Nico Godsick

Ben Shelton, Ethan Quinn and Nico Godsick, who all competed in Vero Beach at the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships within the last year, also shined in the U.S. Open spotlight. Shelton, who was the doubles runner-up and singles quarterfinalist at the special October of 2021 edition of the tournament, competed in the main draw in singles and doubles at the 2022 U.S. Open, where he officially announced that he was turning pro after winning the 2022 NCAA singles title for the University of Florida. Shelton lost a tough five-set match in the first round to Nuno Borges of Portugal. He and partner Chris Eubanks beat 2021 French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas and his brother Petros in the first round of doubles before losing in the second round.

Quinn, who was the 2022 singles runner-up in Vero Beach in April, paired in the main draw of doubles with his Vero Beach doubles partner Nico Godsick, the son of former Olympic doubles gold medal winner and ESPN commentator Mary Joe Fernandez and Roger Federer and Coco Gauff’s agent Tony Godsick. Quinn and Godsick beat former world No. 16 Nikoloz Basilashvili and  Hans Hach Verdugo in the first round before losing to 2021 Wimbledon and Olympic champions Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic in the second round. Junior Wimbledon doubles champion Alex Michelsen and our 2020 singles champion Diego Hidalgo were also among the recent Vero Beach competitors who competed in the main draw of doubles at the 2022 U.S. Open.

From Stadium Court at The Boulevard in Vero Beach to the main draw of the 2022 U.S. Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

That’s the scenario for three recent competitors at the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, the $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour USTA Pro Circuit tennis tournament.

Ben Shelton, Ethan Quinn and Nico Godsick, who thrilled fans in Vero Beach within the last year at the Fall and Spring events at The Boulevard, will all be competing in the main draw of the 2022 U.S. Open.

Shelton will be competing in the main draw of singles, by virtue of his NCAA singles title win in May for the University of Florida, and Quinn and Godsick will be competing in the main draw in doubles, by virtue of their win in doubles at the USTA National Boy’s 18 Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan last week. Quinn will also be competing in the qualifying rounds for the U.S. Open in singles, by virtue of reaching the singles final in Kalamazoo.

Shelton competed in Vero Beach at the special October edition of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships in 2021 where he reached the quarterfinals in singles and finished as the doubles runner-up. Since he played in Vero Beach, he not only won the NCAA singles title, but moved his ATP singles ranking to No. 229.

Quinn, who was a redshirt freshman at the University of Georgia, was the singles runner-up in Vero Beach in April, falling to Sekou Bangoura 6-4, 6-3. He continued to excel on the ITF World Tennis Tour over the summer, moving his ATP singles ranking to No. 501, making him the No. 4 ranking American teenager in the ATP rankings.

Godsick drew the No. 1 seed in the first round of singles and doubles in Vero Beach last April, but he and Quinn reached the quarterfinals in the doubles competition. He is the son of former two-time Olympic gold medalist Mary Joe Fernandez and tennis agent Tony Godsick.

The 2023 edition of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships is tentatively set for April 24-30, 2023. For sponsorship and box seat and cabana ticket information, contact Lynn Southerly at Lsouth1072@gmail.com or 202-438-5225