Vero Beach’s newest local tennis talent is making some waves in the qualifying rounds at the 2017 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at Grand Harbor.
Mauricio Resendiz plays for Mexico but in the last 18 months has called Vero Beach his home, training with the Lozano-Osario Tennis Academy (LOTA) on the very same courts at Grand Harbor where he is competing this week in the qualifying rounds of the U.S. Tennis Association $15,000 Pro Circuit event. Resendiz defeated Thomas Cook of Lilburn, Ga., 6-1, 6-2 Saturday to reach the third round of the qualifying tournament. He will have to win on Sunday and on Monday to reach the 32-player main draw and compete for ATP ranking points and prize money.
“I like the town. I like the city. I like the club,” Resendiz said through translator and fellow player from Mexico, Carlos Utermann Ramirez, who also lives and trains in Vero Beach with LOTA. “With all the Mexican staff, I’m feeling like family.”
Resendiz trains under Marco Osorio, the former Mexican Davis Cup player and coach who also serves and head tennis professional at Grand Harbor. Both Resendiz and Utermann Ramirez, who lost his second round qualifying singles match Saturday, also work locally with Daniel Garza, also from Mexico, who still plays professionally part-time and is also into the third round of qualifying.
“We came here, we loved the city. So we decided to stay,” said Osorio. “Vero Beach is a very nice tennis community.”
Tennis being an individual sport makes the mental grind that much more difficult, so having a team to work with throughout the year is often seen as a benefit. That is something Resendiz and many others have decided to take advantage of while finding a home in Vero Beach. Resendiz and Utermann are currently ranked in the ATP World Tour rankings, and they received high praise from their coaching staff.
“Mauricio is one of the leaders of this group. Mauricio and Carlos,” Osorio said. “They are really nice guys. They are really professional. They train every day more than six hours.”
Resendiz will face off against Dariusz Lipka of Poland for a spot in the final round of qualifying. Garza, who defeated Stratton Gilmore of Madison, Wisc., 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday, will face Eduardo Torre of Argentina on Sunday.
Germany’s Joel Link, the runner-up at this event’s wild card tournament last month, was sadly forced to retire in his match against Oliver Crawford of Spartanburg, S.C. Link slipped badly on the clay court surface on a return of serve and hurt his wrist and hand and was unable to continue playing, losing 3-6, 6-0, 3-2, ret.
Saturday also marked the start of the wild card doubles tournament at The Boulevard Club, to determine the final entry into the doubles tournament. The highlight was the entry of 67-year-old John Drnec of Sebastian and 82-year-old Paul Delaney of Vero Beach, who signed up for open-to-all fund-raising tournament and faced two ATP world-ranked players, Isaiah Strode and Miles Seemann of the United States.
Seemann and Strode made sure to take it easy on Delaney and Drnec, and fun was had by all in the light hearted match, played in front of a loud and supportive crowd at The Boulevard. The younger duo was content to just rally with their opponents, creating a fun atmosphere for the crowd on hand.
The entertaining affair saw Strode and Seemann win 4-0, 4-1 in a shortened “Fast4” set format.
“We’re going to take this opportunity at the Mardy Fish tournament to announce our retirement from the professional tour,” Drnec quipped.
“They were very nice,” Delaney said. “They kind of teed it up for me and I still couldn’t get it by them. But it was a lot of fun. The Mardy Fish Foundation, I’d do anything for them. Just great the work they do with kids.”
Sunday’s singles play starts at 10 am at Grand Harbor and the doubles wild card tournament will conclude starting at 2 pm with semifinal and final-round matches at The Boulevard.
The full Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships tournament schedule is as follows. Tournament information can also be found at www.TennisVeroBeach.com
Sunday, April 23 – 10 am, Third round singles qualifying
12:30 pm, Making of the Draw at the Food Court – ALL INVITED TO PARTICIPATE
2 pm, Doubles “wild card” tournament SF and F
Monday, April 24 – 10 am, Final round singles qualifying
Monday, April 24 – 5 pm-7 pm Tournament Pro-Am (2 spots still available at www.VeroBeachTennisTickets.com)
Monday, April 24 – 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm “Tournament Party” (tickets are still available at www.VeroBeachTennisTickets.com)
Tuesday, April 25 – Noon, Main draw singles/doubles starts
Tuesday, April 25 – 7 pm, Feature Night Match – “King of the Hill” winner/runner-up James Van Deinse (Vero Beach Tennis Club), Mike Alford (Quail Valley) first-round doubles match
Wednesday, April 26 – Noon, Main draw singles/doubles continues
Wednesday, April 26 – 7 pm, Feature Night Match
Thursday, April 27 – Noon, Main draw singles/doubles continues
Thursday, April 27 – 7 pm, Feature Night Match (Taco and Margarita Night in Food Court)
Friday, April 28 – Noon, Main draw singles/doubles continues (Kids Day!)
Friday, April 28 – 7 pm, Feature Night Match
Saturday, April 29 – Noon, Main draw singles semifinals
Sunday, April 30 – Noon, Singles and Doubles Finals
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships has been 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 (www.MardyFishFoundation.com), 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. Season tickets for all 10 days of the competition are available for $100. Daily buy-one-get-one free tickets for the qualifying rounds April 21-24 are for sale for $10, with daily tickets for the main draw sessions April 25-30 for sale for $20. A special “Happy Hour” ticket is available for $10 after 5 pm for night sessions on Tuesday, April 25 – Friday, April 28 that includes a featured 7 pm night match. Admission for children 18 and under is free. Tickets are also sold at the front gate. 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. The 2016 event featured 13 players who played Davis Cup for their country and was won by Jonas Luetjen of Germany, who defeated Latvian Davis Cupper Martins Podzus in the final.
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.
Corporate sponsors and donors for the 2017 tournament include PNC Bank, Boston Barricade, George E. Warren Corporation, Indian River Medical Center, Jake Owen Foundation, Syde Hurdus Foundation, Indian River Oxygen, Citrus Grillhouse, Coastal Van Lines, Rossway Swan, Publix, Ryan A. Jones and Associates, Tom Collins Insurance Agency, Vocap Partners, Riverside Café, Center Court Outfitters, David Walsh and Associates Real Estate, Peter Bernholz Family, John’s Island Real Estate, Gene Simonsen, Michael & Kathleen Pierce, Steve and Karen Rubin, Rob and Mickey Stein, William Barhorst, Dan Holman, John Klein, Mello Financial Services, Ocean Drive Elite Physiques, Rosato Plastic Surgery, Captain Hiram’s Resort, Absolute Protection Team, Minuteman Press, Technifibre, TeamChristopher.com, Fit for Life Strength, Diamond Resorts International, Wilson, Don Herrema and Lori Ford.
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.
SCORES FROM SATURDAY
Second Round Qualifying Results
(1) Ricardo Rodriguez, Venezuela d. Zack Waldow, United States 6-0, 6-0
Brian Berdusco, United States d. Pedro Wagner, Brazil 6-1, 7-6(3)
Christain Vinck, Germany d. Rafael Tostetto, Brazil 7-5, 6-0
Lorenzo Joaquin Rodriguez, Argentina d. Mason Beiler, United States 6-3, 6-4
(2) Patrick Daciek, United States d. Seanon Williams, Barbados 6-2, 3-0 ret.
Richard Torres, United States d. Vincent Lefebvre, Canada 6-3, 6-3
Kurt Thein, United States d. Julio Armando Fernandez Persia, Dominican Republic 6-2, 6-2
(11) Ty Trombetta, United States d. Robert Beer, Canada 6-0, 6-0
(3) Alex Blumenberg, Brazil d. Bryant Mohns, United States 6-2, 6-2
Marcelo Arturo Rodriguez Mojica, Panama d. Antoine Leduc, Canada 6-4, 6-2
Jose Ricardo Martinez Moreno, Mexico d. Yovan Lambros, United States 6-0, 6-1
(15) Sam Riffice, United States d. Juan Rocha, Argentina 7-6(4), 6-2
(4) Collin Johns, United States d. Sage Leaman, United States 6-4, 6-3
Haydn Lewis, Barbados d. Jordi Mullor, Mexico 6-2, 6-2
Arnav Mohanty, United States d. Ryan Hardin, United States 6-0, 6-1
(14) Alexandre Rotsaert, United States d. Juan Martin Ramirez Mejia, Colombia 6-4, 6-4
(5) Eduardo Agustin Torre, Argentina d. Sebastian Mermersky, United Sates 6-0, 7-5
Daniel Garza, Mexico d. Stratton Gilmore, United States 6-3, 6-2
Dejon Bivens, United States d. Joseph Correa, United States 6-0, 6-2
(10) Mark Whitehouse, United States d. Michael Lippens, United States 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2
(6) Jonathan Chang, United States d. Patrick Davidson, United States 7-6(2), 6-4
Boris Kozlov, United States d. Joseph van Meter, United States 6-2, 6-4
Dariusz Lipka, Poland d. Caspar Shuetze, Germany 6-1, 6-2
(16) Mauricio Resendiz, Mexico d. Thomas Cook, United States 6-1, 6-2
(7) Pavel Krainik, Canada d. Conner McMann, United States 6-1, 6-2
Jason Legall, United States d. Isaiah Strode, United States 6-3, 6-2
Trent Bryde, United States d. Carlos Ramirez Utermann, Mexico 6-2, 6-2
(13) Rowland Phillips, Jamaica d. Zandrix Acob, United States 7-6(5), 6-3
Oliver Crawford, United States d. Joel Vincent Link, Germany 3-6, 6-0, 2-3 ret.
Zion Heaven, United States d. Jordan Nickerson, United States 6-3, 6-2
Mak Kiger, United States d. Vinicius Ono, Brazil 6-0, 6-2
Matthew Segura, United States d. (9) Egor Koleganov, Canada 6-4, 7-6(2)
Schedule for Sunday, April 23
Stadium
Jouse Ricardo Martinez, Mexico vs. (15) Sam Riffice, United States
(5) Eduardo Agustin Torre, Argentina vs. Daniel Garza, Mexico
Christian Vinck, Germany vs. Lorenzo Joaquin Rodriguez, Argentina
Grandstand
Oliver Crawford, United States vs. Zion Heaven, United States
(6) Jonathan Chang, United States vs. Boris Kozlov, United States
Dariusz Lipka, Poland vs. (16) Mauricio Resendiz, Mexico
Court 1
Mac Kiger, United States vs. Matthew Segura, United States
(1)Ricardo Rodriguez, Venezuela vs. Brian Berdusco, United States
Court 2
Kurt Thein, United States vs. (11) Ty Trombetta, United States
Arnav Mohanty, United States vs. (14) Alexandre Rotsaert, United States
(2) Patrick Daciek, United States vs. Richard Torres, United States
Court 3
(7) Pavel Krainik, Canada vs. Jason Legall, United States
(4) Collin Johns, United States vs. Haydn Lewis, Barbados
Trent Bryde, United States vs. (13) Rowland Phillips, Jamaica
Court 4
Dejon Bivens, United States vs. (10) Mark Whitehouse, Great Britain
(3) Alex Blumenberg, Brazil vs. Marcelo Arturo Rodriguez Mojica, Panama
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