King of the Hill

Michael Alford of the Quail Valley River Club and Vero Beach native Robert Kowalczyk of Man-O-War Fishing Company, the winner and runner-up respectively at the annual “King of the Hill” tennis competition that concluded Tuesday night, have been awarded a main draw doubles wild card into the 2018 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, to be held April 20 – 29 at Grand Harbor in Vero Beach.
Alford and Kowalczyk were awarded the wild card by the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, the operators of the Vero Beach $15,000 U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit “Futures” event, as part of an agreement with the 23-year “King of the Hill” (KOTH) competition and organizer Gigi Casapu to give a wild card entry into the Futures event to the KOTH winner and runner-up.
Alford and Kowalczyk will play their first-round doubles match on Tuesday, April 24 at 7 pm.
“Mike and Robert played some inspired tennis at King of the Hill and it will be fascinating to see them compete against world-ranked players at our event in April at Grand Harbor,” said Tom Fish, Chairman of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation. “We love our new cooperation with Gigi Casapu in awarding a main draw doubles wild card to the ‘King of the Hill’ winner and runner-up and having them play their first round match on the opening Tuesday of the tournament.”
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.
“The King of Hill” is the annual doubles competition featuring tennis professionals from the Vero Beach area who compete in round-robin competitions on Tuesday nights to the determine the “king” of the local tennis professional. Proceeds from “King of the Hill” benefit the Youth Guidance Mentoring & Activities Program.
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.
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. 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 events in the world on the “Futures” level of professional tennis tournaments.
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.
Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundation.com and @MardyFishFound on Twitter) currently supports over 1700 children grades KDG-8th 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. Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, collaborates with various community organizations, including Boys and Girls Club of Indian River County, Dasie Hope Bridgewater Center and LOTA Sports. Kids on Courts After School Tennis program is facilitated by LOTA Sports offering progressive tennis instruction from world class professionals. The Foundation introduced the “Six Healthy Habits” in 2012 Get Sleep; Drink Water; Exercise Daily, Eat Healthy; Brush and Floss; Make Friends. Fish achieved a career-high ranking of No. 7 in 2011 and won 14 career ATP singles and doubles titles in his career. After retiring from the ATP World Tour in 2015, Fish now competes on the celebrity pro golf tour and the PowerShares Series legends tennis tour while serving as a coach for the USTA Player Development Program and a TV commentator for ESPN.