14 JMTA students qualify for National Opens

The National Opens were held across the country this past weekend and 14 JMTA students qualified for these prestigious tournaments. National Open tournaments are Level 2 nationals and second only to National Championships in level of importance. Only the top 128 players applying in each age group are accepted.

Congratulations to all JMTA players!

B12 Owings, MD

Ronan Jachuck, Albany, NY- reached semifinals in singles and quarterfinals in doubles
Ronnie Hohmann, Oyster Bay, NY- reached semifinals in singles and quarterfinals in doubles
Neel Raj,Oyster Bay, NY- reached quarterfinals in singles and doubles

B16 Surprize, AZ

Oliver Sec, New York, NY- reached round of 16 in singles, and won 2 consolation matches; Reached FINALS in doubles, which was not played when his partner was unable to play

B18 Midland, TX

Sasha Lebedev, Island Park, NY- reached quarterfinals in singles, losing to #1 seed; and won 1 round in consolation

B12 Peachtree, Ga

Spencer Brachman, Commack, NY- reached Round of 16 in singles, losing to #1 seed; reached quarterfinals in doubles, also losing to the #1 seeds

G14 College Park, MD

Loren Haukova, Elmsford, NY- reached quarterfinals in singles and doubles
Christina Sisti, Mount Vernon, NY- reached quarterfinals in singles and doubles
Patrick Hannity, Oyster Bay, NY- reached round of 16 in singles

G18 Midland, TX

Eva Siskova, Cornwall on Hudson, NY- reached round of 16 in singles, beating the #8 seed on the way

B16 Marietta, GA

Justin Lee, Cos Cob, CT- reached round of 16 in singles, beating the #6 seed on the way

Others who qualified:

Merri Kelly Hannity, Oyster Bay, NY G12 Springfield, MO
Mackenzie Clark, Bernardsville, NJ G14 College Park, MD
Daniel Pellerito, Syosset, NY B14 College Park, MD

Written by Lawrence Kleger.

Lawrence Kleger
JMTA Academy Director

Fitness Tip of the Week – The Impact of Court Surface

It’s that time of year where not only are professional tennis players changing court surface – hard to clay, clay to grass and then back to hard, but so are many competitive junior players. The change of surface can have a huge impact not only on your game, but also on your body. The change and impact can often result in injuries; therefore, it is important to know what you need to look out for when changing court surfaces.

Read below for tips and pointers on how you can prevent injuries when playing on clay or hard court surfaces:

Clay Court Surface

Longer points Increased endurance needed
Ball bounces higher Avoid overuse of the wrist and elbow
Less impact Reduced load through joints
More ‘sliding’ Increased tendency for groin strains

Top Training Tips

Increase endurance training
- Intervals treadmill/bike/elliptical – 5 x 5 min intervals with 1 minute rests
Lateral movement drills
- Bounds/slides
Work on technique to ensure full use of your scapula thoracic rotation (upper back and scapula) to avoid overuse of shoulder, elbow and wrist
- Throw medicine ball against a wall

Hard Court Surface

Faster pace Increased anaerobic endurance(sprint training)
Rapid change of direction Increased risk of ankle and knee injury
Higher impact Increased load on joints

Top Training Tips

Interval training 40 seconds high intensity/20 secs rest – 10x 1 min rest – 3 sets
On court acceleration/deceleration drills with change of direction – Spider drill
Lower limb stability exercises – balance and strength
Explosive first step – Plyometric drills into sprints

Written by Director of Performance, Sophie Scott.

Sophie Scott
Director of Performance

Featured JMTA Player – Eva Siskova

JMTA Student – Eva Siskova

Interview with JMTA Student

Q. Who is your tennis idol? Why?

A. “Andre Agassi has been an inspiration to me because of his great work ethic and dedication to overcome challenges he faced during his career. Because of his ambition, I have learned to push myself harder in tennis practice and playing matches. I also admire Dominika Cibulkova, a Slovak like me, because of her fierce attitude and desire for the game has helped develop a more intense style of play.”

Q. Describe your greatest tennis victory.

A. “My greatest victory thus far was when I won in three tough sets in the National Semi-Final against a really strong player, it was at least three hours long, not to mention I was down a set and a break and then came back and won 7-5 in the third set. This match showed me that despite the score I should never give up because anything is possible.”

Q. Describe your greatest tennis loss and how you overcame that loss.

A.“My most recent tennis struggle was at the 2013 Easter Bowl in Palm Springs, CA. During my second back draw match, I faced one of the closest matches I’ve ever played. I never had a match point, but I was always in the lead. Despite my loss, I fought to the very end and gave it my all hoping not to hand the match over to my opponent. I came away from this loss knowing I could play at a higher level and that I had not reached my potential. This match gave me the courage to push myself harder and play with more confidence. Two weeks later, I swept through 5 matches that led me to the 18s Sectional final, which led to a 3 hour match, soon to be victory. My loss from Easter Bowl encouraged my behavior on the court during my Sectional Tournament.”

Q. You are expected to play your first ITF tournament in June, how have you been preparing and what are you most looking forward to?

A.“First of all, I am very excited to play my very first ITF tournament because I will have the opportunity to play against players from all around the world and get to play on grass, which I have never played on grass before. I’ve begun to incorporate a more intense physical exercise routine and have changed my diet by cutting out sugar and eating more natural foods in order for me to meet my physical goals. As far as my tennis training goes, I’ve been focusing more on match strategy along with shot selection and trying to improve my serve.”

JMTA Featured Pro – Hana Sromova

Hana Sromova
JMTA Touring Professional

Hana, a native of CzechRepublic, was a top ranked junior tennis player in her home country, and competed globally on the ITF circuit. She turned pro in 1997, and earned 8 ITF singles titles and 35 doubles titles. In 2006, Hana reached her career high WTA rankings of #87 in the world in singles and #63 in doubles. Hana competed in the U.S. Open in 2006 and 2008, reached the second round of the French Open and Australian Open in 2006 and the second round at Wimbledon in 2007. Hana was a member of the NY Sportimes World TeamTennis franchise in 2007 and 2008. After retiring from the professional circuit in 2008, Hana joined Sportime as a teaching professional and the Co-General Manager of Sportime Amagansett. Hana moved to Sportime Randall’s Island and JMTA on a full-time basis in 2012.

McEnroe: Nadal should be top seed at French Open

Rafael Nadal
Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports

“Tennis is a numbers game and John McEnroe says that the seven Roland Garros titles Rafael Nadal owns add up to one result: Nadal should be the top seed for the 2013 French Open.

In a conference call with the media today to promote his appearance partnering Pete Sampras in an exhibition match against Tommy Haas and Ivan Lendl at the second annual Greenbrier Champions Tennis Classic, September 21-22, McEnroe said the fifth-ranked Nadal deserves top-seeded status in Paris. The 1984 French Open finalist suggests the top players would support a seeding raise for Nadal — to save themselves from a potential quarterfinal clash with him.

“Let me put it to you this way: I guarantee you that none of those four guys, as great as they are, want to see him in the quarters,” McEnroe told TENNIS.com. “Quite honestly, I would seed him number one. I’d seed him number one, actually, because I think he deserves that. I think the other players deserve it.”

It’s unlikely Nadal, who trails David Ferrer by nearly one thousand points for the fourth spot in the ATP rankings, will crack the top four before Roland Garros sets it seeds. McEnroe says seeding Nadal ahead of Ferrer is a no-brainer and says the reigning champion should be seeded ahead of third-ranked Andy Murray as well.

“Certainly, you can’t even possibly question if he should be [seeded] ahead of David Ferrer, as much as I respect him, or for that matter even Murray on clay,” McEnroe told TENNIS.com. “Djokovic is the only one, given his accomplishments on clay, that you could possibly make an argument deserves to be seeded ahead of [Nadal]…I don’t know that they [the Roland Garros seeding committee] are willing to change the seedings at their event.”

McEnroe suggests the best-of-five set French Open format can benefit Nadal.

“It’s a little unclear in best-of-five sets, maybe it will help him, give him some more time,” McEnroe said. “But I’m not quite sure where he is [physically] right now. I’ve only seen him a few times, but he’s looking pretty damn good to me.”

CLICK HERE to read full article.

Article written by Richard Pagliaro

Tournament Preparation – Top tips!

BE PREPARED – As the great basketball coach, John Wooden said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Plan ahead and don’t leave anything to chance. Make sure that you take everything you need with you. Excellent preparation is key to success in all tournaments.

Bag Check

Rackets- Enough
Shoes- Have an extra pair in your bag!
Grips- Over grips get warn
Strings- At least 3 or 4 sets
Clothes (spare set of match kit, extra socks)
Hat/visor- A spare is not a bad ideal
Towel- Very Important
Drinks- Water, sports drinks
Snacks- Make them healthy snacks! Fruit, energy bars
Medical kit – Band aids/tape/braces/any medicines/Advil or Tylenol
Sunscreen- At least SPF 32 or higher
Ipod- Whatever relaxes and/or gets you up!

Travel

If traveling by plane, stay well hydrated on the flight. Drink lots of fluids — water, fruit smoothies or diluted sports drinks. Avoid caffeinated drinks such as sodas. Do not skip meals; in flight choose the high carbohydrate meal such as chicken and pasta or rice.

On arrival at your destination, try to go for a light jog or bike ride for 20 minutes and then stretch to ensure you are best prepared to train and play the following day.

Hydration

It is essential that you stay well hydrated as dehydration can significantly affect your performance. Sweat contains salts also known as electrolytes; these salts are needed for the body to function normally. When a player loses too much salt, it can result in muscle cramps. During practice and play, especially in hot climates, electrolytes need to be replaced – drink sports drinks and lots of water.

Before and during practice/match

Drink water or a carbohydrate-based sports drink that contains electrolytes. You will need to replace at minimum 80% of sweat loss during a match. Generally it is recommended that you drink 4-8 swallows of a sports drink and water on every change over.

After practice/match

It is important to start the recovery process immediately following your match. Start drinking as soon as you come off court. Sports recovery drinks or low fat milk shakes are ideal to help refuel and rehydrate.

Ensure you start each day well hydrated, you can check the color of your urine against a ‘pee chart’ (see below).

Nutrition

In order to play and perform at your best level, you must be correctly fuelled for competition. Carbohydrate is the key fuel for energy so the priority is to optimize your carbohydrate stores prior to your tournament by ensuring you have a healthy balanced diet.

Check out what food and drink will be available at the venue, and then bring your own supply of sports drinks, recovery drinks and energy bars — You will need them!

Pre-match meal

Aim to eat a carbohydrate rich meal 2-3 hours before your match – pasta /noodles/ rice/couscous, and chicken/ breakfast cereal and whole grain toast/ lean meat sandwich / pita breads

If you are unsure what time you are playing, ensure you have a snack with you to top up your energy stores 1 hour before you play – for example, energy/cereal or granola bar, low fat muffin or dried fruit.

And remember, Never ‘skip’ breakfast and Keep drinking fluids!

Post match nutrition

Good recovery will ensure that you play your best for your next match. To recover well, you need to rapidly restock your carbohydrate stores, replace fluid and salt losses. An active recovery also includes post match stretching and rest.

Aim to have a carbohydrate and protein-based meal or snack within 30 minutes of playing even if the recovery time is short between matches.

Examples of recovery snacks:
Sports recovery drinks/low fat milk shakes/Yogurt-based fruit smoothies/cereal or sports recovery bar/lean meat sandwich/ breakfast cereal/bananas

Warm up

Players should always aim to have completed a brief 10 -20 minute warm-up to ensure they are both physically and mentally prepared to play. This will also reduce the risk of injury. Both mental and physical preparation are key components to becoming a successful tennis player; be prepared to start fast and get the edge on your opponents.

Components of the warm up

Heat generation: Players should perform some form of cardiovascular activity so that they generate a light sweat, this can be done on court or in the gym; jogging, stationary bike, jump rope
Dynamic stretching: Involves moving parts of the body, gradually increasing with reach and/or speed of movement to the limits of the players range of motion
Tennis specific: On court, this can be done while getting prepared to play or before and should include movements to mimic tennis strokes.

Cool down or active recovery

You should aim (if time permits) to take part in active recovery involving a light jog and stretch prior to your nutritional recovery strategies.

Injuries

If you have any nagging injuries, ensure you know how to best manage them while you are away.
If you develop a new injury seek the advice of the onsite trainer. Ice should be applied post match to any areas that are sore.

Good Luck!

Sophie Scott
Director of Performance

Easter Bowl Results – April, 14th

Noah Rubin

(Palm Desert, CA) Day 6- There was “no joy in Mudville” today as JMTA’s Noah Rubin lost in the semifinals of the 2013 Easter Bowl to Luca Corintelli, 7-6 (6), 6-1. Noah started out strongly, breaking Luca at 1-1 and holding for a 3-1 lead. Noah had two break points to make it 4-1, but Luca’s big serve bailed him out. Noah held and had another break opportunity at 4-2, but again Luca served himself out of trouble again. The match seemed to turn in the next game with Noah serving at 4-3. Three very uncharacteristic unforced errors gave back the break and we were knotted at 4-4. Both players held to send it to a tiebreak with Noah saving a set point serving at 4-5. Noah jumped out 2-0 in the breaker, but quickly went down 6-4. He saved two more set points to get to 6-6. At 6-6 Luca bombed an ace and on the next point, Noah sailed a backhand long to give Luca the tiebreak 8-6.

Easter Bowl Results – Saturday, April 13th

Easter Bowl ’13
Noah Rubin

(Palm Desert, CA) Day 5- Another perfect day in sunny California for the B18 quarterfinals with the temperature in the mid-80s, hardly a breeze and not a cloud in the sky. After a shaky round of 16 in which he did not play his best tennis, but survived with a 7-5, 7-5 win, JMTA’s Noah Rubin faced the big serving, Alexandru Gozun. In this match, Noah came out on fire, breaking his opponent at love in the first game and then holding at love in the second game. Noah quickly went up two breaks, gave one back but held serve at 5-4 to take the first set. Noah’s energy, court presence, and “compete” level were off the charts. The second set was a work of art. Three breaks against a huge server, three holds; done. Match over. Saturday in the semifinals, Noah will play another behemoth, 6’3’’ 230 pound, Luca Corintelli. Noah will have to play better in his next match than he did in the quarters; and that will not be easy.

Following Noah’s match, Jamie Loeb played her semifinal match in her quest for consecutive ITF L1 Doubles Championships. Jamie and her doubles partner, Maegan Menasse won a tough first set 6-3 playing very solidly off the ground. In the second set, Jamie and Megan’s opponents started coming forward a little more and managed to win three consecutive 40-40 points to take the second set 6-4. After going up 6-2 in the superbreaker, it seemed that Jamie would be in the finals for the second week in a row. But her opponents caught fire, and reeled off the last 8 points in a row to take the supertiebreak and the match, 10-6. Very disappointing for Jamie, but a good run nonetheless.

Easter Bowl Results – Friday, April 12th

JMTA Crew: Sabrina Xiong, Jamie Loeb, JMTA Coach Felix Alvarado, JMTA Director Lawrence Kleger, Elizabeth Tsvetkov, Eva Siskova, Loren Haukova, Jessica Golovin

(Palm Desert, CA) Day 4- Today was another busy day for the JMTA “crew” at the 2013 Easter Bowl. It started on a very positive note with Loren Haukova delivering another blowout victory over a quality opponent. Down 2-3 in the 1^st set, Loren put it in 5^th gear and coasted to a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Loren followed Johnny Mac’s Commandment of “Do not beat thy self!” In her 2^nd match, Loren played Abigail Desiatnikov, a girl who did a great job of taking balls early and pressuring Loren into countless errors. Loren could have done a little better if she followed the game plan of attacking 2^nd serves and taking advantage of the first aggressive opportunity. A little too passive versus an opponent girl who was very good once she controlled the center of the court, Loren ended up on the wrong side of a 6-3, 6-0 score. All in all, an excellent tournament for Ms. Haukova.

Sabrina Xiong started the day with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Lauren Gooodman, the #13 seed in G16s. Lauren had a lot of fire power, but also made a lot of unforced errors. Sabrina played high percentage tennis to the max and came away with a nice big “W”. In her 2^nd match, Sabrina ran out gas against Samantha Hampton and came out on the short end of a 6-0, 6-3 decision. Sabrina had an excellent tournament in singles. Unfortunately, in the doubles, Sabrina and Elizabeth Tsvetkov’s doubles win streak was halted by the #6 seeds, 6-2, 6-3 in the round of 16.

Jessica Golovin- Lost a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 contest to Andrea Kevakian, the #17 seed. Goldie played her usual aggressive game, but costly errors at key times made the difference in this contest. Jessica at times did demonstrate the high level of play of which she is capable; and with a little more practice and a bit more consistency, she is going to be a tough out in any tournament.

Noah Rubin took the court against his round of 16 opponent, ‘local boy-done-good” Logan Smith. With the crowd firmly entrenched in the Californian’s corner, Mr. Smith gave Noah all he could handle. Up 4-1 and two breaks of serve, it looked like Noah would go through the local favorite “like a hot knife through butter.” But the home town boy had other ideas. Two hours later, carrying the JMTA banner, Noah walked away with a 7-5, 7-5 nail-biting victory. Noah plays another big, bruising 6 foot+ plus player tomorrow in the quarters. As they say, “The bigger they are……. the harder they serve.” I mean “the harder they fall!”

Jamie Loeb continued her march toward another ITF doubles title. Jamie and her partner, Maegan Manasse are cruising through the G18s draw, winning today by the score of 6-1, 6-1.

As Day 4 ends, JMTA is still alive to take home two Easter Bowl titles: B18s Singles and G18s Doubles.

Easter Bowl Results – Thursday, April 11th

(Palm Desert, CA) Day 3 saw clear blue skies, temperatures in the high eighties and not much wind, thankfully. A lot of matches to report on from five different sites and six age groups so let’s get right to it.

JMTA Players: Loren Haukova, JMTA Coach Bruce Haddad, Elizabeth Tsvetkov

First up was Loren Haukova (G14) in the round of 16 versus the girl who beat the #2 seed yesterday. Loren went up 3-2 in the first sticking to the game plan her coach Bruce Haddad mapped out after briefly scouting Loren’s opponent in her upset win. Mixing up her shots, changing speeds and varying spin, Loren had three game points to go up 4-2. However she could not convert on any of the three and found herself at 3-3. At this point, Loren strayed from the game plan just a little, but her opponent who is a year older really picked up her game. Loren did not win another game, falling 6-3, 6-0. She will play again tomorrow in the compass draw.

Next up was Jessica Golovin (G16) in her first consolation match of the day. After dropping the first set and down 3-5 love-40, Jessica went into survival mode, saving the three match points. Then, at 4-5, she saved two more match points and went on to win that set 7-5. In a nail-biting superbreak, Jessica toughed it out 10-8. A real gutty performance. She won her second consolation match of the day in a little more routine fashion 6-3, 6-4 and will play next tomorrow at 11:30 AM.

Noah Rubin (B18) took the court, after a 1^st round bye, against Robbie Bellamy, a big burly Californian headed to USC to play for Peter Smith. Noah had numerous break points in the 1^st set, but converted only one. Fortunately, one was enough as he closed out the first set 6-4. Noah picked it up in the second set breaking Bellamy three times. Noah was quick to point out that he did not get broken at all in the match. He gets a little sensitive when his serving prowess is not pointed out! Let’s hope that continues in the round of 16 tomorrow versus Logan Smith.

Elizabeth Tsvetkov (G16) After battling back and saving two match points yesterday, Elizabeth found herself in the same predicament today, i.e., a set down and not much hope of shifting the momentum. Again, she came back and won the second set, but wasn’t able to duplicate her magic act of yesterday and lost 4-6, 6-2 (10-4). However, the dynamic duo of Elizabeth and Sabrina Xiong combined for another thrilling doubles victory tonight 6-3, 5-7 (10-8). This team has won two consecutive national doubles titles and they are on a 12 match win streak! They play the round of 16 tomorrow afternoon.

Sabrina Xiong (G16) Took the court today with one consolation match under her belt. When the day was over, she added two more victories. Her first match was rather routine and won 6-1, 6-2 with Sabrina delivering consistent and penetrating groundstrokes that seemed shocking coming from a girl of Sabrina’s size. The second match would be just as routine were it not for the near-fisticuffs that happened after the match. Apparently, Sabrina’s opponent, after realizing that she could not beat her tried to intimidate Sabrina and the perfectly behaved representatives from the prestigious John McEnroe Tennis Academy. But Sabrina’s “Posse” (Elizabeth, Jessica and Eva) was not going to have any of that.

Eva Siskova (G16) Eva had a tough three setter coming out on the short end of a 2-6, 7-6 (1) 10-8 battle. Eva was up a set and 5-4 with a couple of match points. She had another at 6-5. She fought valiantly but lost a heartbreaking superbreaker 10-8.

Oliver Sec (B16) Oliver lost a tough consolation match to a quality player. Again, Oliver struggled a bit with his serve but competed well in a 6-2, 6-4 loss.

Victoria Sec (G14) Playing in her first national level one championship, dropped a hard-fought 6-3, 6-4 decision to the #17 seed. Victoria competed very well in all her matches and will come away with a victory and whole lot of valuable experiences.

Jamie Loeb (G18) continued her quest for a second straight ITF doubles title with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 victory. Quarters tomorrow.

Easter Bowl Results – Wednesday, April 10th

JMTA Students: Jamie Loeb, Jessica Golovin, Loren Haukova, Sabrina Xiong, Elizabeth Tsvetkov, Eva Siskova

(Palm Desert, CA) Day 1- Competitors in this year’s Easter Bowl will not soon forget their first round matches at the 2013 Easter Bowl. Gale force winds up to 50 miles per hour made playing a tennis match almost impossible. The wind was at its strongest before noon when dust, palm tree bark, chairs and every once in a while an elderly USTA umpire could be seen flying about! The tournament officials finally suspended play, but unfortunately for JMTA all of our players had early matches completed before logic prevailed. While it is true that the wind affects all players, 50 mile per hour winds make playing tennis more like the X Games, particularly for New Yorkers with only a couple of days to acclimate to being outdoors. Here are the results through Tuesday:

Noah Rubin (B18) the ITF started Tuesday, but Noah received a bye; he will play his first match Wednesday at 12:30.

Jamie Loeb (G18) Jamie received a bye in the first round, then faced the #1 player in USTA G18s Brooke Austin; it seemed odd not to seed Brooke, but they go by ITF rankings and Brooke has not played enough events to be receive a high ranking. This created a second round match between arguably the two best players. Jamie was up a set and 5-4 serving with a match point that she did not convert. The second set went to a tiebreak where Jamie had two more match points. Brooke came up with some big shots and won the tiebreak, 9-7. Jamie lost 6-3 in the third but this was one heck of a battle between two really great competitors; it’s a shame that it wasn’t the finals.

Jessica Golovin (G16) On Monday, Jessica lost 6-4, 6-2 in singles in the hurricane, and fell in the doubles 6-2; 2-6; 11-9. On Tuesday, with no gale force winds to deal with, she bounced back with a dominating 6-0, 6-0 win.

Loren Haukova (G14) On Sunday, Loren won 6-4, 6-2 in Singles and lost 6-4, 6-2 with partner Victoria Sec. On Monday, she played a solid match, disposing her opponent 6-2, 6-0. On Tuesday, playing a near perfect match, Loren dispatched a very good #17 Seed. Her court presence and emotional control have been excellent throughout the event thanks to the constant reminders of how important they are by Coach Bruce Haddad.

Oliver Sec (B16) On Monday, Oliver lost in singles 6-4, 6-1. He struggled with the wind a bit, but did not play his best tennis; he let the wind totally negate his big serve and big forehand. He then lost in doubles to the #6 Seeds. On Tuesday, Oliver bounced back with a gritty 7-5, 6-3 against a very solid player, as his serve was dramatically better.

Victoria Sec (G14) On Monday, she won in singles 6-3, 6-2, and lost in doubles 6-4, 6-2 with Loren Haukova. On Tuesday, Victoria came up against a tough #13 seed and fell 6-0, 6-2. She played well but it was not enough to take down a seed here. G14 is a Compass draw, so Victoria played another singles match, but lost 6-3, 6-1.

Eva Siskova (G16) On Monday, she lost in singles 6-3, 6-1 in the extreme conditions and won in doubles with an 11-9 victory in the superbreaker. On Tuesday, Eva bounced back from her disappointing loss with a vengeance; she beat a very good girl 6-1, 6-0 and it wasn’t as close as the score indicates. Under the normal weather conditions of the day, Eva played her game and her game destroyed this girl. Had this been MMA, the girl would have tapped out early in the first set; she moved and hit beautifully, winning every long point (and pretty much all other kinds of points as well). In doubles, Eva lost a tough doubles match 7-5, 7-6 (6).

Elizabeth Tsvetkov (G16) On Monday, she lost in singles 6-2, 6-2 to a very good player. Elizabeth’s game of taking balls early and pressuring opponents did not fare well in the gale force winds; she will work to improve her ability to make adjustments outdoors. On Tuesday, Elizabeth went down 5-1 in a heartbeat, but then all of a sudden she woke up and started playing her game. Unfortunately she had dug too deep a hole in the set and lost 6-3. Elizabeth dominated the second set 6-2, pushing her opponent around unmercifully. The up and down continued in the superbreaker: up 5-1, then down 7-9, then four straight points to win 11-9 against a very good G16. Brooklyn and Sabrina Xiong won their doubles 6-4, 7-5

Sabrina Xiong (G16) On Monday, Sabrina lost singles in Hurricane Easter Bowl to the #6 seed 6-0, 7-5. After a tough first set she made the adjustment to the wind really well, serving for the second set at 5-4 but could not finish. On Tuesday, Sabrina bounced back with a solid 6-4, 6-1 victory. Sabrina was able to control play with her equally lethal forehand and backhand. The match was closer than the score would indicate, but Sabrina was much tougher on the big points. Sabrina and Elizabeth won their doubles 6-4, 7-5.

Mr. Deeds

Jamie Loeb, Noah Rubin, John McEnroe, Oliver Sec
Photo: Adam Wolfthal

QUEENS, N.Y.— “It’s a chilly, metal-bright April afternoon, but the atmosphere inside the tennis facility is cozy. The high-tech lights create an ideal combination of bright and soft—a little like Centre Court at Wimbledon when its roof is closed.

Some of the kids racing around courts that stretch away into the distance in the cavernous hangar, merrily banging forehands and backhands, may one day get to play there. But most of them won’t, and that’s just fine with the man standing beside me. John McEnroe is thin as a credit card, even though his shoulders are wide enough to win the approval of Phil Jackson. He has military-short steel-dust hair, and now he addresses a kid playing on the court before us:

“If that had gone in, look where you were,” he admonishes. “Were you ready to spring back to the center of the court if that had gone in? It looked like you were just watching.”

The child nods and mutters some sort of apology, and the drill continues here at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, which is housed at the Randall’s Island branch of Sportime NY multi-sport academy franchise.

I went out to visit with John just to see how things were going at his academy, to find out what his intentions were and how satisfied he is with the results so far. It is, after all, hard times for American tennis. And many people either hoped or assumed that in starting his academy, McEnroe would set himself to the task of finding and shaping the next . . John McEnroe.

That assumption, while arrived at logically, isn’t entirely accurate. Baby Boomers who tend to think of McEnroe first and foremost as the driven, combative, often angry champion might be surprised to learn he is the last person to claim possession of some magic bullet to cure America’s tennis ills. In fact, he’s become something of a lone voice in the wilderness, calling for parents and tennis coaches to retain some kind of perspective—to resist the temptation to run their kids into the ground in pursuit of athletic glory.

When you look at how much older some of the most prolific ATP champion now are—they include Roger Federer, David Ferrer, and Tommy Haas—you might be tempted to give a little more thought to McEnroe’s point of view.

“Roger Federer came out of some nice Swiss country club, he was pretty well off I think,” McEnroe had told me, while we sat upstairs in his office. “(Rafael) Nadal isn’t from some normal tennis thing, but an island resort. (Novak) Djokovic—okay, he had to leave Serbia because of the war. That must have toughened him up. But I didn’t particularly come from tough circumstances myself. That’s pretty good variety right there, and it just goes to show that you can get a great player out of almost any environment.

“I don’t know what Nick Bollettieri had, because at the time I pretty much thought it was bull****. But he certainly did something that worked. So you gotta give him credit. For us, it was Harry Hopman (the guiding light of the Port Washington Tennis Academy, at which McEnroe trained). He really inspired us. I’d like to inspire some kid that way—inspire him to have that hunger, because in the end this (success in tennis) is all about effort and will.”

To “inspire.” It’s different from “develop.” Or even, “train.”

It’s a novel idea, but appreciating the difference makes it easier to understand what McEnroe is trying to achieve, as well as his resistance to becoming a tennis factory.

“I want to be a platform for sending kids off to a good college, and for giving them a good overall tennis experience. I still recommend that they play other sports, even some of these kids that are already just playing tennis here. I don’t think that’s the right thing, even though they’re good athletes. I just think it’s better for them overall—as a person—at least for a while, even if eventually they have to start playing just tennis.”

McEnroe paused, then added, “Of course, I would like to be part of getting a great player, I can’t deny that. And I still believe I would be better off inspiring a kid than some other people that are out there.”

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Article written by Peter Bodo - Tennis.com.