Magnus Johnson of Naples, Fla. withstood a first set blitz and a second set rope-a-dope and hung on to win the final by the narrowest of margins of the pre-qualifying tournament for the $25,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships Friday night at The Boulevard tennis club.
Johnson, 18, won this 32-player wild card feed-in tournament by beating a player more than twice his age and with more than three times the tennis experience, 43-year-old Christian Vinck of Germany by a 4-6, 6-1, 10-8 scoreline, the narrowest margin of victory – two points – in the decisive 10-point match tiebreaker, played in lieu of a third set. The tournament victory qualifies Johnson to play in the 32-player qualifying tournament for this International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour event that is played Monday and Tuesday next week, leading into the main draw of this U.S. Tennis Association Competitive Pathway event.
“It was an awesome experience for me to be a part of the pre-qualifying event for this tournament, knowing it is a prestigious one and I’m happy to receive a wild card and go all the way,” said Johnson. “I was excited for having the opportunity to compete against Christian. He is very experienced and knows what he has to do on the court. I knew it was going to be a difficult task and it is awesome to beat a player who accomplished that much.”
For a player of Vinck’s age and level of professional tennis experience to be playing in this pre-qualifying tournament for what is the tennis equivalent of minor league baseball is an anomaly. One month before Johnson was born in August of 2000, Vinck was narrowly losing a third-round match to world No. 8 Thomas Enqvist on Centre Court at Wimbledon, the grandest stage in tennis. Three years prior to that, Vinck was registering perhaps the signature win of his career over all-time great Andre Agassi in the final of the Challenger-level tournament in Agassi’s hometown of Las Vegas, in front of his family and then wife Brooke Shields. While Johnson is an up-and-coming prospect, verbally committing this week to play college tennis at the University of Central Florida next year, Vinck was in Vero Beach on vacation. While he ended his full-time career as a pro tennis player in 2003, he continued to compete in club and team events in Germany, and an occasional minor league pro event, to continue to quench his competitive fire while he excelled in his career in international management consulting. He has competed and won matches in the qualifying rounds in this Vero Beach event the last three years as it was timed perfectly around his Spring vacation.
Johnson, the No. 1 seed, lost only six games in five matches entered the final against, Vinck, the No. 2 seed, but quickly found himself in unknown territory for the week down 5-2 in the first set, with a crowd of nearly 200 fans eagerly watching. Vinck held on to win the first set 6-4, but the hot and humid conditions, and his 43-year old body, became to take a toll in the second set. After falling down two service breaks, Vinck conserved his energy and played a game of “rope-a-dope,” barely running for balls and going for quick winners to save energy for the decisive 10-point match tiebreaker, played in lieu of a third set in this specially-created prequalifying tournament. After Johnson won the second set 6-1, Vinck, with reserve energy saved up, started full throttle in the tiebreaker. Johnson lead most of the tiebreaker, but Vinck stayed close and worked to tie the score at 7-7. Johnson won the next two points to reach double-match point at 9-7. After Vinck slammed a backhand winner to narrow the gap to 9-8, Johnson calmly stood at the service line and launched a powerful serve down the middle, causing Vinck to miss a backhand return to close out the tournament victory.
“It was a difficult match overall for me,” said Johnson, who was fighting a cold during the week. “I was trying to fight and do the best I could. He wanted to preserve the best he had for the match tie-breaker once I moved in front in the second set. I’m happy for being able to keep my level high, especially after he started to give his best again in the deciding part of the match.”
After two days of rest back home, Johnson will compete in the first round of the qualifying tournament on Monday. Johnson will have to win two matches in the 32-player qualifying tournament to be among eight qualifiers into the main draw of the event that starts on Tuesday.
A main draw doubles “wild card” tournament was also held in conjunction with this pre-qualifying singles event with the winning team earning a main draw doubles invitation into the tournament. This was won by brothers Quinn and Hayden Snyder of Delran, N.J., who defeated Juan Mateus of Edmond, Okla., and Chris Rosensteel of East Windsor, N.J. 4-2, 0-4, 10-5 in the final in the “fast four” scoring format. James and Joseph van Diense of Vero Beach were defeated in the semifinals, losing to the Snyder brothers in three tiebreakers 4-3(3), 3-4(5), 10-8.
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships 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, the non-profit tennis foundation benefiting children, named for Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, the former top 10 tennis star and the current U.S. Davis Cup captain. The event will be held April 29 – May 5 at The Boulevard tennis club in Vero Beach.
Tournament tickets and sponsorships for the event can be purchased at www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org Daily tickets for the April 29-May 5 are $20, with “night session” tickets starting at 5 pm from April 29 – May 4 costing $10. Season tickets for every session of the event are $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 Approximately 3,000 fans annually attend the event, which is seen as one of the best-attended entry-level professional events in the world.
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. Seven former Vero Beach players have gone on to play Davis Cup for the United States – Roddick, Fish, Taylor Dent, Jared Palmer, Donald Young, Ryan Harrison and Frances Tiafoe.
Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundation.com and @MardyFishFound on Twitter) currently supports over 2,200 children in 15 elementary schools, six middle schools and two after school centers in Indian River County, Florida by funding 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.
The tournament schedule is as follows:
Sunday, April 28
Kick-off Party – The Boulevard Tennis Club, 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Monday, April 29
Qualifying Tournament Begins – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Tuesday, April 30
Qualifying Tournament Ends, Main Draw Beings – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Wednesday, May 1
Main Draw Singles & Doubles – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Thursday, May 2
Main Draw Singles & Doubles – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Friday, May 3
Main Draw Singles & Doubles – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Saturday, May 4
Singles Semifinals, Doubles Final – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm
Sunday, May 5
Singles Final – The Boulevard Tennis Club, 1 pm
Tournament sponsors for 2019 include Presenting Sponsor PNC Bank, Grand Slam Sponsors Boston Barricade, George E. Warren Corporation and the Jake Owen Foundation, Cabana/Box Seat Sponsors John’s Island Real Estate, John Klein, Gene Simonsen, TeamChristopher.com, Dan Holman, Hadleigh Investments, Pene Chambers / Lynn Southerly, Lace and Bob Milligan / Mickey and Rob Stein, William Barhorst, CPA, Michael and Kathleen Pierce, The Pitcher Family, Shirley Becker, Scoreboard Sponsor Fit for Life / Syde Hurdus Foundation Backhand Sponsors Vero Beach Magazine, Rossway Swan, Nalzaro Music, Coastal Van Lines, Diamond Resorts International, Forehand Sponsors Karen and Steve Rubin, Mike and Meg Hickey / Premier Estate Properties, Shaklee / Suzie Sunkel, Indian River Animal Hospital – Charles B. Johnson, DVM, Marjorie Johnson, DVM, MS, DAVP, Serve Sponsors Cravings, Bistro Fourchette, Willem and Marion DeVogel, Foglia Custom Homes Topspin Sponsors Alex MacWilliam Real Estate, Eternal Water, Kit Fields Realtor, Patrick Williams / Tom Collins Insurance, Riverside Café, MinuteMan Press, Center Court Tennis Outfitters, Drop Shot Sponsors Treasure Coast Financial Planning, Inc., Peter and Judith Saidel, Deb Benjamin, Paul & Linda Delaney, Stewart Dunn, Susan Flannery (Aluma Tower), Tom Flannery (Malesardi, Quackenbush, Swift and Company LLC, Jim & Suzi Keegan, Don Moyle, Dee Patberg, Fran Smyrk (Treasure Coast Sotheby’s), Gary & Beth Williams, ABCO Garage Door Company, Inc., Barker Air Conditioning & Heating, Busy Bee Lawn & Garden Center, Coastal Comforts at the Village Shops, Colton, Williams & Reamy, CPAs, Complete Electric, Inc., Complete Restaurant Equipment, LLC, Glacier Clear Pool Service, Jack’s Complete Tree Service, Inc., Jimmy’s Tree Services, Ken’s Pool Service, ML Engineering, Inc., Nozzle Nolen, Inc., O’Haire, Quinn, Casalino, Chartered, Rich Look Lawn Care, Rick’s Custom Care, Statewide Condominium Insurance, Steve Supplee Construction LLC, Summit Construction of Vero Beach, LLC, Sunshine Furniture, White Glove Moving & Storage and Wilco Construction, Inc.
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