, Argentina

Pancho Segura's Great Nephew Matthew Wins USTA Mardy Fish Futures "Wild Card" Event at Sea Oaks

manfr3dw · March 3, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Seventeen-year-old Matthew Segura, the great nephew of Hall of Famer Pancho Segura, earned a main draw wild card entry into the 2018 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships by winning the special “Wild Card” tournament at Sea Oaks tennis club.
Playing in front of an enthusiastic crowd of over 500 fans during the Friday night final, Segura defeated 20-year-old Jack Vance of Las Vegas, Nevada 6-3, 6-4, dazzling the crowd with his ambidextrous ground-strokes, including a two-handed forehand that was cultivated by his great uncle, who first made the stroke famous when playing in the 1940s and 1950s. Segura, who recently moved from Los Angeles to Apopka, Fla., was tutored by his great uncle Pancho during the later year of his life, working with young Matthew on court with the assistance of a cane and later in a wheelchair. Pancho encouraged Matthew and his father Jeff to not change Matthew’s natural two-handed forehand stroke, despite some teaching pros encouraging them to abandon it.
The tournament victory places Segura into the 32-player singles field at the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, April 20-29 at Grand Harbor, where he will competing against other aspiring tennis pros from around the world. Tom Fish, the chairman of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, officially awarded Segura with his wild card invitation following his victory, as seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5As8MQS5IaY
The tournament marked the second time that Vero Beach has hosted a special “Wild Card” singles tournament for the annual USTA Pro Circuit “Futures” tournament. Last year, the event was held at The Boulevard club and was on won by Ivan Yatsuk of Bradenton, Florida in a three-hour-and-14-minute final. Yatsuk, a six-foot-five Belarussian-American, was the top-seed at the Sea Oaks event, but was defeated by Segura in the semifinals 6-0, 7-5.
Eighteen players from around the country – from eight states including from Alaska – traveled to Vero Beach to compete in the event. Players raved about the enthusiastic crowds at Sea Oaks, stating that they far exceeded in size and enthusiasm that they normally see on the ATP Challenger Tour and also at some ATP World Tour events. The atmosphere at the event can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C8Mn5Zke90 and also here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WjB23r0qlM
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships is the USTA’s $15,000 Futures-level tournament 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 a U.S. Davis Cup standout.
Advance tickets for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships are available at www.VeroBeachTennisTickets.com. Admission for children 18 and under is free. Approximately 3,000 fans annually attend the event, which is seen as one of the best-attended events in the world on the “Futures” level of professional tennis tournaments.
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 among others. Former Vero Beach competitors have combined to win 19 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Grand Slam tournaments. Six former Vero Beach players have gone on to play Davis Cup for the United States – Roddick, Fish, Taylor Dent, Jared Palmer, Donald Young and Ryan Harrison.