Julian Bradley, a member of Ireland’s Davis Cup team, will be part of the featured 6:45 pm night match Monday at the $25,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at The Boulevard tennis club in Vero Beach.
Bradley, a resident of Dublin, will face Duke recruit Garrett Johns of Atlanta in the first round of the 32-player qualifying tournament for this 25th annual professional tennis tournament that is part of the International Tennis Federation World Tennis Tour and part of the USTA’s Competitive Pathway.
The other feature match Monday afternoon will be Magnus Johnson of Naples, Florida, who won the special Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation pre-qualifying tournament last week, playing at 5 pm against Alan Kohen of Argentina on the Grandstand Court. Sixteen first round qualifying singles matches will be played Monday on four courts starting at Noon.
Both Bradley and Johnson are part of the 32-player qualifying tournament that will be played Monday and part of Tuesday to determine eight positions in the main draw of this event. Players will have to win two matches on Monday and Tuesday to qualify for the main draw of the event that will begin on Tuesday.
Matches begin Monday at noon with former University of Minnesota standout Matic Spec of Slovenia, the No. 1 seed in the 32-player qualifying event, taking on very uniquely-named Kakaka’loikamalie Companion of Honolulu, Hawaii first at noon. The second match on Stadium will feature Bolivian Davis Cupper Boris Arias, a former college tennis standout at LSU, taking on Chris Rosensteel of East Windsor, N.J., who competed in the tournament’s pre-qualifying event last week. The third match on Stadium will feature Jamaican Davis Cupper Rowland Phillips against Mihnea Lorin Stefan Turcu of Romania.
Bradley has been part of Ireland’s Davis Cup contingent the last years after playing college tennis at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Bradley’s story of tennis development is an incredible one as he did not even pick up tennis until the age of 14, working on his family’s farm in the village of Carlow, Ireland, south of Dublin. When he was 16 years old, he commuted nearly four hours a day every day to Dublin to work with the best tennis coaches in Ireland. After studying dentistry for two years at Trinity University in Ireland, he transferred to the University of North Florida.
“Julian is an under-the-radar type of guy who just gets on with business,” wrote former top 200 ATP player from Ireland James McGee on Facebook. “His work ethic is better than anyone I’ve ever seen and he is known in tennis circles for being an animal!”
Bradley last year lost in the final of the then 128-player qualifying rounds of this tournament at Grand Harbor and defeated “King of the Hill” champions Mike Alford and Robert Kowalczyk of Vero Beach in the first round of doubles.
Johns was a quarterfinalist in 2017 at the USTA National Boy’s 16 Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan and won the USTA National Boys’ 16 Clay Court Championships in 2017. He will enroll to play college tennis at Duke starting in the fall of 2019.
“When I think of Garrett’s game, I think of the word solid,” said Duke University tennis coach Ramsey Smith, the son of tennis legend Stan Smith. “He does not blow you away with flash, but has a high tennis IQ, moves well and makes a ton of balls. Garrett’s consistency and heart has the ability to frustrate opponents and push them past their breaking points. The longer the match, the better for Garrett.”
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.
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.
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.
The tournament schedule is as follows:
Monday, April 29
Qualifying Tournament Begins – The Boulevard Tennis Club, Noon, 5 pm, 6:45 pm
Tuesday, April 30
Qualifying Tournament Ends, Main Draw Begins – 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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