The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club in Vero Beach is having a bit of a the feel of the islands.
Players from Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica advanced into the final round of the 128-player qualifying draw with victories Sunday.
Rowland Phillips, a member of Jamaica’s Davis Cup team, defeated Boris Kozlov of Pembroke Pines, Fla. 6-3, 6-2 while Joseph Cadogan of Trinidad and Tobago defeated Henry Patrick Cacciatore of Tampa, Fla., 6-1, 6-1.
Phillips, 24, is a former college standout at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and just recently fell out of the ATP World Tour Rankings in singles. He is still ranked in doubles and is staying positive as he grinds through the qualifying tournament.
“I still have doubles, thank goodness,” Phillips said. “It does add a little bit more pressure, you really want to get those [ranking] points back. So you fight a little harder.”
With a win over Texas A&M student athlete Jordi Arconda Monday in the final round of qualifying and Phillips will have an opportunity to play in the 32-player main draw of this entry-level professional tournament, where a first-round victory will earn him an ATP singles point.
Phillips is back in Vero Beach for the third year in a row and gave some high praise to the tournament.
“I really love this tournament. They treat the players fantastic,” Phillips said. “The facilities are awesome. It’s run really well. I really like playing this one.”
Cadogan, 29, is American but represents Trinidad and Tobago due to his parents being natives of the country. He was ranked as high as No. 969 back in 2011, but hasn’t played a tournament since January of 2017, and has played only two events in all since January of 2016. His go-for-broke attitude paid off well for him in his one-sided win over Cacciatore.
“He’s a really good player and normally a guy like that kills me 0 and 0,” Cadogan said. “So I just happened to have a good day.”
“No goals whatsoever,” he continued. “I’m just out here playing and we’ll see how it goes. I’m tired of expectations right now. Just gonna go play.”
Irish Davis Cupper Julian Bradley won perhaps the match of the tournament Sunday beating Marcelo Sepulveda Garza of Mexico in a three hours and 40 minutes 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-3.
“It was a bit of a grind,” Bradley said. “I was just bringing as much energy as can to every single point and then see what happens. That’s what I tried to do and got lucky in the end.”
The marathon match was played in front of a loud and appreciative crowd on one of the outer field courts at Grand Harbor and it didn’t go unnoticed by Bradley.
“It’s pretty nice, because especially in a qualifying match you don’t really get so many people,” Bradley said. “But I have to say this tournament is, of all the Futures I’ve been to, it’s definitely one of the best run. So I really wasn’t surprised that there were so many people watching, but yeah it’s obviously nice to have loads of people cheering you on.”
The No. 13 seed will now play Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano of Mexico in the final round on Monday.
Arconada, with his Texas A&M coach Steve Denton, the former two-time Australian Open singles finalist, and tennis legend and Vero Beach resident Ivan Lendl watching, defeated Kohlman Lawrence 6-2, 6-2. Zandrix Acob of Hawaii, with his fruit decorated bucket hat, also got another win as he took down Keenan Mayo of Bradenton, Fla., 6-4, 6-3 while 42-year-old German Christian Vinck was defeated by former University of Miami standout Jesse Flores of Canada 4-6, 6-0, 6-3.
Another highlight on Sunday came during the match between young Americans Jaycer Lyeons and Jared Thompkins.
At one point in the second set, Thompkins hit one of the most athletic shots of the tournament, leaping over the net to chase down a slice that bounced back to his opponent’s side of the court.
For Lyeons, he was disappointed that the point didn’t go in his favor, but he gave credit to Thompkins and compared the shot to something Michael Jordan would do.
“All I saw was Air Jordan jumping up and hitting an overhead,” Lyeons said laughing. “Good shot by him.”
Lyeons, the 17-year-old Houston native, eventually got the win in straight sets, but it wasn’t easy.
“The guy is an unbelievable talent,” Lyeons said. “Huge serve, huge off of both sides, so I just had to be a wall.”
Lyeons is currently the No. 1 ranked player in Texas in the 2019 class by Tennis Recruiting, but he’s taking his time when it comes to putting thought into college tennis. He’s currently focused on improving his rankings on the ATP World Tour and on the International Tennis Federation juniors circuit.
“This year maybe just trying to crack the top 1000, top 800 [in the ATP World Tour Rankings,” Lyeons said. “And I’m going to play some more ITF’s, trying to crack the top 20.”
Lyeons will try to improve his ITF juniors ranking by traveling to Europe to play in the Junior French Open and Junior Wimbledon in a couple of months.
Sunday also marked the end of the special wild card doubles tournament that was held at The Boulevard, where 16 teams played to earn one main draw spot in the doubles tournament. Kozlov made up for his singles loss earlier in the day by teaming with Karl Poling of West Point, N.Y. to beat the American-Australian duo of Axel Nefve and Lawrence Sciglitano 4-3(5), 4-2 in a match using a “FAST4” style of scoring in which sets are shortened, requiring only four games to win.
Poling also won a singles wild card tournament at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona two weeks ago and will now play in both the singles and doubles main draw. Poling’s aunt, Christy Sturgess, just recently moved to Vero Beach providing for some additional family time while playing in Vero Beach.
All eight final-round matches of the qualifying tournament will be played at 10 am Monday at Grand Harbor. Main draw play begins Tuesday, April 24 at noon and is highlighted by two locals, Michael Alford, the teaching pro at the Quail Valley Club, playing with long-time Vero Beach resident Robert Kowalczyk, who owns Vero Beach’s Man-O-War Fishing Company, competing in the doubles competition. Alford and Kowalczyk will play Tuesday’s feature 7 pm match.
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
Third Round Qualifying Results
(1) Matias Zukas, Argentina d. Trey Hilderbrand, United States 3-6, 7-5, 6-0
Joseph Cadogan, Trinidad and Tobago d. Henry Patrick Cacciatore, United States 6-1, 6-1
Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano, Mexico d. Vasco Belaunde, Peru 5-1 ret.
(13) Julian Bradley, Ireland d. Marcelo Sepulveda Garza, Mexico 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-3
Ryan Goetz, United States d. Hillel Rousseau, Haiti 6-4, 6-1
(10) Jared Pratt, United States d. Matt Kandath, United States 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Rowland Phillips, Jamaica d. Boris Kozlov, United States 6-3, 6-2
Jordi Arconada, United States d. Kohlman Lawrence, United States 6-2, 6-2
Nick Hardt, Dominican Republic d. (5) Tao Mu, China 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
Kirac Bekisoglu, Turkey d. Vojtech Vlkovsky, Czech Republic 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Axel Nefve, United States d. Jack Lee, United States 6-0, 6-1
Zandrix Acob, United States d. Keenan Mayo, United States 6-4, 6-3
(7) Richard Torres, United States d. Louis Siegler, United States 7-5, 6-0
(9) Jesse Flores, Canada d. Christian Vinck, Germany 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
Nicolas Mejia, Colombia d. (8) Vlad Andrei Dancu, Romania 6-3, 6-2
(12) Jaycer Lyeons, United States d. Jared Thompkins, United States 6-2, 7-5
Final Round Qualifying Schedule for April 23
Starting at 10 a.m.
(1) Matias Zukas, Argentina vs. Joseph Cadogan, Trinidad and Tobago
Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano, Mexico vs. (13) Julian Bradley, Ireland
Ryan Goetz, United States vs. (10) Jared Pratt, United States
Rowland Phillips, Jamaica vs. Jordi Arconada, United States
Nick Hardt, Dominican Republic vs. Kirac Bekisoglu, Turkey
Axel Nefve, United States vs. Zandrix Acob, United States
(7) Richard Torres, United States vs. (9) Jesse Flores, Canada
Nicolas Mejia, Colombia vs. (12) Jaycer Lyeons, United States
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