Seventeen-year-old Vasil Kirkov was at his hotel eating lunch Monday when his fortunes at the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships turned lucky.
It was there that he learned that he had received a “lucky loser” entry into the main draw of the tournament after losing in the final-round of qualifying earlier on Monday.
“I got a phone call from my coach saying that I got in,” said Kirkov. “I was kind of shocked.”
The American from Tampa, Fla., who trains part-time in Vero Beach with Tennis Hall of Famer Ivan Lendl, was able to cash in on his good fortune by beating Alejandro Mendoza of Bolivia Tuesday in the first round 6-4, 7-6(4).
After losing in the final round of the qualifying tournament to fellow American Hady Habib, Kirkov’s chances of getting into the main draw of the tournament appeared over. However, when Alejandro Gomez of Colombia pulled out of the tournament, Kirkov was the lucky recipient of that vacant spot in the draw, what is known in tennis as a “lucky loser” spot. Kirkov’s name was randomly drawn among the players who lost in the final round of qualifying to replace Gomez.
Against Mendoza, not much separated Kirkov with the nine-years senior Mendoza as nine of their 22 games, not including the tiebreak, went to deuce, but what won the match for Kirkov was his mental game.
“I did a good job of being aware of what I had to do and what was going on,” said Kirkov.
That mental strength can be attributed, in part, to his work with Lendl, an eight-time major champion working as a coaching consultant for the USTA Player Development program.
Kirkov’s aggressiveness and willingness to come to the net often was what allowed him to apply pressure on Mendoza and eventually pull out the win, a valuable one that earned him his second ATP ranking point and will see him enter inside the Top 2000 of the ATP rankings, though Kirkov is not too concerned about that.
“Mostly experience and playing against these big guys,” is what Kirkov said he takes out of these “Futures” level professional tournaments. “It still helps to have [the rankings points].”
Kirkov’s next match will be played against the winner of the No. 6 seed Federico Zeballos of Bolivia or the 2011 Vero Beach champion Daniel Garza of Mexico.
Another notable winner on Tuesday was Jonas Luetjen, a 25-year-old from Germany who played college tennis at Ole Miss. Luetjen defeated the No. 8 seed Peter Nagy, a Davis Cup team member from Hungary, 6-3, 6-4.
“It makes me feel really good…I expected a tough game, but I was ready for it,” said Luetjen of his win over Nagy.
“Second set I got a little tight…but I stayed mentally strong, physically strong and I’m glad I got through in straight sets.”
Luetjen has battled injuries throughout his career but is glad to be back on court and playing well again. “I’ve played the whole year without injuries and that’s the biggest thing…I’m feeling very well and I’m blessed to be out here still playing.”
The 25-year old may not have been playing in this tournament, or any professional tournament in 2016, if it weren’t for his experience at Ole Miss, claiming “if I would not have gone to college I would not be out here still playing.”
The experience helped him become a better player and has prepared him for the grueling life on the tour.
“These four years were probably the best of my life and you can develop so much physically, mentally,” he said. “I would do it all over again.”
Luetjen, who has already reached a final and two quarterfinals in 2016, will face off next against either 17-year old qualifier William Howells of Boca Raton, Fla., or Peruvian Davis Cupper Mauricio Echazu.
In the late doubles match, Mike Alford, the teaching pro at the Quail Valley Club in Vero Beach, and his former Florida Gator teammate Billy Federhofer lost 6-3, 7-5 to Hungarian Davis Cupper Peter Nagy and 17-year-old Canadian upstart Denis Shapovalov.
First Round Singles Results
Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera, Chile d. (WC) Adam Ambrozy, United States 6-3, 6-3
Martins Podzus, Latvia d. Jorge Montero, Chile 6-2, 6-4
(5) Juan Sebastian Gomez, Colombia d. Matias Franco Descotte, Argentina 6-2, 6-2
(LL) Vasil Kirkov, United States d. Alejandro Mendoza, Bolivia 6-4, 7-6(4)
Jonas Luetjen, Germany d. (8) Peter Nagy, Hungary 6-3, 6-4
First Round Doubles Results
(1) Deiton Baughman, United States/Anderson Reed, United States d. (WC) Antonio Balau, Brazil/Igor Schattan, Brazil 6-3, 6-1
Peter Nagy, Hungary/Denis Shapovalov, Canada d. (WC) Michael Alford, United States/William Federhofer, United States 6-3, 7-5
Ruben Gonzales, Philippines/Dennis Nevolo, United States d. (4) Mauricio Echazu, Peru/Federico Zeballos, Bolivia 4-6, 6-2, 10-7
Gonzalo Escobar, Ecuador/Roberto Quiroz, Ecuador d. (WC) Thomas Cook, United States/Nathan Pasha, United States 6-3, 6-3
Miomir Kecmanovic, Hungary/Jonas Luetjen, Germany d. Brian Battistone, United States/Isaiah Strode, United States 6-4, 7-6(9)
(3) Juan Sebastian Gomez, Colombia/Felipe Mantilla, Colombia d. Geronimo Espin Busleiman, Argentina/Eduardo Agustin Torre, Argentina 6-4, 6-2
Janis Podzus, Latvia/Martins Podzus, Latvia d. Alexander Merino, Peru/Michael Zhu, United States 6-3, 6-1
Jose Daniel Bendeck, Colombia/Alejandro Mendoza, Bolivia d. Jack Vance, United States/Jamie Vance, United States 6-0, 6-2
Wednesday’s Schedule
Stadium (Starting at 10AM)
(1) Gonzalo Escobar, Ecuador v. Miomir Kecmanovic, Serbia
(3) Denis Shapovalov, Canada v. Eduardo Agustin Torre, Argentina
(Q) William Howells, United States v. Mauricio Echazu, Peru
Janis Podzus, Latvia/Martins Podzus, Latvia v. Jose Daniel Bendeck, Colombia/Alejandro Mendoza, Bolivia
(Q) Evgeny Korolev, Russia v. (WC) Sam Riffice, United States
Grandstand (Starting at 10AM)
(4) Dennis Nevolo, United States v. (WC) Gianni Ross, United States
(2) Deiton Baughman, United States v. Junior Alexander Ore, United States
(6) Federico Zeballos, Bolivia v. Daniel Garza, Mexico
(Q) Hady Habib, United States v. (Q) Ty Trombetta, United States
(1) Deiton Baughman, United States/Anderson Reed, United States v. Peter Nagy, Hungary/Denis Shapovalov, Canada
Court 4 (Starting at 10AM)
(7) Felipe Mantilla, Colombia v. (Q) Juan Manuel Benitez Chavarriaga, Colombia
Roberto Quiroz, Colombia v. (Q) Raleigh Smith, United States
(Q) Michael Zhu, United States v. (WC) Pietro Rimondini, United States
(3) Juan Sebastian Gomez, Colombia/Felipe Mantilla, Colombia v. Miomir Kecmanovic, Serbia/Jonas Luetjen, Germany
Ruben Gonzales, Philippines/Dennis Nevolo, United States v. Gonzalo Escobar, Ecuador/Roberto Quiroz, Ecuador
Fans can follow news and developments on the tournament on Facebook and on Twitter at @VeroFutures and by going to the website www.TennisVeroBeach.com
Tournament match start times are as follows:
10 am Wednesday, April 27, Not before 6 pm Night Match (Main Draw)
10 am Thursday, April 28, Not before 6 pm Night Match (Main Draw)
10 am Friday, April 29 Not before 6 pm Night Match (2nd Doubles Semifinal)
1 pm, 3 pm Saturday, April 30, Singles semifinals
11 am Sunday, May 1 (likely doubles championship match first, followed by singles championship match at 1 pm, depending on if a player is competing in both finals)
Starting in 2016, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation is the new operator of the $10,000 “Futures” tennis tournament in Vero Beach, one of the longest-running and best attended events on the U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit. The tournament, now called The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, benefits the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, the non-profit tennis foundation benefiting children, named for Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, a former top 10 tennis star, U.S. Davis Cup hero and silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games. The event was managed for 20 years by Vero Beach tennis teaching professional Mike Rahaley, who made the annual Vero Beach stop one of the crown jewels on the USTA Pro Circuit. The 2016 tournament will be held April 22 through May 1 at The Boulevard Tennis Club.
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.” Mardy Fish recently completed his ATP professional tennis career at the 2015 U.S. Open, highlighted by a career-high ranking of No. 7, six ATP singles titles, eight ATP doubles titles and an Olympic silver medal in singles at the 2004 Olympics. He reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and was a mainstay on the U.S. Davis Cup team from 2002 to 2012.
Some of the past competitors in Vero Beach 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 Australian Open semifinalist 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.
Sponsors and supporters of the event are as follows:
Grand Slam Sponsors
SorensenRealEstate.com
Boston Barricade
Laser Spine Institute
George E. Warren Corp.
Indian River Medical Center
Syde Hurdus Foundation
PNC Bank
Backhand Sponsors
John’s Island Real Estate
Coastal Van Lines Storage
Indian River Press Journal / TCPalm.com
Barbara Ettinger
Dr. Larry Landsman
Dr. John Sarbak
Citrus Grillhouse
White Orchid Day Spa
Gene Simonsen
Michael & Kathleen Pierce
Center Court
Publix
Indian River Oxygen
Forehand Sponsors
Rosato Plastic Surgery Center
Kay C. Betancourt, DMD
Jeff & Rosanne Susi
Mello Financial
Jean Ueltschi
Sam & Susie Bell
Cravings
Sue Powell Rentals
William Barhorst
Peter Bernholz Family
Don & Linda Proctor
The Whole Person Project, Inc.
Ocean Drive Plastic Surgery
Ocean Drive Elite Physiques
Huryn Construction
Riverside Café
Barker Air Conditioning
Bill & Laurie Stewart
Steve McCloud / Wells Fargo Private Mortgage Banking
Coggin BMW of Ft. Pierce / Mercedes of Ft. Pierce
Twig Swim & Sportswear Shop
Osceola Bistro
Supporting Sponsors and Patrons
The Moorings Yacht & Country Club
New Leaf Designs
A Pampered Life / Disney Spa
Carpe Antiperspirant Hand Lotion
Robert Kowalczyk – Moorings Yacht & Country Club
Win Detergent
Calvetti & Company
NewChapterMedia.com
Steve Hardin – Twin Oaks Tennis Club
Aurelija Merrill – John’s Island Club
Carol Donnelly
Roy & Tish Wissel
Boast
Hutchinson’s Florist
Casey’s Restaurant
Chelsea’s Market
Tennis Resort at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Disney
Sassy Boutique
Quail Valley Club
Bottle Shop
Busy Bee
Veranda
Avanzare
Maison Beach Gifts
Center for Advanced Eye Care
Diamond Resorts International
Monreal London
Rock City Gardens
Tina Simone Company
Pogues, Inc.
Kevin Healy, M.S., D.S.
Chiropractic Nutrition and Wellness
Treasure Coast Sports Commission
Saddlebrook Academy
Nailtiques
Sam Garcia – Quail Valley Club
Dr. Raymond Della Porta, D.M.D.
Yulin Day Spa
Pat Gorman – Bent Pine Golf Club
Frosting
Grind & Grape bar & grill
JMcLaughlin
Vero Beach Yoga Barre
Ken & Annette Krasnow
Indian River County School District
Body Network
Studio Gabriel
Quinn Hiaason
Tommy Falcone
Sandy Malone
Spring Hill Suites by Marriott
Vero Beach Inn & Suites
Seaside Grill
Swarovski Jewelry
Minuteman Press
Dr. Michele Maholtz
Jony Leitenbauer and Tom Fish – Windsor Club
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