By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Mikael Pernfors is a “King of the Hill” once again.
The 58-year-old Swede, known best for his run to the French Open final in 1986 and his two NCAA singles titles for the University of Georgia, won the 2022 40-and-over division of the “King of the Hill” at The Boulevard.
Pernfors, who also won the same title in 2021, was the top winner of games in the round-robin doubles format beating out second-place finisher Lennart Jonason of the John’s Island (also from Sweden like Pernfors), third-place finisher Cullen DeWindt of the Piper’s Landing Club and Nate Dickens of Melbourne, subbing for Mark Harrison, who was unable to play.
“I had a decent career, not as good as many, but I find myself coming out here to have a good time, and I have a great time, but I start counting games, and I get nervous and I guess that means how much I love this game,” said Pernfors, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 10 and now lives in Vero Beach and plays at The Boulevard.
Watch the post-match speech by Pernfors here: https://youtu.be/NzQI99ipFLA
The final staging of the 2022 “King of the Hill” series will be Thursday, March 3 at 6 pm at The Boulevard with the final of the “Open Division” featuring Robert Kowalczyk of The Boulevard, Chase Perez-Blanco of Quail Valley, Joseph van Deinse of the Vero Beach Tennis Club and Slim Hamza of The Moorings. The winner and runner-up in the Open Division will receive a main draw doubles wild card into the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships ITF World Tennis Tour USTA Pro Circuit event, played at The Boulevard April 25-May 1.
The biggest winner of the “King of the Hill” series is the Youth Guidance charity that benefits at-risk youth.
