MagazineIndianapolis TennisFall 2009

Colin Atkinson shares his excellent Wimbledon adventure

News & NotesITC named a USTA

Regional Training Center

On Court Feedback during lessons

is a two-way street

(pro)filePark Tudor School

coach Dave Heffern

DestinationNaples Tennis Club &

Resort in Southwest FL

Ginepri’s Indy repeatFormer champion becomes two-time Indy tournament winner with an improbable run as an unseeded wild card

Knight time on the courtFormer Indiana Pacer All-Star and basketball executive has also found success and enjoyment in tennis

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contentsVOLUME 4, ISSUE 2

On the Cover: UIndy’s Alena Perez-Majul returns a shot during a doubles match against IUPUI. The former North Central standout and IHSAA state doubles champion helped the Greyhounds defeat the Jaguars 5-4 in the match played at DePauw University. (Photo by Scott Cooper)

12 Indianapolis Tennis ChampionshipsHe needed a wild card just to get into the tournament, but former champ Robby Ginepri made a timely run to a second title.

14 Smooth sailing for Ram at NewportCarmel’s Rajeev Ram notched his first career ATP Tour singles title at the Hall of Fame Championships.

21 IHSAA approves new ‘8 at State’ formatTwo teams from each semi-state will now advance to state finals after IHSAA okays coaches association recommendation.

16 Billy KnightMany recall Billy Knight’s days on the basketball court with the Indiana Pacers, but few may know of his many successes on the tennis court.

Plus…

4 Ad In – Publisher’s Commentary

5 News & Notes – Indianapolis Tennis Center joins USTA’s network of Regional Training Centers

6 (pro)file – Park Tudor School’s boys’ and girls’ coach Dave Heffern

8 On Court – Feedback from the player is just as important as that from an instructor

10 Focus on Fitness – Prevent shoulder problems with these simple strengthening exercises

22 Destination – Naples Tennis Club & Resort/ Academia Sánchez-Casal

18 Colin does ‘Wimby’Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the All England Club as Colin Atkinson hangs out as a guest of Rajeev Ram.

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Publisher’s commentary

MagazineIndianapolis Tennis

PUBLISHERScott D. Cooper

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSColin AtkinsonLinda CookDerek DoehrmannScott HudsonTomas Johansson

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSColin AtkinsonShawn BarneyJulie FritzHelen Moser PetersenIndiana PacersThe Indianapolis StarBill McAdowNaples Tennis Club & ResortThe Newport (R.I.) Daily NewsPaul Zimmer

GRAPHIC DESIGNNardi Art, LLCRegina Nardi

Bal-Bow GrafixTerri Balon-Bowden

For advertising information, call (317) 918-0726

Indianapolis Tennis Magazine is published four times a year by Cooper Media Group, LLC Bargersville, IndianaContact us at Indianapolis Tennis Magazine P.O. Box 21 Bargersville, IN 46106(317) 918-0726; (317) 422-4559 fax; or e-mail to scott@indytennismag.com

Material may not be used or reprinted without prior permission from Cooper Media Group, LLC.

Copyright® 2009, Cooper Media Group, LLCwww.indytennismag.com

Indianapolis Tennis Magazine and the Indianapolis Tennis Magazine logo are registered trademarks of Cooper Media Group, LLC.

Indianapolis Tennis Magazine is the winner of Media Awards from the USTA/Midwest Section (2007) and Hamilton County Community Tennis Association (2008).

Much ado about foot faults

IN MANY SPORTS there are gray areas regarding rules, from traveling and goaltending in basketball, to pass interference and holding in football,

and even phantom double-play tags in baseball.But, theoretically, tennis is different. It tends to be more black and white.

The ball’s either in or it’s out. It either bounced twice before you hit it or it didn’t. You either touched the net or you didn’t. Your foot’s either on the line or it isn’t.

Such was the case with Serena Williams’ foot fault and subsequent melt-down during the semi-finals at the U.S. Open. In a performance worthy of mentioning in the same breath as anything done by John McEnroe, Ilie Nastase or Jimmy Conners, Williams’ actions cost her the chance to defend her 2008 title and allowed Kim Clijsters to continue her magical comeback into the Open final.

For those who – for some unknown reason – didn’t see what happened (either live or on delay), here’s a synopsis. After having lost the first set, Wil-liams was given a warning for racquet abuse. Serving to stay in the second set at 5-6 and down 15-30, she missed the first serve and was called for a foot fault on her second, which now gave Clijsters two match points at 15-40.

After initially hesitating and seemingly composing herself, Williams went off on the lineswoman, liberally using the f-word and threatening to forcibly feed her the ball in her hand while wielding her racquet like a butcher knife. After a quick follow-up (apparently in case the lineswoman didn’t hear her the first time), the chair umpire issued a violation for unsportsmanlike con-duct. That’s a point penalty and, given the score, meant game, set and match for Clijsters. And, contrary to what CBS commentator Dick Enberg kept claiming, it was not a default.

Granted, for all of the cameras focused on Ashe Stadium, CBS surprising-ly didn’t have a single one that gave a clear view of the infraction (McEnroe claimed the one angle – from behind – “clearly” showed no foot fault). But there was no camera focused directly on the line from the side. Their micro-phones, however, clearly captured Williams’ profanity-laced tirade.

Following the match, Williams was very coy in her press conference, alter-nating claiming memory loss and saying she didn’t do anything threatening (does she even remember playing the match?). “If she called a foot fault, she must have seen a foot fault,” she would say. “I’m not going to fault her for doing her job.” Too bad she didn’t think of that at the time.

In defense of other sports, there are typically fewer officials in the field (or court) of play and they are responsible for monitoring a myriad of rules. Again, tennis is different. The linespeople are there for one primary purpose – was the ball in or out. Alternately, those calling the baseline also have to check for foot faults during serves.

There are those who took issue with the call at that point in the match, but they are probably the same ones who believe no fouls should be called in the waning seconds of a key basketball game. Listen – if it’s a foul in the first few seconds of a game, then it’s still a foul in the last few seconds. The same goes for foot faults. Who knows if Williams would have had the same reaction had the call been made earlier in the set.

What’s funny is that many recreational or USTA League players habitually foot fault – anywhere from barely touching it to seemingly being halfway to the net. And the only time they seem to care is when they happen to be in an officiated match and have to be mindful of it.

Think of it this way – what’s the difference between foot faulting and hooking some-one on a line call? Nothing. They’re both cheating.

ad inPUBLISHER’S COMMENTARY

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TENNIS HAPPENINGS FROM AROUND THE AREA

Tennis Center named USTA Regional Training site

THE INDIANAPOLIS TENNIS CENTER on the campus of IUPUI has joined the United States

Tennis Association’s network of Certified Regional Training Centers. The official announcement was made during ceremonies at the center on September 26, which included an appearance by former touring pro Jose Higueras, the USTA’s director for elite player development, and other USTA officials.

According to the USTA, “The establishment of Re-gional Training Centers will enable the USTA to partner with the best regional programs in the country, build-ing relationships between our best coaches and play-ers, and raising the level of training for the USTA’s best

8-14 year old junior players.” It added that these partnerships will also allow a more seamless transition for top juniors making the move into the USTA’s national programs.

“Our junior program’s success in the past two years certainly boosted this club’s bid to become an RTC, showing even a small tennis club in a cold weather city could develop top junior players,” ITC Director Kathy Risacher said. “I am especially pleased with the community-based focus of the USTA Player Development initiative. Supporting our young players in a familiar and supportive environment during the crucial ages of 8 to 14 can only further our common goal – to find and develop future American champions.”

“This is the start of the USTA’s new philosophy regarding player develop-ment,” said Gordon Smith, USTA Executive Director. “We will continue to reach out to new partners throughout the country that share a similar vision – all with the goal of creating future American tennis champions.”

The Tennis Center joins three facilities in Chicago, in addition to clubs in Maryland, Georgia and Texas. The USTA plans to add another dozen facilities to its network over the next five years. The National Training Center is located in Boca Raton, Fla., with a West Coast facility based in Carson, California.

news & notesRubenstein returns with 3 medals from Israel games

Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School senior Gabrielle Rubenstein came home with

three bronze medals from the 18th World Maccabiah Games this past July in Tel Aviv, Israel.

A member of Team USA (one of 51 countries to participate), Rubenstein competed in junior girls’ singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

“It was cool,” said Gabrielle. Between competitions she was able to take advantage of organized sightseeing tours.

Rubenstein was one of only six girls in the U.S. to be selected following tryouts a year ago in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The competition, known as the “Jewish Olympics”, is held every four years and is the third-largest international sporting event in the world.

Rubenstein won the Indiana High School Athletic Association girls’ state doubles championship last spring with teammate Annabeth Barnard and was named first-team all-state by the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association.

Austin’s busy summer: world title, Open qualies

The three-player U.S. team, which in-cluded Indianapolis’ Brooke Austin,

won the International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Junior Tennis Champion-ships held in Prostejov, Czech Republic. This was the third consecutive title for the U.S. girls in the competition for girls 14 and under, as the American team de-feated the hosts, 2-1, in the champion-ship match. Austin, who teamed with Victoria Duval to win the tiebreaking doubles match in the semi-finals the day before, didn’t play in the final match, as the U.S. went with Duval and Sa-chia Vickery in the two singles matches and in the deciding doubles. All three were subsequently awarded wild card entries into the qualifying draw for the U.S. Open junior girls’ tournament. The youngest player in the draw, Austin had split sets and was leading 3-0 in the third set when she began cramping. She lost the final six games and the match.

Brooke Austin (left) and her teammates celebrate the ITF World Junior Championships title. (ITF photo by Paul Zimmer)

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Basic philosophy yields multiple state titles for Park Tudor coach

DAVE

By Linda Cook

A CLOSER LOOK AT METRO INDY TEACHING PROS AND COACHES

Heffern

D ave Heffern’s coaching philosophy is almost ridiculously simple: In order to be good at tennis, you have to hit the ball over the net and between the white lines.

Yet as basic as that sounds, the results back it up. And now in his 15th year coaching both the boys’ and girls’ tennis programs at Park Tudor School, Heffern continues to believe, as his coaching hero John Wooden did, in keeping it simple and working on the basics “until they (students) don’t have to think about them.”

Dave started playing tennis at the University of South Dakota, where he starred as an All-American in track and would later be inducted into the Coyotes’ Sports Hall of Fame. Following a stint in the Army, he went to work as an accountant for Yonex. Three years there, he became the general manager of a racquet club in Huntington Beach before switching to the Newport Beach Racquet Club, where he was the social tennis director for three years.

Heffern’s coaching career began at Corona Del Mar High School, where he coached boys’ and girls’ tennis and girls’ basketball teams to state championships. He would also spend nearly three years coaching California high school standout Michael Briggs on the pro tour.

Dave met his future wife, Julie, while she was on vacation in California. But after they were married, she began missing her family back in Indiana. Heffern had been given P.A. Nilhagen’s name and phone number and, after contacting him, was hired to work in junior player development in the Washington Township Schools Tennis program at North Central High School. Since 2002 he’s been a teaching pro at Five Seasons Sports Club.

Over the years Dave has worked with adults in groups and private lessons, but the majority of his time has been spent with juniors.

“My favorite age is middle school,” he says. “They’re still really anxious to learn.”

Heffern adds he is big on teaching personal responsibility and stressing sportsmanship, which he believes is as important as P

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file(pro)winning. “Be polite to others,

especially weaker opponents,” he tells his players, adding, “I will never embarrass you if you don’t embarrass me. If you embarrass your school, I’ll yank you off the court (which he has resorted to just once in his career).”

Heffern says most matches are lost because of unforced errors, so he stresses consistency over power, and like most coaches, has challenge matches between players to establish a “pecking order.”

“I go overboard to make sure everyone gets to play to get a higher spot on the team,” he explains. “I put the kids in competitive situations to see what they’re made of. You have to have the intensity every day. I love the human drama of competition and the looks on the faces of the kids when they win.”

The results speak for themselves. Heffern’s girls’ teams have won six state championships, including four straight from 2005-2008, and his boys have won five. He has coached seven state singles champions, three state doubles champions and has won numerous Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association awards. In 1999, Heffern was named the Indiana and Midwest Coach of the Year by the National Federation of Interscholastic Coaches Association and was inducted into the Indiana High School Tennis Hall of Fame last February.

“Awards are nice; they validate you’re at the top of what you do,” Dave says.

Assistant coach, Brandon Gill, has been very helpful to Heffern, as was John Talbert for the 10 years prior.

“I bounce things off of Brandon,” Dave says. “He can beat everyone on the team, and he’s good at doubles strategy.”

Dave also enjoyed personal success at tennis until being forced to slow down due to knee problems, winning the Midwest Closed Doubles Championship with Jack Hogan in 1995. His senior 4.5 USTA teams won State several times and in 2006 went to Nationals.

Heffern stays active by playing golf, working out, and bike riding, and he also enjoys cooking for his family. Daughter Ayla, a senior at Speedway High School, is showing her own prowess at tennis, playing No. 1 singles for the Sparkplugs.

Dave summed it all up by saying, “Competition is the best in a fair and honest way. We admire athletes so much because of their ability to compete at the highest level. I’m a career coach; I know how to run teams and keep the intensity level up. I can see myself doing this at least another 10 years.”

Dave Heffern celebrates with his girls’ team after winning the 2008 state high school team championship, one of 11 he’s won at Park Tudor with both the girls’ and boys’ teams.

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on co

urtFor pros and students, feedback is a two-way streetBy Tomas Johansson

In addition to providing instruction and en-couragement, one of the most important jobs of a teaching pro is to provide feedback to his or

her student.

Although you might think this would be a given and a natural part of the job description, once in awhile you’ll come across an instructor who struggles to provide the necessary and correct feedback to his/her students.

Let’s take this hypothetical situation as an example: 12-year-old Jessica is learning how to hit a forehand ground stroke which clears the net with good margin, lands deep in the court, and has a slight degree of topspin on it.

Prior to beginning the lesson, her instructor goes over why this is a good idea, as well as demonstrating how to do it, going low-to-high with the racquet to brush up against the ball, and then finishing over the opposite shoulder. When the instructor feels Jessica has grasped the concept of the swing, he feeds a few balls to Jessica, who can’t wait to try out the new stroke. When Jessica masters the correct swing after only a few tries, she’s rewarded with shouts of “Nice shot! Great job!”

on courtTIPS TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR GAME

How to give constructive feedback is a very impor-tant part of developing a player. Too many instructors use what I call “broad feedback.” This includes telling a student that she hit a good shot, that she needs to get more balls in play, or that she has good foot movement.

I believe, as an industry, we can do a better job at providing more narrow or specific feedback. This might include what was good about a specific shot or play, or how to get more balls in play if mistakes are made, or what was good about a certain player’s foot movements. These are the hallmarks of an instructor who is knowledgeable, prepared, and remains focused throughout every moment of the lesson.

Instructors also need to understand that there are different ways to give feedback and figure out which method works best for a particular student. Once that’s determined, the instructor needs to make sure the feedback meets three criteria: positive, immediate, and specific.

It’s imperative that instructors give students feedback that is positive, quick and specific.

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urtTomas Johansson is the director of junior tennis at the Westview Healthplex Sports Club.

The example with Jessica hits two of the three; however, it wasn’t specific. Jessica may know that she did something well, hence the instructor’s excitement, but not much beyond that. Instead, her instructor should say what he thinks was executed correctly, perhaps even quickly demon-strate what was done to reinforce it, and even ask what it felt like.

However, as the headline suggests, the feedback can’t be a one-way conversation. I see too many students who say they understand what they should be doing and how it should be done, but then fail to ask questions when they don’t. For the instructor, such feedback is especially important since this means a stroke or tactic needs to be explained differently, or maybe a little extra time is needed before moving on.

One of the problems may well be how much time is available on court. The student may feel they’re not getting their money’s worth in a half-hour or hour lesson or clinic if he feels the instructor spent too much time on a particular shot or topic. But nothing could be further from the truth! If you come away from a lesson or clinic with questions, or without a clear understanding of what was just being taught, then the student is actually cheating himself.

Sometimes, especially with students who are new to the game, they may not know exactly how to communicate or express their concern. That’s when the patience of the instructor comes into play. With instructors spending so much time on the court, they may begin to take for granted that all students, regardless of their skill level, should understand all the nuances of the game. And when the student fails to ask questions or give feedback, it makes an already bad situation much worse.

That’s why it’s imperative for instructors to engage in a comprehensive instructor-to-student communi-cation, as well as student-to-student communication. And when a student does need help or has questions, the feedback from the instructor needs to be positive, quick, and specific. If you’re the student, don’t hesitate to ask questions. You’ll not only get more out of your lesson, but chances are your game will improve more quickly and you’ll enjoy the game that much more. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

Likewise, the student needs to feel free to ask questions during a lesson or clinic.

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Scott Hudson, MS, ATC, CSCS, is an athletic trainer at the St. Vincent Sports Performance Center specializing in training techniques and rehabilitation services for tennis players. An athletic trainer at selected USTA pro events, he works with ATP Tour pro Rajeev Ram as well as several of the top juniors in the Indianapolis area.

onfitness

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sAs much as practicing serves, groundstrokes or even match play, strength training has become an important component of a tennis player’s approach to the game. While many athletes focus on the front side of the body, i.e., chest and biceps, the back side of the body shouldn’t be ignored. This is especially true for tennis players or any athlete that uses the shoulder for a majority of their athletic movements.

In addition to strengthening the rotator cuff musculature, emphasis should also be placed on the scapular stabilizers. These muscles hold the scapula in place and must be strengthened to aid in injury prevention. The muscles that we will be focusing on are the rhomboids, middle trapezius, and lower trapezius. Although the following exercises are demonstrated using a Swiss ball, they can also be done from a standing position, bent over at the hips with the abdominal muscles contracted to protect the low back. The weights you will use will surprise you. These are smaller muscles, so you may only be able to do 2 lbs to begin with. You can then increase the weight amount as your tolerance improves.

As always, be sure to confer with your doctor, certified athletic trainer or certified personal trainer prior to incorporating these into your exercise routine.

RhomboidsPurpose: Strengthen rhomboid muscles, which retract the shoulder blade (scapula)

How it’s done: Start with weight near the ground and raise your arms to no higher than shoulder level (as seen in picture). Keep your palms facing the ground.

Duration: 3 sets of 10 repetitions

Middle TrapeziusPurpose: Strengthen middle trapezius muscles, which retract the shoulder blade (scapula)

How it’s done: Start with weight near the ground with palms facing forward and thumbs up in the air. Raise your arms to no higher than shoulder level.

Duration: 3 sets of 10 repetitions

Looking to improve your game? Don’t neglect strength training

By Scott Hudson

focus on fitnessOFF-COURT STRATEGIES TO HELP YOUR GAME ON THE COURT

Lower TrapeziusPurpose: Strengthen the lower trapezius muscle, which retract and depress the shoulder blade (scapula)

How it’s done: Start with weight near the ground with palms facing each other and arms at 45 degree angle (as seen in picture). Raise your arms to no higher than shoulder level.

Duration: 3 sets of 10 repetitions

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news & notes

CRAWFORD named tennis coach at USIChris Crawford, a teaching pro at Westview Healthplex Sports Club for the past four years, has been named men’s head tennis coach for the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. Crawford, a 2005 graduate, becomes the fourth head coach in the history of the Screaming Eagles’ program and succeeds Ross Brown.

Crawford also taught at Advantage Court and Fitness in Evansville for two years while completing his under-graduate degree. He was named all-conference in 2002 and still holds the USI single-season record for most com-bined wins in a season (28 singles/24 doubles in 2001).

A native of Jeffersonville, Crawford was also a member of the USI squads that won four straight conference cham-pionships (1999-2002) and made three NCAA Division II Tournament appearances (2000-02).

NJTL to host fundraiserThe National Junior Tennis League of Indianapolis will host its largest fundraising event at the Ritz Charles in Carmel on Sunday, November 15.

Prior to and during the event, NJTL will sell raffle tickets for a chance to win one of five prizes, including a golf and condominium package at Eagle Point Golf Resort in Bloomington, IN. NJTL will also host a live and silent auction, highlighting donations from local and national companies, restaurants, boutiques and tennis establishments.

Doors will open at 11:30 a.m., and lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m. Costs per person are $75 for a patron supporter, $50 for an adult and $25 for children (ages 3 to 12). Corporate tables of eight are available for $800.

A short program will celebrate NJTL’s 40th birthday and receipt of the 2008 award for USTA/NJTL Chapter of the Year. Barbara Wynne will serve as honorary chairperson of this celebration event.

Corporate sponsorship opportunities are available. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship of this event, please contact executive director Nancy Carr at (317) 575-8803.

All proceeds benefit the NJTL of Indianapolis. NJTL follows national founder Arthur Ashe’s idea of “using tennis as a way to gain and hold the attention of young people in the inner cities and other poor environments so that we can teach them about matters more important than tennis.”

NJTL assists youth build a foundation for a successful adulthood by fostering a love for physical activity, nurturing healthy choices, presenting educational enrichment in a fun and creative manner, and teaching positive life and leadership skills.

Wheelchair team continues to improve

The Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana (RHI) wheel-chair tennis team continues to improve as it competes

in tournaments throughout the Midwest. Coached by Julie Fritz, with assistance from Suzie Booker and Butler Univer-sity coach Jason Suscha, the team had planned to compete earlier this month in the USTA Midwest Wheelchair Team Cup at the Rush-Copley Healthplex in Aurora, Ill.

The team competed in its first tournament in July at the McCann Memorial Wheelchair Open in Muncie, Ind., with Emily Shryock taking first place in the Women’s A Divi-sion. Emily won her final match in a round-robin, 5-4, 4-2. Match scoring was best two of three sets, with tiebreakers played at 4-all. Emily was also a finalist.

Two weeks later, at the Midwest Wheelchair Champion-ships in Grand Rapids, MI., Shryock won the doubles with Suzanne Egeler and was a singles semi-finalist. As a result, Shryock has seen her USTA national ranking in Women’s Wheelchair A singles rise to No. 5.

Other members of the RHI team include Julie Leimgr-uber, Tony Rivera, Jessica Greenfield, and Kevin Hughes. RHI Sports also offers a developmental tennis program for youth. For more information on wheelchair tennis, please contact Julie Fritz at jlfritz58@sbcglobal.net.

Emily Shryock was ranked fifth

in the Women’s Wheelchair A

division in the USTA national

ratings released in mid-August.

(Photo by Julie Fritz)

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For Ginepri, it’s déjà vu (all over again)Former winner takes a familiar route to second championship

ROBBY GINEPRI came into the In-dianapolis Tennis Championships presented by Lilly ranked 111th in the world, unseeded, and looking for something – anything – to finally jump-start his 2009 season.

Rewind to four years ago when Ginepri began play in the (then) RCA Championships ranked above 100 in the world, unseeded, and looking for something – anything – to finally jump start his 2005 season.

Familiar circumstances begat sim-ilar results, as Ginepri won only his third career ATP Tour title with a 6-2, 6-4 win over fellow American Sam Querrey. Indy has been the scene of two-thirds of Ginepri’s singles cham-pionships. And, ironically, this was the first final for Ginepri since his 2005 win.

The final was setting up as any-thing but easy against the hard-serv-ing Querrey, but Ginepri benefitted by playing a similarly-styled player in the semifinal.

“It helped playing John (Isner) yes-terday (in the semis), with one of the

biggest serves on tour,” Ginepri said. “Sam has an extremely big serve, but I kind of got on it early again. I knew if I wasn’t running Sam around the court he’d take control of the point and I’d be running side to side. So I really had to step up on my shots, meet the ball pretty early, and try to dictate him from the get-go.”

Ginepri got some much-appreci-ated help in the first set from Quer-rey, who double-faulted at love-40 to give Ginepri a 2-1 lead and then later lost a 40-love lead to give Ginepri a second break. With the set on his rac-quet, Ginepri served it out.

Both players held serve through the first eight games of the second set before a Querrey double fault (after leading 40-love) gave Ginepri a break and a 5-4 lead. Match point came on an overrule by the chair umpire on a Querrey shot that was originally called good.

“For me, when I serve well I feel like I play extremely well,” the champ said. “When I get two or three free points on my service game it makes it easier for me to run around the court and have long points and do the long rallies. I haven’t been serving too well this year, but I’ve been trying to get my miles per hour up a little bit and it showed throughout the whole week.”

Ginepri pocketed $80,000 for the win, with Querrey taking away $42,000.

By SCOTT COOPER

ROBBY LOVES INDYRobby Ginepri (opposite page) has now won three career ATP titles, with two of those coming in the Indianapolis tournament. For Sam Querrey (far right), it was his second consecutive loss in a final.

The loss was the second in two consecutive tournament finals for Querrey, who fell to Rajeev Ram in three sets just a little over a week ear-lier in the final match of the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, RI.

“I wasn’t serving that well today,” Querrey said afterward. “(Ginepri) has such a tough return of serve, so I figured I’d try to hit an ace on some of my serves, and it didn’t re-ally work. The rhythm wasn’t there, but part of that is because he’s such a good returner.

“(Ginepri) played well and had very few unforced errors,” Querrey added. “It wasn’t my best day, but I credit him for making me play a lot of balls.”

However, Querrey was able to bounce back the next week in Los An-geles where he won his second career singles title (the first being in Las Ve-gas in 2008), and solid performances in the remainder of the summer hard-court season (including the finals at New Haven) enabled him to lead the Olympus U.S. Open Series points heading into the Open.

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QUERREYGETS REVENGE ON RAM

In making his run to the final, Querrey was able to exact a measure of revenge on Carmel’s Ram with a 7-5, 6-3 win in the tournament’s second round. Ram had notched his career-first ATP Tour title at Querrey’s ex-pense at the tour’s previous stop in Newport.

But the rematch didn’t quite live up to expectations as Ram was again hampered by a left calf muscle strain late in the first set while serving at 5-6. It was an injury that originally flared up prior to the French Open and then again in Newport.

Taking advantage, Querrey ran out to an early 3-0 lead in the second set before a brief rain shower shut down play for almost two hours. Ram came out of the delay and held his serve the last three times, but it was evident the movement wasn’t there.

“Up until that (the injury) it was a pretty darned good match,” Ram said. “I looked up after the first set and we were 33-points all. I don’t know if it would have changed the outcome of the match at all, but I sure would have liked to have played it healthy and given myself the best shot, but it’s just one of those things. It was

tough to move to my right, because I had to push off on my left leg, and it was tough to move forward and land after my serve.”

DITTO FORDANCEVIC VS. TURSUNOV

Canadian Frank Dancevic finally erased his personal bagel against Dmitry Tursunov with a quarterfinal win over the former Indy champ. In a rematch of the 2007 final, won by Tursunov, Dancevic came up with a 3-6, 7-6, 6-2 win.

Tursunov, who inherited the No. 1 seed when Andy Roddick withdrew due to the lingering effects of a hip flexor injury suffered during his Wim-bledon final loss to Roger Federer, didn’t leave Indianapolis empty-hand-ed. He paired with Ernests Gulbis to win the doubles championship with a 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 win over top-seeded Ashley Fisher and Jordan Kerr.

NO RODDICK? ONE SESSION?NO PROBLEM!

Tournament officials surely feared the worst when Roddick pulled out on the eve of the tournament, but at-tendance was only slightly below last year’s numbers. Even with the new

one-session schedule format, atten-dance was announced as being down only 3-4% from 2008. Still, the tour-nament received positive post-event feedback from the ATP Tour, which was impressed with how the tourna-ment utilized several of the players in off-court activities and how it adapted to the single-session schedule.

One possible change already being mentioned for 2010 is an upgrade to the lighting on Court 3, which would allow that court to continue to be in play after dusk.

CARMEL’S RAJEEV RAM had a whirlwind week just prior to the Indianapolis Tennis Championships as he captured his first career ATP Tour singles title at the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, Rhode Island, in a tournament week that, due to lengthy weather delays, was any-thing but typical.

The 6-7, 7-5, 6-3 win over Sam Querrey may likely have been the easiest part since he first needed a “lucky loser” entry, as the highest-ranked loser in the finals of qualifying, to get into the main draw. That came courtesy of Mardy Fish, who withdrew to play Davis Cup.

“I felt I began to relax in the third set,” he said. “I thought I was a little up-tight in the beginning, with the situation and I think he might have been, too. I think we were kind of feeling each other out, and I felt like I really settled down in the third set.”

Ram admitted he was more concerned with getting his serve in on match point at 40-15, rather than the possibility of taking his first singles title.

“At that point you’re running on emo-tions and not really thinking about what the score is,” he said. Querrey netted the return, and Ram was soon hoisting the hardware. “I couldn’t believe it was over,” he added. “You try to maintain the course for so long in a match like that, and you’re almost in shutdown mode mentally.”

Rain delayed play during the week, with the bulk of main draw play not start-ing until Thursday.

“We basically played the tournament from Thursday to Sunday, as opposed to Monday to Sunday, so it definitely made it harder having to play so many matches,” Ram explained.

Rajeev, who had his first win on the tour back in January with a doubles vic-tory in Chennai, India, said the Newport win had a different feel to it.

“It was different because singles is what I want to gear my career toward,” he said. “But a title is a title, and I’ll take as many as I can get, that’s for sure.”

Following his media obligations, Ram was back on the court for the doubles fi-nal, which he won with Jordan Kerr in a super tiebreak.

“I didn’t want to sit down and think about it,” he said. “The doubles title was just as important to me, and I wanted to go out there and give it my best shot. I didn’t want to have a letdown of any sort, I just wanted to get back out and get on with it.”

From ‘loser’to winnerRajeev Ram gets first tour singles title at Newport

Rajeev Ram with the spoils of victory follow-ing his win over Sam Querrey at the Hall of Fame Champion-

ships in Newport, Rhode Island.

(Photo courtesy of The Newport (R.I.) Daily News)

MATCH RESULTSSingles quarterfinals: Dancevic def. Tursunov, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2 Querrey def. Gicquet, 6-4, 7-5 Isner def. Odesnik, 7-5, 6-7, 7-5 Ginepri def. Bogomolov, 7-5, 6-1Semifinals: Querrey def. Dancevic, 6-4, 6-4 Ginepri def. Isner, 6-4, 6-3

FINAL: Ginepri def. Querrey, 6-2, 6-4

DOUBLES FINAL: Gulbis/Tursunov def. Fisher/Kerr, 6-4, 3-6, 11-9

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Lead NJTL instructor honored with county service education award

Jankovic, Federer take the titles in Cincy

IN A CEREMONY HELD IN SEPTEMBER at the Indianapolis Art Center, the Marion County Commission on Youth (MCCOY) and the partners of the Summer Youth Program Fund honored 22 local young people with Excellence in Summer Service Education Awards.

Among the honorees was Kailee Grabbe, lead instructor for the Indianapolis chapter of the National Junior Tennis League (NJTL). Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard spoke at the ceremony, which honored the work, commitment, and service young people provide the community as full-time staff or volunteers in Marion County summer youth programs.

“Beyond providing a positive atmosphere and encouraging growth and maturity, these activities can also help prevent crime among our young people by engaging them in meaningful programs that can lead to a brighter future,” said Mayor Ballard.

Besides teaching lessons to children, the award winners learned quite a few lessons as well, according to John Brandon, MCCOY President. “Many of them learned how to be flexible, creative, and responsive to the many needs that children in their programs presented. They also learned that youth

work is hard work but work that is worthwhile and valuable to our community.”

Through her work with the NJTL, Grabbe, a senior at Purdue University, said, “I learned that a lot of kids really do have it bad at home, and it showed me how important my job is and how much they need someone to work with them. There are also many kids who can lift your spirit and really affect you in ways you never expected or thought possible. Working with kids is an amazing experience.”

Kirsten Smith, Program Director at NJTL, said Grabbe also taught her campers other important life and healthy living skills, “She taught with clear and high expectations, consistency and humility to ensure that each student had a pleasant experience while under her watch.”

Although focused on tennis instruction, the NJTL encouraged students to participate in the National Arthur Ashe Essay and Art Contest. The contest had the kids describe what this quote from Ashe meant to them: “From what we get, we make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.”

While NJTL’s goal was to have at least 33% of students from each site submit an essay or artwork, 41% of Grabbe’s sites

submitted work. “Through this contest, Kailee had a direct impact on her kids’ view of the importance of giving back to others and their community,” said Smith.

Fifty-five young workers from 25 different summer programs submitted applications for the Excellence in Summer Service Education Award. The 22 winners received a certificate of recognition and $1000 to be used for education-related expenses such as buying books or equipment, paying tuition, or making a deposit in an educational savings account.

MCCOY (Marion County Commission on Youth) is the youth services intermediary for central Indiana whose mission is to champion the positive development of youth through leadership on key issues and support of the youth worker community. MCCOY’s vision is that every young person in central Indiana has opportunities to thrive, learn, engage and contribute.

The Summer Youth Program Fund is a partnership of 11 area grant-making bodies. It seasonally funds local nonprofits that provide much-needed safe, engaging summer fun to thousands of Marion County youth - like recreation, camping, arts, academics, college and job readiness, and cultural enrichment.

Photo by Scott Cooper

Jelena Jankovic (left) and Roger Federer were the winners of their respective Western & Southern Financial tournaments in Cincinnati, with Jankovic winning the Women’s Open and Federer the ATP Men’s Masters 1000 event.

For the first time, the Cincinnati women’s Sony Ericsson WTA event was elevated to a “premier” level, meaning all of the top-ranked players were required to enter. Both events were part of the Olympus U.S. Open Series. During the tournament the USTA, which is now a majority owner of the tournaments, and tournament organizers announced a $10 million upgrade project that will increase seating capacity and add new press amenities and locker rooms in advance of the women’s and men’s tournaments playing during the same week in 2011. The project is scheduled to be completed in time

for the 2010 events.

Photo by Bill McAdow

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Few know the former Pacer also excelled on another courtAt first glance he looks like most other

4.5 level players on the court – steady, reliable ground strokes, good touch and movement around the net, and good pace on his shots. But then you notice his height, as well as the NBA-logo’d socks.

Many longtime Pacer fans can probably close their eyes and still hear Reb Porter extolling the play of Billy Knight over the public address system at the State Fairgrounds Coliseum and Market Square Arena.

And while Knight is certainly a household name in the professional basketball community, it may surprise many local tennis players to know that the former Pacer star honed a pretty mean tennis game during his stay in Indy.

Thirty years after first picking up a racket, Knight had just returned from a Labor Day tennis vacation in Florida where he was nourishing his passion for the game. The latest objective: adjusting his game to his latest ‘toys’, Prince Speedport Black racquets.

“It’s a mid-sized plus,” said Knight. “I’m happy with it. Now I’m looking forward to another trip to play some more tennis.”

Drafted first in 1974 by the Pacers, Knight bridged the ABA-NBA gap with the franchise and spent more than 11 years playing professional basketball. His tennis career was born as an extension of his basketball career.

“I wanted to do something other than play basketball to stay in shape during the off season,” he said. “I watched it on TV, so I knew you could get a workout playing tennis.

“I didn’t start playing tennis until I was 25 or 26 years old,” Knight added. “When I was growing up, tennis wasn’t very popular in Pittsburgh. Tennis courts weren’t available to us, and they might’ve even talked bad about me in my neighborhood (if I played). Now it’s probably different.”

By Derek Doehrmann

The basketball court is where most people remember former Indiana Pacer and NBA All-Star Billy Knight. Here he drives for a basket against St. Louis during an ABA game in the mid-1970s. (Indiana Pacers photo)

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After retiring as a player, Knight wasn’t unemployed long as the Pacers offered him a front office position. His early days were spent working in commu-nity relations, but he would eventually hold a variety of responsibilities for the Pacers, including working as the vice-president of basketball operations, before leaving to run the Atlanta Hawks basketball franchise. Carving out time to play tennis varied much like his du-ties for the Pacers.

“When I was an assistant coach, I didn’t have much time,” recalled Knight. “It was different when I was a scout and even when I was vice president of basketball operations. When you’ve been an athlete, you love to compete.

“With tennis, I enjoy meeting new people, and learning more about different aspects of life,” added Knight. “It got to the point where I played all the time. I met people in Indianapolis and we would travel to tennis resorts. I got really serious. I’m sure it didn’t hurt that I was in fairly decent shape.”

When Knight first sought help with his game, he found lots of familiar tennis faces.

“Prem Gupta at IRC gave me the most lessons and was the one who got me started,” recalled Knight. “And I traveled and played a lot of tennis with Rick Scotten from the Broadmoor Club.”

Knight’s love of the game grew rapidly, and soon he found himself competing for local, section, and national championships in USTA League Tennis.

“We won the national title at 4.5, and then they kicked us out of 4.5 and we had to go 5.0,” said Knight. “We lost in the 5.0s, and we always said we lost because they moved it to the clay courts. We went to Arizona and won the 4.5’s on the hard courts but we lost the 5.0’s on clay in Florida.

“I’m a serve and volley player and so were some of the other players on the team so our game didn’t translate as well on clay.”

Despite being away from the Indianapolis community for more than 10

years, Knight still keeps in touch with his tennis pals and can always count on longtime friend Joe Alstott to arrange court time and hitting partners at IRC when he comes back to town.

“I played the National grass courts,” said Knight. “I had a ranking in Indiana; I had rankings in the Westerns, and at one time I even had a national ranking in the men’s 35s. I just loved the game; loved to play.”

So what does the future hold for Knight? A year removed from his successful stint rejuvenating the Atlanta franchise, his next stop remains unclear. What is very clear is that Knight is eager to keep tinkering with his tennis game and his new Prince racquets.

“I’m probably a 4.5 player right now,” he said. “I’m getting a little older, but I still enjoy playing the game.”

IRC’s Joe Alstott has been a longtime friend of Knight and makes sure to arrange for court time whenever he gets back to Indianapolis. (Photos by Shawn Barney)

There was also a second court where Knight excelled. In addition to playing USTA League Tennis, he was also a frequent competitor in the Indianapolis Open. (Indianapolis Star photo)

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Colin Atkinson gets behind-the-scenes glimpse of the All England Club

Rajeev and I began our friendship many years ago. Like Raj, I’m a

Carmel High School grad who played Division I college tennis and who focuses on giving back to the sport of tennis at every opportunity. But, unlike him, I never won an NCAA doubles title and team title as a fresh-man, let alone an ATP title in singles and doubles at the same tourna-ment. And no one would ever mistake me for a top 110 player in the world (or even the top 10,000 for that matter).

Although I kept up with Rajeev’s accomplishments over the years, it wasn’t until we saw each other at Rick Van Horn’s Celebration of Life in 2007 that we began corresponding on a regular basis. He wanted to be-gin giving back to tennis and needed someone on the ground to help him achieve that goal. That next spring, in conjunction with the HCCTA, we

By Colin Atkinson

The immaculate grass courts at the All England Club were full with matches during the early days of Wimbledon.

Editor’s note: Colin Atkinson, a member of the Hamilton County Community Tennis Association (HCCTA) board and friend of Carmel touring pro Rajeev Ram, had a unique chance to travel to Wimbledon last June as a guest of Ram. He not only got access to normally off-limits areas of the famous venue, but also had a chance to hang out with Rajeev and see his preparation for the only Grand Slam played on grass. Indianapolis Tennis Magazine asked Colin to share some of his experiences during his week at the All England Club.

were able to raise over $2,000 at the inaugural Ashley Crouse Memorial Tennis Event in 2008 at the Witsken Tennis Center at Carmel High School. Afterward, Raj invited me to watch him in his first round of the Indianap-olis Tennis Championships.

Two weeks later, at the Cincinnati Masters, I truly got to experience the luxuries of being friends with a pro-fessional tennis player. From eat-ing a bagel next to Rafael Nadal in the morning, to talking baseball with Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish in the afternoon, and then sitting next to the Bryan brothers at the Dave Mat-thews Band concert that night, I was completely blown away by the whole experience.

Raj and I actually joked last winter about me becoming his “super fan” and traveling to the Australian Open or Wimbledon. But then I asked myself the simple question, “Why wouldn’t I do it?” Australia wouldn’t work because flights were too expen-sive, but Wimbledon was feasible. We began working out the logistics

The ‘Wimby’ way

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and decided I would fly in on the Sunday before the start of the main draw and stay with Raj at a bed and breakfast in Wimbledon Village.

DELAYS, THE TUBE & THE GOLDEN TICKET

After three delayed flights, one missed connection, one lost bag, and less than 30 minutes of sleep, I finally landed at London’s Heathrow Airport at 8 a.m. Monday morning. The 45-minute wait to clear customs wasn’t so bad since I got to tell the agent the purpose of my visit was “to watch my friend play in Wimbledon!”

I had heard the “Tube” (subway) was really easy to get around in (which proved to be right) and after 12 hours of travel the equivalent of a $5 ticket to Wimble-don station was the only thing standing between me and “Wimby”, as many of the American play-ers like to call it. After arriving in Wimbledon Village, Raj greeted me and said that “transporta-tion” was going to pick us up in thirty minutes and take us to the courts. A driver knocked on the door shortly thereafter and we were off.

I was so completely caught up in the whirl-wind that I didn’t really mind that we were driv-ing the “wrong” way down a two-lane street lined with parked cars. And when I say “two-lane street,” that’s literally what it was – maybe as wide as a car plus two feet.

At the players’ entrance I was shown where to get my guest credential, and after waiting in line with the likes of former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek and

many other non-English speak-ing players, it was time to check out the grounds. I saw that James Blake was having trouble with Andreas Seppi and Ma-ria Sharapova was on Court 1, while Roger Federer was gearing up to play his opening match on Centre Court.

The “player’s guest” creden-tial is really a hot commodity. Since players are limited to credentials for two guests and a

coach, many solicit others for extras. I was lucky enough to get my credential for the first three days of the tour-nament, which gets you just about anywhere except the locker room, Centre Court, Court 1, and Court 2. Securi-ty is extremely tight, which was frustrating because there was no way for me to get into those courts unless I had a ticket. Even the players have trouble getting tickets to the show courts and often watched on televisions inside the lounge.

I walked around for a couple of hours, watched Fish, and even found fellow Clemson alum, Julie Coin, play-ing. I then watched Federer cruise through his match on the big screen at “Henman Hill”, which was an awesome experience. Raj was about to go practice when I headed into the player’s lounge to get some dinner.

The player’s lounge isn’t just for current players, as you’ll find many former players and even celebri-ties there. I walked by Boris Becker several times, got my picture taken with Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks, and ate dinner at a table next to Tommy Haas.

Unfortunately, this was as close as Colin Atkinson would get to Wimbledon’s famed Centre Court, since his ‘player’s guest’ credential permitted access only to the outer courts.

‘Hey, this really is grass!’ Although he missed his opportunity to hit with

Rajeev Ram on one of the practice courts, Colin Atkinson did

manage to touch the famous turf on one of

the courts during a rain delay.

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Walking around the lounge, it was evident that while many of the players are cordial to each other, they mostly keep to their group of coaches, hitting part-ners, or significant others.

I finished dinner and tracked down Rajeev as he got back from the practice courts. Even though there were still several matches to be played, he was ready to head back and “shut it down” to get ready for his first-round singles match the next day. On the way back we crested a hill and could see downtown London in the distance. What a perfect ending to my first day at Wimbledon.

‘TOUGH LUCK’, A FIRST-ROUND EXIT & A PIZZA BENDER

After such a long day, 14 hours went by before I heard Rajeev ask-ing if I wanted to ride with him to the courts. Half asleep, I told him that I would meet up with him later since it was only a 10-minute walk to the courts and I wasn’t quite mo-tivated enough to get moving. Jet lag is a crazy thing and not something I had mastered. My mind was telling me it was 4 a.m. but yet it was sunny outside. After breakfast I decided I’d wear tennis clothes because I wanted to blend in as much as possible as I walked around the player’s lounge.

Map in hand, I headed toward the courts. Now, my mother always told me to look both ways before crossing the street, and I am glad she did because crossing the street in London isn’t exactly simple. It’s so complex that there are actually painted signs on the ground telling you to look right instead of left, as is the habit for Americans.

For Rajeev’s match I sat behind his new coach, Stephen Armitraj, and doubles legend Mahesh Bhupathi. Armitraj, who’s called “Stevie” on a regular basis, is a Duke grad and an incredible tennis player himself. What’s funny is that Stevie is a very animated and outgoing individual who has trouble sitting still when he is nervous. There were several times when Mahesh had to tell him to stop being so antsy because he was mak-ing him nervous as well! Regardless, Stevie’s personality is a great mesh with Rajeev, and I believe some of his

success this summer can be attributed to Stevie’s coaching.

Raj played Phil-lip Petzschner of Germany, a solid grass court player. But what makes him unique is he gives you no rhythm and, to top it off, it looks like he isn’t even try-ing. Raj capitalized on a string of double faults by Petzschner to win the first set, 6-2, but Petzschner replied with a bar-rage of aces to win the second, 6-1.

On the changeover Raj gave Stevie an “are you kidding me” look, but Stevie came back with a brilliant comment - “Don’t worry; Federer would have lost that set.”

Petzschner won the third set, 7-6, even though Raj’s hit looked like a clean volley winner at 4-4 in the breaker (I was clapping and hollering so loudly that I didn’t hear the lineswoman call the ball out). The crowd certainly didn’t agree, and even Petzschner’s expression seemed to indicate the ball was in. Petzschner went on to win the fourth set and the match as Raj got broken early and was forced to play catch up the rest of the way.

Although the only way to explain the loss was “tough luck”, it was evi-dent in my mind that Raj played at a level that proved he belonged there. There didn’t seem to be any intimi-dation or nervousness, which you would think would accompany some-one’s first main-draw singles match at arguably the biggest tournament of the year.

So what does a guy like Rajeev do after losing a match in a city halfway around the world? Well, he calls up his other buddy who lost that day, Bobby Reynolds, and then feasts on his favorite post-match cuisine

Colin Atkinson with Carmel’s Rajeev Ram

at the All England Club. Colin was Raj’s guest for the first week of

the tournament.

– PIZZA. The conversation was ani-mated at the table as Bobby, Raj, me, and others chowed down at least six or seven large pizzas. Ironically enough, the one thing we didn’t talk about was tennis.

ANOTHER LOSS, BUT WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!

Like the day before, Raj was up early and off to practice. After con-vincing myself to get up (again), it was a quick breakfast and then to the courts. I watched Bhupathi and Mark Knowles play Kevin Anderson (Raj’s college teammate) and Somdev Dev-varman, who was a two-time NCAA singles champion, before heading over to watch Rajeev and first-time partner, Lovro Zovko, in their first-round match.

Even though they lost, I watched the match with my buddy Chris Var-ga, who is a former Ball State stand-out, and his boss, Boyd Tinsley. Tin-sley, who is the violinist for the Dave Matthews Band and a huge tennis fan, was in London for the band’s summer tour (which I got to enjoy later in the week). I have to admit it was tough to watch Raj’s match sit-ting next to a member of my favorite

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Acting on a recommendation from the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association (IHSTeCA),

the Indiana High School Athletic Association announced in August changes to the format for the state tennis tournament that will result in eight teams playing in the final rounds.

The changes mean that two teams from each of the four semi-states, the winners of the single morning session, will now vie the following weekend at the Barbara S. Wynne Tennis Center on the campus of North Central High School for the chance to hoist the championship trophy.

Tim Cleland, IHSTeCA president, noted that more teams will now have a chance to win the state championship with the “8 at State” format, and increases the chances that two Indianapolis schools will be in the finals.

Although Indianapolis-area schools have won the majority of state championships (for both boys and girls), many of the top-ranked teams end up knocking each other out either in the regional or semi-state. For example, both Brebeuf (top-ranked earlier in the season) and Park Tudor (which knocked off the Braves on Sept. 8) are in the same Pike sectional. Similarly, only Carmel or Hamilton Southeastern (both in the top three) will

come out of the Carmel sectional.In fact, in polls conducted by the IHSTeCA earlier in

the season, Indianapolis-area schools held the top eight spots and 11 of the top 20.

Once the eight schools have been determined they will not be re-seeded by ranking for the finals. Rather, a random drawing will be held to determine pairings. Quarterfinal matches will be played on Friday, Oct. 16, and state semi-finals will be played Saturday morning, Oct. 17. The winners of those two matches will play later that afternoon in the final. The consolation match to determine the third and fourth place winners has been eliminated.

“The most important point is that we will now have eight teams at state, which puts tennis closer to the other sports,” said Cleland, who noted that there are 10 teams in the golf state finals, 24 for cross country, eight for volleyball, baseball, basketball, and softball, and 10 for football. However, unlike many of those sports, tennis is still contested as a single-class sport.

Another change is that the IHSAA will charge admission for the state finals, although that price had not been determined prior to our print deadline. There will be no changes made to the format for the sectional and regional rounds.

IHSAA adds four schools to team state finals

All photos courtesy of Colin Atkinson

band of all time. I tried to play it cool but I couldn’t help but strike up a conversation.

After having a beer with Lovro, Raj, and I were eating dinner in the players’ lounge when he asked if I wanted to sneak out onto the practice courts. Are you kidding me? I was so stoked to have a chance to actu-ally play at the All England Club. If I had a bucket list, this was going to be one of those items I’d get to check off. I changed and hurried over to meet Raj.

But when I got there, I noticed he didn’t have his rackets with him so I knew something was up. To my dis-appointment, the practice courts were closed because the final matches for the day were starting. I was so close. Talk about a roller coaster of emo-tions. I would compare it to winning the lottery only to find out that your ticket was for the day before.

However, the disappointment was tempered by the realization that I had just spent three days at the most amazing tennis venue of all time, rub-

Rajeev Ram, resplendent in his traditional tennis

whites, played in both thegentlemen’s singles and

doubles draws. Here, he and partner Lovro Zovko

talk between points.

bing shoulders with every-one I watch on TV. Not to mention being spoiled by not having to wait in line for tickets, spending mini-mal amounts of money, and living the life of a pro-fessional tennis player at Wimbledon.

Most of all, I spent three days watching a friend of mine chase down a dream that started 21 years ago, the same one I shared with him at one point in time in my career. Thanks, Raj, for a once in a lifetime experience!

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Historic Florida club offers Spanish-style training

destinationPLACES TO GO – PLACES TO PLAY

Florida has long been a popular destination for tennis, not only for the recreational player,

but also for the development of future professionals. And in Southwest Florida, the Naples Tennis Club & Resort has been one of the cornerstones for feeding the growth and development of tennis in southwest Florida.

Formerly known as the Naples Bath & Tennis Club, the club occupies 20 acres within a 160-acre private gated community less than three miles from the Gulf

Although the resort is primarily geared toward full-time residents, several condominiums are available for rent on the property.

Academia Sánchez-Casal brings successful program to Naples Tennis Club & Resort

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Within the 33,000 square foot clubhouse at the Naples Tennis Club & Resort is a

state-of-the-art fitness center, where visitors can receive supervised training.

The Naples Tennis Club & Resort, which boasts

38 courts, is home to the Academia Sánchez -Casal

tennis academy.

of Mexico beaches. The club features 37 clay courts (10 of which are lighted) and one hard court, along with a state-of-the-art fitness center, physical conditioning and psychological preparation, complete boarding facilities, and personalized high school and language curriculum.

Since 2007, the club has been the home of the Academia Sánchez-Casal, which has begun offering similar world-renowned teaching programs as its original academy in Barcelona, Spain, which has been used by such top pros as Andy Murray, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Daniela Hantuchova.

Established more than 10 years ago in Barcelona by former Spanish Davis Cup captain Emilio Sánchez, whose team won the title in 2008, and Sergio Casal, the academy is one of Europe’s elite. The original training center has enjoyed great success with its player development program, working closely with Spain’s Registro Profesional de Tenis for the accreditation of its coaches while instituting a similar accreditation program to certify its Florida staff through the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA).

Sánchez, the brother of former WTA pro and world No. 1 Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, has won 15 professional singles titles himself (including the Italian Open) and his 50 doubles championships include the French Open men’s (twice, with Andres Gomez and Casal) and mixed (Pam Shriver), as well as the U.S. Open men’s (Casal) and mixed (Martina Navratilova).

The menu of programs at the Naples facility mirrors those offered in Barcelona, with programs suited to every requirement, skill level or duration of stay. The adult programs are structured around a relaxed atmosphere while offering the chance to learn using the same fundamentals as many of today’s top pros.

While the resort is primarily a residential community, there are several condominiums for rent, ranging from one-three bedrooms, all within walking distance of the tennis facility and the 33,000 square foot clubhouse, heated pool and whirlpool. All of the rates include full clubhouse privileges with tennis court access on a reserved basis.

The resort also has two restaurants on the property. The Royal Palm Room hosts formal dining every Friday, while the Banyan Grill offers morning and mid-day casual indoor and outdoor dining.

For more information, visit the resort’s website at www.naplesbathandtennis.com or call (800) 225-9692.

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