TournamenT noTes as of april 25, 2014 SORENSENREALESTATE.COM TENNIS CLASSIC VERO BEACH, FL • APRIL 26-MAY 4 USTA PRO CIRCUIT RETURNS TO VERO BEACH TournamenT InFormaTIon The SorensenRealEstate.com Tennis Classic returns to Vero Beach for the 20th Site: The Boulevard Village & Tennis Club consecutive year; the city also hosted USTA Vero Beach, Fla. Pro Circuit tournaments from 1979 to Cynthia Lum 1981 and in 1983. It is the first of three Websites: www.verobeachtennisnews.com consecutive clay-court USTA Pro Circuit procircuit.usta.com Futures. In all, there are 15 events held in Qualifying Draw Begins: Friday, April 25 Florida in 2014. In conjunction with USTA Player Development, the USTA Pro Circuit Main Draw Begins: Tuesday, April 29 continues to emphasize the importance of increased training for younger players on Main Draw: 32 Singles / 16 Doubles clay. Surface: Clay / Outdoor Notable players competing in the main draw Prize Money: $10,000 include: Tournament Director: Mike Rahaley, (231) 838-4998 Sixteen-year-old Francis Tiafoe, one of [email protected] the world’s most promising players his age, who ranks a career-high No. 2 in Tournament Press Contact: the ITF World Junior Rankings and is the Marie O’ Brien, (772) 532-1968 top-ranked American boy. Tiafoe won the Sixteen-year-old Francis Tiafoe ranks a career- [email protected] prestigious Orange Bowl International high No. 2 in the ITF World Junior Rankings Tennis Championships junior tournament in and is the top-ranked American boy. Tiafoe won USTA Communications Contacts: December 2013 in Plantation, Fla., becoming the prestigious Easter Bowl junior tournament Amanda Korba, (914) 697-2219, [email protected] the youngest-ever boys’ champion in the 67 this year. PrIze money / PoInTs years of the event. He also won the Easter Bowl junior tournament this year and reached 14-and-under tournaments (Les Petits As in SINGLES: Prize Money Ranking Points the final of the USTA International Spring Tarbes, France, and Teen Tennis in Bolton, Winner $1,440 17 Championships, in addition to reaching the England) and helped lead the United States Runner-up $848 9 singles quarterfinals of two USTA Pro Circuit to a gold medal in World Junior Tennis – the Semifinalist $502 5 events. In 2012, Tiafoe won two significant Quarterfinalist $292 2 premier 14-and-under team competition. Round of 16 $172 1 Tiafoe is a product of the Junior Tennis Round of 32 $104 - Champions Center in College Park, Md., a USTA USTA Certified Regional Training Center, DOUBLES: Prize Money (per team) where his father, an immigrant from Sierra Winner $620 Leone in Africa, worked as a custodian. Runner-up $360 Semifinalist $216 Jeff Dadamo, who earned a wild card into the Quarterfinalist $128 2013 US Open Qualifying Tournament by Round of 16 $0 winning the US Open National Playoffs men’s title (out of 649 men who competed). Dadamo has won two USTA Pro Circuit doubles titles and one singles title during his career. He graduated from Texas A&M in 2011, where he won the NCAA men’s doubles title with Austin Krajicek. Five-time University of Florida All-American Greg Ouellette, who won the bronze medal in Jeff Dadamo earned a wild card into the 2013 US Open Qualifying Tournament by winning the US Open National Playoffs men’s title. *Player field subject to change TournamenT noTes doubles at the 2011 Pan Am Games with Nicholas Monroe. Ouellette 1999 singles champion Michael Russell is the men’s all-time leader holds two USTA Pro Circuit singles titles and four doubles titles, with in USTA Pro Circuit singles titles with 24, winning his last title at the his last titles coming in 2012. end of 2013 at the $75,000 Challenger in Charlottesville, Va. With his victory in Charlottesville, Russell became the oldest USTA Pro Devin McCarthy, who played for Ohio State and received All-Big Ten Circuit singles champion at the age of 35 years, 6 months and 2 days. honors. McCarthy was also a four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete Russell upset then-No. 9 Mardy Fish en route to the semifinals of the recipient and won the 2008 Division II state high school singles title ATP World Tour event in Houston in April 2012 and, in summer 2013, in Ohio. McCarthy won his first career USTA Pro Circuit title this year he reached the semifinals of the ATP grass-court event in Newport, by capturing the doubles crown at the $15,000 Futures in Harlingen, R.I.—his career-best ATP results. He also reached the semifinals of Texas, with Evan King. the ATP event in Memphis in 2014 as a qualifier and has consistently competed in all four Grand Slam events. In 2001, Russell achieved his Deiton Baughman, who won his first career USTA Pro Circuit title this best Grand Slam tournament result by reaching the fourth round of the year by capturing the doubles crown at the $10,000 Futures in Boynton French Open, where he pushed eventual champion Gustavo Kuerten to Beach, Fla., with Collin Altamirano. As a junior player, Baughman five sets. reached the doubles semifinals of the USTA International Spring Championships this year and reached the singles semifinals of the 1995 singles runner-up Tim Henman peaked at No. 4 in the world Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships last winter—both in 2002 and reached six Grand Slam semifinals, including four at prestigious junior events. Wimbledon. 1998 singles runner-up Nicolas Massu won the singles and doubles gold medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, peaking at No. 9 in the Many USTA Pro Circuit and ATP World Tour standouts have found world in late 2004. success in Vero Beach. *Player field subject to change VERO BEACH PAST WINNERS Singles Doubles Year Winner Runner-Up Year Winner 2013 Kyle Edmund (GBR) Carsten Ball (AUS) 2013 Vladimir Obradovic (SRB) – Juho Paukku (FIN) 2012 John-Patrick Smith (AUS) Pedro Zerbini (BRA) 2012 John-Patrick Smith (AUS) – Benjamin Rogers (USA) 2011 Daniel Garza (MEX) Mitchell Frank (USA) 2011 Marvin Barker (NZL) – Mark Verryth (AUS) 2010 Karlis Lejnieks (LAT) Matt Reid (AUS) 2010 Gero Kretschmer (GER) – Alex Satschko (GER) 2009 Jonathan Dasnieres de Veigy Timothy Neilly (BAH) 2009 Treat Conrad Huey (PHI) – Gregory Ouellette (USA) 2008 Chase Buchanan (USA) Jose De Armas (VEN) 2008 Marcus Fugate (USA) – Lance Vodicka (USA) 2007 Pierrick Ysern (FRA) Vladimir Obradovic (SRB) 2007 Ryler DeHeart (USA) – Christopher Lam (USA) 2006 Ryan Sweeting (USA) Victor Estrella (DOM) 2006 Jonathan Chu (USA) – Izak Van Der Merwe (RSA) 2005 Ryan Newport (USA) Brendan Evans (USA) 2005 Henry Adjei-Darko (GHA) – Francisco Rodriguez (PAR) 2004 Jose De Armas (VEN) Melvyn Op Der Heijde (NED) 2004 Scott Lipsky (USA) – David Martin (USA) 2003 Simon Larose (CAN) Marcio Carlsson (BRA) 2003 Ryan Haviland (USA) – K.J. Hippensteel (USA) 2002 Emin Agaev (AZE) Recardo Schlachter (BRA) 2002 Diego Ayala (USA) – Rafael De Mesa (USA) 2001 Ricardo Mello (BRA) Thomas Dupre (FRA) 2001 Daniel Andersson (SWE) – Ryan Sachire (USA) 2000 Jose De Armas (VEN) Lee Pearson (AUS) 2000 Levar Harper-Griffith (USA) – Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) 1999 Michael Russell (USA) Irakli Labadze (GEO) 1999 Irakli Labadze (GEO) – Lovro Zovko (CRO) 1998 Ronald Agenor (HAI) Nicolas Massu (CHI) 1998 Simon Aspelin (SWE) – Chris Tontz (USA) 1997 Ricardo Mena (PAR) Markus Zillner (GER) 1997 Mark Weaver (USA) – David Witt (USA) 1996 Doug Flach (USA) Sule Ladipo (NGR) 1996 Doug Flach (USA) – David Witt (USA) 1995 Alexander Krell (AUT) Tim Henman (GBR) 1995 Keith Evans (USA) – Andrew Sznajder (CAN) 1984-1994 Tournament not held 1984-1994 1983 Derek Tarr (USA) Rick Fagel (USA) 1983 Gary Donnelly (USA) – Ernie Fernandez (PUR) 1982 Tournament not held 1982 1981 Chris Delaney (USA) Matt McDonald (USA) 1981 Charles Strode (USA) – Joe Globisch (USA) 1980 Howard Schoenfield (USA) Matt Woodbridge (N/A) 1980 John Yuill (RSA) – Van Winitsky (USA) 1979 Van Winitsky (USA) Rick Fagel (USA) 1979 Bill Maze (USA) – Ferdi Taygan (USA) TournamenT noTes USTA PRO CIRCUIT YOUTH TENNIS With approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging The USTA is making it easier and more fun for kids to get into from $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. Celebrating its the game—and stay in the game. Kids are learning to play 35th anniversary in 2014, the USTA Pro Circuit provides players with the opportunity to gain professional faster than ever before through the USTA’s youth initiative, ranking points, and it has grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering which is geared toward getting more kids to participate in nearly $3 million in prize money. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed in cities nationwide. Mardy Fish, Maria Sharapova, John Isner, Caroline Wozniacki, Sam tennis using modified equipment and courts tailored to a child’s Querrey, Victoria Azarenka and Andy Murray are among today’s top stars who began their careers on size. For more information, visit YouthTennis.com. the USTA Pro Circuit. More recently, the USTA Pro Circuit helped launch the careers of two young NJTL Americans—Bradley Klahn and Shelby Rogers. Former Stanford standout and 2010 Founded in 1969 by Arthur Ashe, along with Charlie Pasarell NCAA champion Klahn was the 2013 USTA Joyce Tartar-Rideout and Sheridan Snyder, the USTA/National Junior Tennis & Pro Circuit Prize Money Leader with $50,606 Learning (NJTL) network is a nationwide group of more than in earnings, reaching five USTA Pro Circuit singles finals and winning two singles titles: 625 non-profit youth development organizations that provide the $15,000 Futures in Costa Mesa, Calif., free or low-cost tennis, education and life skills programming in March, and the $100,000 Challenger in to more than 350,000 children each year.