After four days of qualifying-round matches, featuring 128 players from around the world, main draw play at the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championship begins Tuesday at noon at Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club.
The feature night match at 7 pm will see two local players, long-time Vero Beach resident Robert Kowalczyk, now the owner of Vero Beach’s Man-O-War Fishing Company, pairing with Quail Valley tennis pro Michael Alford in a first round doubles match against Julian Bradley, a member of Ireland’s Davis Cup team, and American Isaiah Strode, who won the USTA Pro Circuit doubles title just outside of Jacksonville, Fla., last week.
Alford and Kowalczyk were given a special “wild card” entry into the tournament by the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation by being the respective winner and runner-up at the annual “King of the Hill” doubles competition at The Moorings club, featuring local tennis talent in the Vero Beach area.
Alford, a former University of Florida standout, has played in the Vero Beach USTA Futures the last two years, losing in the first round in doubles both years, but in 2016 playing a spirited match against current Top 50 star Denis Shapovalov of Canada. Kowalczyk, a former University of California standout and two-time USTA Boys’ 18 Clay Court Champion, will be playing in the Vero Beach Futures for the first time since 2013. He played in the tournament nine previous times, his best showing being a doubles semifinal finish in 2011 with Kreigler Brink and in 2005 with fellow Vero Beach native Jarrod Owen, the twin brother of country music star Jake Owen. In 1998, he reached the doubles quarterfinals with tournament namesake Mardy Fish.
Also highlighting Tuesday’s schedule will be Karl Poling of West Point, N.Y., who was also awarded a “wild card” entry into the singles draw by virtue of winning a special “wild card” tournament at the USTA National Campus in Orlando two weeks ago. Poling, the son of U.S. Military Academy men’s tennis coach Jim Poling, also won the event’s doubles wild card tournament with fellow American Boris Kozlov at The Boulevard Club, where his aunt Christie Sturgess is a member. Poling, 17 and soon to be an incoming freshman at Princeton, will face No. 3 seed and former Northwestern University standout Strong Kirchheimer of Cary, N.C. on the stadium court not before 1 pm.
The No. 1 seed Marcelo Thomas Barrios Vera, a member of Chile’s Davis Cup team, will play his opening round singles match on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday’s schedule will be Juan Benitez of Colombia, the No. 5 seed, who is a fan favorite in Vero Beach from two years ago during a dramatic run to the quarterfinals as a qualifier at this event. He will, however play doubles Tuesday with partner Jesse Flores of Canada against Hunter and Yates Johnson, the twin doubles pairing who are the No. 1 seeds. In 2016, Benitez reached the quarterfinals in singles when the event was played at The Boulevard club and nearly defeated then 17-year-old Shapovalov, now one of the most popular rising stars in tennis, before body cramps overcame him in the third set, forcing him to play the final game of the match left-handed due to the severity of cramps in his right playing hand.
On Monday, the five of the eight final-round qualifying matches in the 128-player qualifying tournament ended before rain postponed the conclusion of three matches. Those three matches – Julian Bradley of Ireland vs. Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano, Rowland Philips vs. Jordi Arconada and Axel Nefve vs. Zandrix Acob – will be finished at 11 am on Tuesday.
Eighteen-year-old Nicolas Mejia of Colombia did finish his match before the weather rolled in and advanced into the main draw by defeating Jaycer Lyeons of Houston 6-0, 6-4.
After losing the first set of his first match in qualifying, Mejia has won eight sets in a row and is now through to the third professional singles main draw of his career, and he will be looking for his first ATP ranking point since June of 2016.
“Today was a good day,” said Mejia, who is also the No. 7 ranked junior player in the world. “I’m happy with going through the four matches of qualifying. It’s always a really good sign.”
Most of Mejia’s success on the juniors and pro circuits has come on the doubles court. He has already reached a quarterfinal and a semifinal in challenger tournaments this year, to go along with his nine titles in juniors and two finals in Futures events.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play with really good partners,” said Mejia, who has played with two different No. 1 juniors in the world. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and won a Grade A juniors event with Axel Geller of Argentina, who is now playing college tennis at Standford.
With the current No. 1 junior in the world, Sebastian Korda, Mejia reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and had has successes on the challenger circuit.
“You always need to have fun and in doubles there are really good moments,” Mejia said. “With your partner you enjoy your time and just compete.”
Mejia is in the process of trying to play more professional events, and he uses his success in the juniors circuit to help him prepare for the increase in skill level.
“I think the juniors is really important right now. The level is pretty high,” Mejia said. “The big junior tournaments are really exciting, they’re a really high level.”
Richie Torres, a 20-year old native of Key Biscayne, also earned his way into the main draw after winning his fourth qualifying match over Jesse Torres of Canada, 6-2, 6-3.
Torres is ranked in the ATP World Tour rankings thanks to winning a main draw match in Egypt last summer, but this win for him was a milestone moment.
“After these four rounds, it’s been a long ride, but it’s my first time in the main draw in the U.S.,” Torres said.
“So it’s a big thing for me right now.”
Torres played 13 Futures tournaments in Egypt last year over two separate spans from late June to mid-July and then from late September to the end of November.
All 13 of the tournaments were at the same site, allowing Torres and the rest of the players to get more comfortable with the area and see some of the sights the country had to offer.
“Egypt is a lot different because you can kind of think of it as dorming in college,” Torres said. “It’s a whole different experience than moving from site to site every weekend.”
Torres is back stateside now playing in his fifth tournament in Florida in a row, and he is enjoying his time in Vero Beach.
“It’s probably the best Future in the U.S. I’ve been at because all the residents here come out and support,” Torres said.
Torres will be attending Florida International University in the fall. The school doesn’t have a tennis team, but he will be continuing to train on the side. For now, he is using these last few months before he heads off to college to improve his game and his ranking.
“Well for right now I’m focusing on college, but over the next six months I’m going to give it all I have and see how far I can get,” Torres said, before stating his enthusiasm for going to college.
“Just focus on school and then after school give it a shot a little bit more if I’m still into it,” Torres said. “I want to be a doctor. Hopefully emergency room doctor, that’s the goal.”
In other final round qualifying matches, the No. 1 seed Matias Zukas of Argentina defeated Joseph Cadogan of Trinidad and Tobago 6-2, 6-2.
Zukas was able to earn his rightful spot in the main draw after a bit of a hectic few days. The Argentinian was hoping to play a challenger in Mexico this week, but when he realized his ranking would not be high enough to get in, he signed in late to this tournament.
Because he missed the original sign-in deadline, Zukas, who is ranked No. 621 in the world, was forced to play in the qualifying draw at a Futures event, something that players with his ranking rarely have to do.
After almost falling to young American Trey Hilderbrand in the third round of qualifying, Zukas was able to breathe a sigh of relief as he eventually worked his way into the main draw, where he will be the No. 3 seed.
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
Final Round Qualifying Results
(1) Matias Zukas, Argentina d. Joseph Cadogan, Trinidad and Tobago 6-2, 6-2
(13) Julian Bradley, Ireland vs. Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano, Mexico 4-6, 6-2, 1-2 susp.
Ryan Goetz, United States d. (10) Jared Pratt, United States 7-6(3), 6-2
Rowland Phillips, Jamaica vs. Jordi Arconada, United States 6-3, 3-6, 5-5 susp.
Nick Hardt, Dominican Republic d. Kirac Bekisoglu, Turkey 6-2, 7-6(3)
Axel Nefve, United States vs. Zandrix Acob, United States 6-3, 4-6, 3-2 susp.
(7) Richard Torres, United States d. (9) Jesse Flores, Canada 6-2, 6-3
Nicolas Mejia, Colombia d. (12) Jaycer Lyeons, United States 6-0, 6-4
Schedule for April 24
Stadium
Noon
(8) Alejandro Tabilo, Chile vs. John Lamble, United States
Not Before 1 p.m.
(4) Strong Kirchheimer, United States vs. (WC) Karl Poling, United States
Not Before 3 p.m.
(3) Raleigh Smith, United States/Alejandro Tabilo, Chile vs. Ricardo Rodriguez, Venezuela/Eduardo Agustin Torre, Argentina
Not Before 7 p.m.
Julian Bradley, Ireland/Isaiah Strode, United States vs. (WC) Michale Alford, United States/Robert Kowalczyk, United States
Grandstand
11 a.m.
(13) Julian Bradley, Ireland vs. Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano, Mexico
Not Before Noon
Harrison Adams, United States vs. Mousheg Hovhannisyan, United States
Not Before 1 p.m.
Pablo Irigary Guarne, Spain/Matias Zukas, Argentina vs. (WC) Tim Kopinski, United States/Tam Trinh, United States
Not Before 3 p.m.
(2) Harrison Adams, United States/Nick Chappell, United States vs. Edward Bourchier, Australia/Rowland Phillips, Jamaica
Not Before 5 p.m.
(1) Hunter Johnson, United States/Yates Johnson, United States vs. Juan Manuel Benitez Chavarriaga, Colombia/Jesse Flores, Canada
Court 2
11 a.m.
Rowland Phillips, Jamaica vs. Jordi Arconada, United States
Not Before 3 p.m.
John Lamble, United States/Jody Maginley, Antigua vs. Samuel Bensoussan, France/Santiago Fa Rodriguez Taverna, Argentina
Court 3
11 a.m.
Axel Nefve, United States vs. Zandrix Acob, United States
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