long island tennis magazine - may / june 2010

73LITennisMag.com May/June 2010 Long Island Tennis Magazine

74 Long Island Tennis Magazine May/June 2010 LITennisMag.com

The Early Hit Training Center is pleased to announce its 7th An-nual Junior Summer Tennis Camp.Our comprehensive program will provide your child with all the re-sources necessary to reach his/her maximum tennis potential.The Early Hit Training Center in-corporates all aspects of the game into our complete program. We begin each session with a nu-tritionally complete and balanced shake from Court 7, our on-prem-ises restaurant and smoothie bar.After a thorough warm-up, the student will work through the core components of tennis, including

stroke production, drilling and SK\VLFDOWQHVVWUDLQLQJEHIRUHbreaking for a healthy lunch. We then move onto playing dynamics and strategy, and reinforce these lessons with focused match play.A thorough cool-down and stretch-ing session completes a world-class day of tennis for your child.With our team of renowned tennis teaching professionals, experi-enced physical conditioning train-ers, movement experts and on-site chef, the Early Hit Training Center offers a unique and total tennis experience.

The Early Hit Training Center is pleased to an-nounce its 6th season of group training. This com-prehensive program will provide your child with all the resources necessary to reach his/her maximum tennis potential.The Early Hit Training Center incorporates all aspects of the game into our complete program. After a thorough warm-up, the student will work through the core components of tennis, including stroke production and drilling. We then move onto playing dynamics and strategy, and reinforce these lessons with focused match play. A session starts RUQLVKHVZLWKDQKRXURIFRQGLWLRQLQJ

Come experience our team of renowned tennis teaching professionals, conditioning trainers and movement experts.

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I am often asked by parents to evaluatetheir young childs talent. This is a difficulttask first, because at a very young age, it isimpossible to distinguish between talentand precociousness. In other words, at theage of 10, a child may be an early devel-oper or may be a true prodigy. By the ageof 14, it is possible to look back and know,

in hindsight, which was the more truestatement, but at the age of 10, it is simplya guess and those who claim otherwise areprobably selling.

Talent judgment is also a misleading ex-ercise, since it is not the definitive predictorof success anyway.

Give a young player the opportunity for

growth, encouragement and structure, andthey will be as good as they can be and theexperience will be both positive and worth-while.

The achievement of a high ranking maymatter to the player, but quickly becomesjust a number in a book that a few peoplelook at.

Steven Kaplan has guided many touringprofessionals in the U.S. Open and Wim-bledon, and has coached more than 350nationally-ranked junior players. Stevesbackground combines a rare blend of com-petitive and scholastic achievement. In1979, Steve won the Big East ConferenceSingles Championship. In 1983, he re-ceived his Masters Degree in Physiology.Steve developed the games of both KeithKambourian and two-time NCAA SinglesChampion Sandra Birch, from the 12-yearolds through the pro tour. Most recently,Steves longtime student, Bryan Konieckohas achieved the number one ranking inMens NCAA tennis.

The Value of Slow MasteryBy Steve Kaplan

Talent is a given in the formulafor tennis greatness. It gives

players a head start and limitsterminal success.

In 1971, Larry Linett, a tenacious base-liner from Albany, N.Y., was ranked num-ber one in the East in the Boys12-and-Under Division. A talented leftyfrom Douglaston, N.Y., John McEnroewas ranked number eight, in that sameage group. Six years later, as McEnroewas winning the French Open mixed dou-bles, advancing to the semifinals of Wim-bledon and winning an NCAA singles titlefor Stanford, Larry Linett was finishing astandout season, at The University ofNew York at Albany.

While both of these players achievedsuccess as juniors and as adults, their ear-lier success cannot be completely corre-lated to their ultimate achievements.

Talent is a given in the formula for tennisgreatness. It gives players a head start andlimits terminal success. Everything else inbetweentraining, experience, court vi-sion, fitness, conditioning, poise, courage,ambition and desireare the variables thatinteract over time to influence the finishedproduct.

Malcolm Gladwell, in his 2008 book,Outliers, believes that opportunity is per-haps the most significant variable whichpromotes achievement.

He cites the groundbreaking study byAnders Ericsson which talks about the10,000-hour rule for mastery. Gladwell ex-plains that 10,000 hours of practice areneeded to master a skill and such oppor-tunities for this practice are unique. TheBeatles became masters of their musicalskills by playing countless hours in small,smoky, German clubs before conqueringLiverpool and then the world. Bill Gateslived within walking distance of one of theworlds most advanced computers whichhe was able to clandestinely access, andhe had more access then perhaps anyoneat such a young age in the world.


toc

Features1 The Value of Slow Mastery By Steven Kaplan

Steven Kaplan discusses evaluating talent in the tennis world.

16 Caesars Tennis Classic a Star-Studded Hit in Atlantic CityTennis returns to Atlantic City as Long Island Tennis Magazine takes alook back at the inaugural Caesars Tennis Classic at Boardwalk Hall.

18 Long Island Boys High School PreviewA look at the names and teams that shape the boys high school tennisscene on Long Island for the 2010 season.

20 Country Club Tennis on the Island By Jonathan KleeJonathan Klee discusses the ways in which Long Islands country clubshave looked to bolster their tennis membership numbers.

22 The Racquet Should Do the Talking! By Lonnie MitchelLonnie Mitchel takes a look at proving your game on the court and mak-ing all that practice time finally pay off.

28 Im the Better Player How Could I Lose? By Rob Polishook, MA, CPCOne of the magazines newest authors, Rob Polishook, MA, CPC discussesthe seven mistakes the so-called favorite makes in a match and whatthe underdog can do to exploit these mistakes.

32 The Restlessness By Eric DietscheEric Dietsche, a collegiate player for Williams College, shares his thoughts on shak-ing off the rust of the long, cold winter and getting ready for the new season.

38 Kim Clijsters: From Motherhood to Center CourtLong Island Tennis Magazine takes part in a conference call with Kim Clijstersas she discusses her transition back into the sport after her hiatus.

43 In Defense of the 10 Point Super Tie-Break By Miguel Cervantes IIIMiguel Cervantes III discusses the controversial 10 Point Super Tie-Break,and its pros and cons in todays game.

44 Teaching a Great Tennis Lesson Takes More Than a Nice Rac-quet and a Basket Full of Balls By Salomon Levy BrometSalomon Levy Bromet discusses the formation of the ideal practice planand the progression of a players tennis lessons.

50 Venus Wins the Billie Jean King Cup at MSGTennis returned to New York City and Madison Square Garden in March asThe Worlds Most Famous Arena hosted the BNP Showdown for the Bil-lie Jean King Cup in front of a crowd of 11,700 tennis fans.

53 USTA/Eastern/Long Island 20th Annual Awards Dinner ProgramUSTA/Eastern/Long Island will host its 20th Annual Awards Dinner Pro-gram on Wednesday, May 12 at the Crest Hollow Country Club. USTA/East-ern/Long Island will welcome the evenings Keynote Speaker RonaldAgenor as the Regions top players and scholar athletes are honored fortheir accomplishments and contributions to the sport over the past year.

63 Jump Start: Determining the Right Time to Start a PlyometricProgram By Mike Mejia, CSCSAuthor Mike Mejia, CSCS discusses sharpening your explosive tennismovements through the introduction of plyometric training.

49 Is It the Message or the Messenger? By Ed WolfarthEd Wolfarth explains the science of teaching and how a lesson should bepresented by a tennis instructor.

Columns4 Tips From the Tennis Pro: Hydration and Fuel to Keep Your

Campers Happy By Carl BarnettAs the camp season nears, Carl Barnett explains how to properly hydrateyour way through the dog days of summer.

6 Names in the Game: Mary Carillo The Long Island Tennis Mag-azine Interview By Brent ShearerBrent Shearer interviews former pro and current tennis analyst MaryCarillo in our newest column featuring interviews with the top namesin the game.

8 College Tennis Spotlight: Mythbusters Why College CoachesDont Always Hear What Recruits Tell Them! By Ricky BeckerRicky Becker shares the truth behind college tennis recruiting from acoaches perspective

10 Court Six: Long Island Tennis Magazines Gossip ColumnBy Emilie KatzEmilie Katz delves into the off-court lives of the sports top stars.

12 Long Island Tennis Charitable InitiativesWe take a look at the Hit for Haiti 2 charity event and the controversy sur-rounding the Agassi/Sampras incident, and Karen L. Bonnet takes a lookat passionate tennis players dealing with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in her ar-ticle, Multiple Sclerosis: Winning Against the Odds.

30 The Sand PitBeach Tennis USA returns for yet another exciting, sun-soaked season onthe beaches, specifically, right in our own backyard in Long Beach, N.Y.

46 Fitness and NutritionChris Ostling, PT, DPT explains testing the limitations of the human bodyin his article, Are You Listening to Your Body?

48 My Opinion: Whats the Story With Tennis Lingo?By Eric MeditzTrees? Tanks? Deefs? Bagels? Toasted bagels with cream cheese? EricMeditz breaks down the meaning of the sports most commonly-used vo-cabulary.

52 Long Island Tennis Club Directory

68 Long Island Rankings Sponsored by Dennys

71 USTA/Long Island Region 2010 Tournament Schedule

News Briefs5 Racquet Sports for Wii Released in North America

Long Island Tennis Magazine1220 Wantagh Avenue Wantagh, NY 11793-2202

Phone: (516) 409-4444 Fax: (516) 409-4600Web site: www.litennismag.com

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AdvertisingTo receive any information regarding advertising rates, dead-lines, and requirements, contact David Sickmen at (516) 409-4444, ext. 309 or e-mail [email protected].

Article Submissions/Press ReleasesTo submit any material, including articles and press releases,please contact David Sickmen at (516) 409-4444, ext. 309or e-mail [email protected]. The deadline for sub-missions is the first of the month preceding the target issue.

SubscriptionsTo receive subscription information, contact (516) 409-4444or e-mail [email protected] or check out ourWeb site: www.litennismag.com. Fax subscription changesto (516) 409-1600.

Statements of fact and opinion inLong Island Tennis Magazineare the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply anopinion on the part of United Sports Publications Ltd. LongIsland Tennis Magazine reserves the right to edit, reject and/orpostpone the publication of any articles, information or data.

Long Island Tennis Magazineis published bi-monthly by

United Sports Publications Ltd.Copyright 2010 United Sports Publications Ltd.

May/June 2010Volume 2, Number 3 24 McEnroe, Clijsters, Roddick, Blake, Serena and Hingis Headed to New York This Summer!

World TeamTennis returns to New York this summer as we look at the New York Sportimes as they take on thesports top stars at the state-of-the-art Sportime at Randalls Island Tennis Center, including the Sportimesroster breakdown, home team schedule and a look at the stars the Sportimes will face this summer.

Cover story

Cover photo credit: Fred & Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA


By Carl Barnett

Its an early summer morn-ing and youre about to takethe kids to tennis camp.They may not be hungry

now, but its time to eat. Half a bagel or abowl of cereal will do it if they are pickyeaters. Just dont let them go to work onan empty tank.

Its also time to hydrate. A small cup ofjuice and a six-ounce water will really comein handy around 10:00 a.m. If they wait untilthey are thirsty or around the time of thefirst break, it is too late. They will fall be-hind on hydration all day long.

I like the combination of two waters forevery sports drink. Give them a cooler anddo not freeze their drinks in plastic. A sipof a sports drink and two sips of water

Hydration and Fuel to Keep Your Campers Happy

every 15 min. will do the trick. Pack a snack for mid-morning and mid-

afternoon. I like a banana at those times. Ifthey dont like bananas, then pack somecoconut water. This will give them thepotassium they are missing from the ba-nanas. If they are listless at lunch, theyshould increase the water as they may bedehydrated. If all they drink is a high fruc-tose sports drink, it will only make themthirstier. Stay with the 2:1 water to fruitdrink ratio.

Pizza is easy, but it is not the best lunchif they order themselves. A sandwich withmeat, cheese, lettuce and tomato wouldserve them better. They do not need to eatall the bread if they dont want it. Saladswith a little meat and cheese will servethem best.

Remember, hydration and fuel for the

next day begins after camp at home. Toomuch late night junk may keep them fromeating in the morning.

Lastly, a good night sleep is essential.Not just for concentration, but for energy.They will more often suffer from a lack ofsleep on the second day after a poornights sleep. Kids often do not connect thedots between a lack of sleep and poor per-formance.

Going to tennis camp is a real commit-ment on the part of both the parent and thechild. Both parties need to follow theseguidelines in order to succeed.

Carl Barnett started the Early Hit TrainingPrograms at Glen Head Racquet Club sixyears ago. He may be reached by phone at(516) 455-1225 or e-mail [email protected].


Stony Brook UniversityTennis Camps

JUNIOR TENNIS CAMPall abilities ages 9-18

HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS CAMPcompetitive players ages 14-18

[email protected]

American StudiesAcademic EnrichmentSAT Prep

Other 4 Star Camps at University of Virginia:

Sports CampsHGolfHSoccerHBasketballHTennis

Directed by Gary GlassmanHead Mens & Womens Tennis Coach

Get the Best in Instruction and Fun:H Low Student to Instructor RatioH Personal Evaluation by Our Coaching StaffH Singles & Doubles Match Play

RacquetSports for Wii

Released inNorth America

Ubisoft has announced that RacquetSports, the multisport game that includestennis, beach tennis, ping-pong, bad-minton and squash is now available onNorth American retail shelves, exclusivelyfor the Wii system from Nintendo. Thegame was previously released in EMEA(Europe, Middle East and Asia) territoriesunder the name Racket Sports Party. Rac-quet Sports is rated E for Everyone anddelivers an engaging and interactive expe-rience for the entire family.

Racquet Sports engages players in 40graphical-rich environments in worldwidelocations, including an underwater reef, aMoroccan palace, a New York loft and afan-filled stadium. The multiplayer featurein Racquet Sports allows the family to playcooperatively with each other or to com-pete against one another. Compatible withthe Wii MotionPlus accessory and UbisoftsMotion Tracking Camera for Wii, playerswill experience easy-to-use controls thatprecisely simulate their movements and willbe able to play in multiple game playmodes, from party to championship mode.

Racquet Sports offers unprecedentedrealism and pinpoint game play mechan-ics, bringing every serve, swing and back-hand to life while replicating the experiencein the comfort of the living room.

Racquet Sports is sold at the manufac-turers suggested retail price of $29.99.The game also comes bundled withUbisofts Motion Tracking Camera and ispriced at $39.99.

For more information, visit www.racquet-sportsgame.com.


Long Island Tennis Magazine book criticBrent Shearer recently had the opportunityto chat with noted tennis broadcaster,Mary Carillo on topics ranging from theAgassi-Sampras feud during the Hit for

Haiti benefit in IndianWells, Calif., to howVenus and SerenaWilliams have domi-nated the womensgame. As always, theDouglaston, Queens,N.Y. native spoke hermind with her cus-

tomary blend of humor and optimism. Carillo has covered tennis for ESPN,

CBS, NBC and USA networks. She hasbeen a fixture at the Olympics, workingfor both CBS and NBC, starting in 1992.In addition, she is a correspondent forHBOs Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.Together with veteran sportswriterFrank DeFord, Carillo won a PeabodyAward for the HBO documentary Dareto Compete: The Struggle of Women inSports.

Before asking Carillo some specificquestions about the state of our gameand the state of Mary C., Shearer pointedout that one way to look at her career isthat she is following in the footsteps ofthat other great reporter from Queens,Jimmy Breslin. The Breslin technique isto talk to the least important person inthe room. It also involves getting awayfrom the pack of reporters and basingyour stories on real people who mayhave been overlooked by other mediaoutlets.

Carillo said she was honored to hearher work compared to Breslins. She ac-knowledged being impressed by such

legendary stories from the master as thetime after the Kennedy assassination,when Breslin interviewed John F.Kennedys gravedigger.

This influence, in part, explains Carillospenchant for finding unusual stories andadding color to sports broadcasts by talk-ing to non-traditional sources.

Carillo, who turned 53, a day beforethis March 16 conversation with Long Is-land Tennis Magazine, talked aboutchanges the game needs to make;Patrick McEnroes role as Davis CupCaptain; and the effect her children, 22-year-old Anthony and 18-year-oldRachel, have on her life. She squeezed inthe interview from her home in Naples,Fla., en route to her daughter Rachelshigh school tennis match.

Have your kids made it easierfor you to communicate with theplayers on the tour?I hope so. I have a great respect for youngpeople. When you think about all theseyoung people, and not only tennis players,but also the athletes I met at the Olympics,and you consider their level of commitmentto reaching publicly-stated goals, you haveto be impressed. Im a big fan of thesekids. They really show an uncommonpoise.

And you can contrast this with whathappened at the Hit for Haiti benefitwhere you had bad feelings between twoveterans messing up the whole evening.It was really awkward and unpleasantbetween Agassi and Sampras. If youcompare that with the way Rafa andRoger handled themselves, you have toadmire the younger generations classand grace.

What was your biggest challengethe first time you covered a non-tennis assignment?It really didnt feel awkward. I made itclear that the only sport Im fluent in istennis. I got a chance at CBS to interviewthe skiers at the bottom of the hill at the1992 Winter Games in France. I just feel adeep comfort level doing the research,and Im naturally curious so whether itsskiing or gymnastics or table tennis, ordoing Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel,its a lot of fun.

What tennis commentary teamthat youve been on had the bestchemistry? I think that working with John McEnroeand Ted Roberts has been pretty spe-cial. At first, I was just coveringwomens tennis. When I started doingmens, it was with Cliff Drysdale andFred Stolle. I wanted to bring to thesebroadcasts what I thought I could de-liver, but I also wanted to make sure itall blended. I didnt want to step on any-bodys toes.

Is womens tennis too loud? Is all the grunting unfair to oppo-nents? How should it be fixed? Its a problem. Womens tennis is tooloud. When I hear that people cannotwarm up to Maria Sharapova, I thinkthats part of the problem. When MonicaSeles grunted, I believed it was an or-ganic part of her game. If it becomes justa tool for intimidation, it gets to be toomuch. Kids are being taught to makenoise. I believe in doing hard things andmaking them look easy. It does give play-ers an unfair advantage.

By Brent Shearer


Is the reason the Williams Sisters have been able to dominate without being full-timetour players that they just serve better thananybody else?Thats a big part of it, but Ithink the one thing that hasallowed them to stand apartis their mental fitness, espe-cially in Serenas case. In thepast, the best female play-ers, from Billie Jean King toChris Evert to Steffi Graff toMonica Seles, were all men-tally strong. Martina Hingishad it too, until people fig-ured out they could breakher serve. Justine Henin isthe same. Plus she has so much variety inher game that she has a lot of options.

But most of the women, theyre incred-ibly fit and theyre taught to hit hard, buttheres a lot of choking and nerves thathold them back. Serena is really the lastword in mental toughness, but for a lot ofthe top women, this is where theyre vul-nerable.

The U.S. Davis Cup team justsuffered a tough loss in Belgrade. Is Patrick McEnroesjob in danger? No, I think Patrick did a great job. He didnt

have Andy Roddick, so it was tough. I havea lot of admiration for what hes done asDavis Cup coach. He earned the respectof Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. He

told the Bryan Brothers thatthey could own Saturdays (thedoubles match, normallyplayed on Saturday) and thatsworked out pretty well. We alsohavent seen James Blake playhis best tennis at the Davis Cupso, overall, I dont think you canfault Patrick.

Youve been an outspoken opponent ofon-court coaching.What is your take onthe issue now?

I still think you have to teach the kids thatits their responsibility to show up andplay on their own. Obviously, theres a lotof coaching going on despite the rulesagainst it. You cannot have the chair um-pire try to police it, they have to pay at-tention to whats going on while on thecourt. You could station people in theplayers boxes. Youd have to use com-mon sense in the trickier situations whencoaching is going on, but the beauty ofour game is that you are out there allalone and we should keep it that way. Partof that is teaching kids that theyre ontheir own.

Where do you draw the line inthe use of sex to market WTAplayers? Are you happy with thecurrent standards? I feel some hesitation about putting theseyoung women in fairly revealing, suggestiveposes and positions. There is a lot of pres-sure from agents to market their players thisway, but I think you have to be careful. Inthe past, tennis was, by far, the biggestwomens sport and its athletes were takenseriously. I dont think we want to lose this.

Youve come a long way fromhoisting the French Open MixedDoubles Trophy with JohnMcEnroe in 1977. What lessonshave you learned covering thegame since then?What I tell my kids is that its a big and a fasci-nating world out there, make sure you see asmuch of it as you can. Ive been fortunate tohave had a lot of great opportunities in cover-ing tennis and other sports. I love to travel andsee new people. Not everyone, for example,who was covering the Vancouver Olympics,would have jumped at the chance to go to theArctic Circle. As long as I get to spend enoughtime with my family, Im up for chasing stories.I really have a lot of respect for athletes, and Ilove bringing their stories to people.

Brent Shearer may be reached by e-mail [email protected].


516-849-6155Private ConsultationsJuniors, Adults, Parents & Coaches

WINNING IS ALL IN THE MINDLearn to conquer the mentalbreakdowns and compete atyour highest level. Bob Litwin'sMental Training techniques andwinning game strategies willteach you to overcome the innerchallenges of competition.

Bob Litwin2005 Senior

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1997-2010

Winning Attitudes

Mythbusters: Why College Coaches Dont Always Hear What Recruits Tell Them!

By Ricky Becker

Many relationship magazineslike to run columns with theformat, What a member of

one gender says and what the member ofthe other gender really hears. This columndelves into the topic of speaking with a col-lege coach. What a prospective student-ath-lete says and what the coach really hears.

1. Prospective student/athlete says: I haventreally had a good year because I have beenbattling a few nagging injuries. Im usuallybetter.What the college coach hears: I am in-jury-prone, tread carefully.

2. Prospective student/athlete says: I haveworked with a few coaches over the last cou-ple of years, but havent really found one thatI like yet. I know I have a lot of potential though.What the college coach hears: I often put the

responsibility of my results on my coachesinstead of taking responsibility for my ownresults. You may be my next excuse, and Iwill tell others about it, making it harder foryou to recruit!

3. Prospective student/athlete says: Ishould not have lost to that other recruit youare looking at. I played with the wrong strat-egy and went for stupid shots.What the college coach hears: I under-stand why you are looking closer at thatother recruit more than me. Instead of beingclassy about it, showing character and let-ting my record do the talking for me, Imgoing to make excuses, discredit your tastein choosing recruits and act like my poor de-cision-making during a match is irrelevant.Im desperate to make a better impression!

4. Prospective student/athlete says: Myopponent kind of Treed the last time Iplayed him/her. I usually win.

What the college coach hears: I am quick todisrespect my opponents and make excusesat the same time. Recruit me for your teamand you could hear more negativity from me!

5. Prospective student/athlete says: Imsorry it took me a couple of weeks to respondto your communication. I have been real busy.What the college coach hears: I am reallynot that fired up on your school, but can-not rule you out yet. Im going to string youalong a bit until I am sure I can go someplace that I think is better.

6. Prospective student/athlete says: Iabsolutely love playing high school tennis.What the college coach hears: I really enjoybeing on a team, being a leader and helpingeveryone on my team raise the level of their play.

7. Prospective student/athlete says: I amplanning to visit your campus within thenext few weeks with my family. Are yougoing to be around so I can meet you?What the college coach hears: I amgoing the next step to show you how in-terested I am in your school and how se-rious I am about possibly playing for yourtennis team by paying for a trip on my owndime and bringing my busy parents. I amalso very conscientious by making sureyou will be there when I come to visit. Ten-nis is an extremely important factor in mycollege choice and I will be very commit-ted to your team.

Ricky Becker is the founder of JuniorTennis-Consulting LLC, which offers off-court col-lege guidance services to junior tennisplayers. He can be reached by phone at (516)605-0420, e-mail [email protected] orvisit www.JuniorTennisConsulting.com.

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Tennis tweets of lateThe following arejust a few of the

things that the sports top stars have beentweeting about through the social net-working tool that is changing the way wehave come to communicate with, Twitter.In addition to Facebook and MySpace,Twitters 140-word short blasts of info keepthe fans of the pros up to date on theirdaily activities, both private and public.

Robin Soderling loves CheesecakeFactory Best thing about the UnitedStates, according to Soderling.

Venus Williams started playing gui-tar again.

Lindsay Davenport watches CelebrityApprentice.

Andy Roddick followed his brackets forthe NCAA Tournament Shocked by theBig East showing much weakness earlyon I had Notre Dame in the Elite 8!

The Bryan Brothers were nervousabout their spot on 60 Minutes, but inthe end, were relieved and happy withhow it turned out.

The Bryan Brothers had troublesleeping on their flight Tried to sleepon the flight, but the baby next to mewas doing an audition for the nextScream movie. She definitely nailed it.

Svetlana Kuznetsova her dreamwhen she is done playing tennis is tohave a big dog.

Ryan Harrison got to meet JonathanVilma from the New Orleans Saints andthought it was So cool!

Shahar Peer celebrated Passover atthe Ruben house.

Ivanisevic finds a place aspart-time Cilic advisor

Croatian Goran Ivanisevichas joined up with compa-triot Marin Cilics camp asa part-time coach as thenumber ninth-ranked young-ster strengthens his bid for atop five ranking.

Vaidisova retires at 20, setto tie the knot

Nicole Vaidisova has re-tired from the sport of ten-nis at the age 20 and willmarry fellow Czech playerRadek Stepanek in July.A former top-10 player andwinner of six WTA titles,

the big-hitting Vaidisova reached the semifi-nals of the 2006 French Open and 2007Australian Open before falling on hard times.

She went 11-17 in 2009, and will end hercareer ranked number 176.

Harkleroad returns to WTAtour in Miami

Another new mom has re-turned to the tour, as Amer-ican Ashley Harkleroadplayed in the Sony EriccsonOpen in Miami in lateMarch, with a protectedranking of 70th. The former

Playboy cover model took a leave from thetour in October of 2008 to have her first child,

By Emilie Katz


2010

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Charlie, with her husband and coach, ChuckAdams.

The 25-year-old Harkleroad is allowed toplay eight tournaments under her protectedranking and also accept wild cards. Shereached a career high ranking of 39th in 2003.

Vanity Fair goes undercovertennis

Vanity Fair has dis-covered non-Grand

Slam tennis. The magazines Web site,VF.com, has started running a series thatgoes behind the scenes at the manytournaments that lead up to the U.S. Open.

Tennis meets b-ballMaria Sharapova is reportedly dating GuardSasha Vujacic of theNBAs Los Angeles Lakers.

Wade vs. Roddick in Miamitwo-sport collision

Two stars from two different sports cametogether in Miami during the Sony EricssonOpen for a showdown in both of their re-spective sports. Tennis great and GrandSlam champion Andy Roddick took onNBA world champion Dwyane Wade ofthe Miami Heat.

The day started with tennis, but Wadesoon realized that maybe he should stickto basketball, as he was unable to evenattempt to return the 100-plus mile perhour serves that Roddick was hammer-ing towards him as he found himselfducking away from them rather than tak-ing a swing.

When he did get the opportunity torally, things didnt get much better forWade, as he managed to hit the balleverywhere except for the actual tenniscourt. Wade had his chance to geteven next though as the event turnedto basketball.

Wade set the tone in warmups show-ing his full arsenal of dunks. Then thegame of H-O-R-S-E began, as Roddickkept up with Wade early showing an un-expected shooting touch, but Wade,who was not allowed to dunk, took overand won.

The jokes and playful banter made theevent a great success for all in atten-dance, and the players graciously stayedafter to sign hundreds of autographs.


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L O N G I S L A N D T E N N I S

Charitable Initiatives

On a positive note, Hit for Haiti 2 madea $1 million donation to Haiti, but PeteSampras and Andre Agassi showed thatthe negative feelings between the longtimebitter rivals are still very much alive.

The night started off with the ladies, asLindsay Davenport and Steffi Graff lost 8-6 to Martina Navratilova and Justine Henin.

Then came the main event: Roger Federerand Pete Sampras versus Andre Agassi andRafael Nadal. Four legends on the court to-gether seemed like a great idea, but Agassi

and Sampras turned a night that was sup-posed to be good fun for a good cause intoa very awkward situation.

Things started out fine with a lot of back

and forth lighthearted banter betweenAgassi and Federer, which brought laugh-ter from the crowd. But as the night pro-gressed, Agassi made things very publicand very personal in the rivalry betweenhimself and Sampras.

It all started when Agassi provoked Samprasto stop being so serious and have some morefun. Sampras decided to oblige Andre and havesome fun. Samprass idea of fun was imper-sonating Agassi. He fixed his strings and imi-tated Agassis pigeon walk, while walking over

Sampras and Agassi Renew Longtime Rivalry at Hit for Haiti 2


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the baseline then back. The impersonation wasfunny and spot on, but then Agassi decided todo his impersonation of Sampras. However, in-stead of Agassi mocking Petes tennis quirks,he instead pulls his pockets inside out and saysTip? I dont have any money Oh wait!Heres a dollar. It didnt end there, as Sampras,clearly annoyed, served at Agassi and claimedAgassi had made it personal. Agassi re-sponded by saying, It wasnt personal be-cause everyone knows already. This resultedin some very uncomfortable moments foreveryone involved, including Federer and Nadalwho seemed like they werent sure what to door say to get Pete and Andre to calm down.

The whole dialogue by Agassi was a clearand pointed reference to Agassis autobiog-raphy, Open, where Agassi writes about aninstance in which he, along with his formercoach Brad Gilbert, were in the samerestaurant as Sampras. Agassi and Gilbertleft minutes after Sampras. Beforehand,they bet on how much Sampras would tipthe valet. Gilbert thought Sampras would tipplenty considering his daily income, butwhen they asked the valet, they found outhe was only tipped $1 by Sampras.

Sampras and Federer ended up winningthe match 8-6, but by that point, the resultwas just an afterthought for all watching.

After the match, Agassi and Sampras didhug and Sampras said, You know I only havelove for you. Then, when Justin Gimelstobinterviewed the players, Sampras again saidhe has no bad feelings towards Agassi.Agassi however, had nothing to say about theincident immediately after the match.

A few days after the match and incident,Agassi spoke with ESPN.coms Rick Reilly andAgassi showed his remorse for what transpired.

It was out of line, said Agassi. It was in-appropriate. The night was on fire. We wereall having fun. I was trying to be comedic. Ionly had a split second to make a decision. Iwent for it and it fell flat. I was trying to getpast it, but Pete didnt really let me get pastit. He didnt really roll with it. Ive texted Peteto ask him if I can apologize in person.

Agassi continued, The joke fell flat andIm sorry. My hope was that the night wasstill enjoyable. My whole book is about livingand learning, and I guess you never stop.

So far, Sampras has yet to respond toAgassis text message directly, but has de-scribed the whole situation as regrettableand awkward.


L O N G I S L A N D T E N N I S

Charitable Initiatives

By Karen L. Bonnet

Every once in a while, lifethrows you a curveball thatresults in a few surprises.

Thats exactly how a group of tennis play-ers from Oceansides Point Set IndoorRacquet Club felt the first time they playedtennis. But these players are unique be-cause they play tennis and have MultipleSclerosis (MS). They beat the odds withdetermination and perseverance everytime they get out on the courtsand theylove what theyre doing.

No one is more aware of this than DanDwyer, managing partner and head profes-sional at Point Set. A tennis coach for over50 years, he has been coaching this groupfor seven years. The weekly hour-longclasses are free of charge to all participants.

As Dwyer recalls the initial goals of the groupmembers, he smiles and chats about how

much theyve advanced sincethey began. One of his players,Anastasia Papadopoulos, is agutsy lady with scoliosis andmultiple sclerosis. She was di-agnosed with multiple sclerosisin 1995, and wears leg andback braces for support.

Anastasias goal last yearwas to stand up and hit the ten-nis ballshe had a fear offalling. But on the first day, shestood up and hit 25 balls in arow, said Dwyer. All of themfelt they couldnt do it but theyovercame their feelings. Im notteaching this group anythingdifferent than what I taught my students andmy own kids. Theyre motivated and theyreenjoying the game.

Papadopoulos is a big sports fan, but shesays she never expected to be able to hit a

tennis ball. We need repetition in our lives. Sowhen we hear Dan tell us to keep your eye onthe ball and focus, it helps us, Papadopoulosexplained. For me to show up each weekmeans it has to be something really special.

Multiple Sclerosis: Winning Against the Odds

(Standing) Dan Dwyer, managing partner/head professionalat Point Set Indoor Racquet Club, with volunteers MarlonWeeks, Donna Healy and Jack Gearns with (seated) AnastasiaPapadopoulos, Linda Maisel, Christina Rouse and Dolly Pelini

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Diagnosed with MS in 1983, LindaMaisel enjoys tennis for the social interac-tion, as well as the exercise. She beganplaying the sport when she was in her 20s,and started again one month ago. Its areason to get out of the house and stopfeeling sorry for yourself, said Maisel,whose other hobby is her seven grandchil-dren, ages three to 14.

Dolly Pelini, a resident of FranklinSquare, N.Y., doesnt miss a ride to PointSet each week. Her dedicated husbanddrops her off and picks her up when thelesson ends. Despite the fact that she livesa half-hour away from the facility and hashad MS since 1990, she is not discouragedfrom participating in activities that she en-joys. This is good exercise and makes mefeel stronger, both mentally and physically,said Pelini. In addition to tennis, she eatslight and healthy foods and has an occu-pational therapist visit her weekly.

According to the National Multiple SclerosisSociety, MS is a chronic, sometimes debilitat-ing disease that attacks the central nervous

system. Many investigators believe MS to bean autoimmune diseasein which the body,through its immune system, launches a de-fensive attack against its own tissues.

Symptoms usually occur between theages of 20 and 40; the initial symptom isoften blurred or double vision, red-greencolor distortion, or even blindness in one eye.

Most people experience muscle weakness intheir extremities, and have difficulty with co-ordination and balance. Sometimes symp-toms may be severe enough to impairwalking or standing. Many with the disease

also experience transitory abnormal sensoryfeelings, such as numbness, prickling orpins and needles sensations. The progress,severity and symptoms are unpredictableand vary from person to person.

But the good news is that new treatmentsand advances in research are providinghope to those affected by the disease. Ex-perts say that exercise can help ease thesymptoms of MS, but its important to re-member to take certain precautions for yourexercise program to be successful. Exercisein moderation is important and healthy, butas with anything else, dont overdo it.

Karen L. Bonnet began her career as aneditor/reporter in the early 1990s. Later, inpublic relations, she worked for schools,nationally-recognized non-profits and busi-nesses. Her photography and articles havebeen published in news publications andregional magazines. She has written a fic-tion novel for middle-school children, to bepublished soon. She may be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

these players are unique be-cause they play tennis and haveMultiple Sclerosis (MS). They

beat the odds with determinationand perseverance every time theyget out on the courtsand they

love what theyre doing.


Tennis returned to the Boardwalk Hall in At-lantic City on Saturday night April 10 for thefirst time in almost 15 years with the inauguralCaesars Tennis Classic. The event featured fiveof the sports top past and present stars, includ-ing Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander,recent retiree Marat Safin and the current num-ber one-ranked American player, Andy Roddick.The hostess for the event was seven-time GrandSlam winner Venus Williams. The Caesars Ten-nis Classic set a new attendance record for atennis event in Atlantic City, as the record crowdof 7,330 who witnessed the event surpassed theprevious mark of 7,257 for the Return of TheChampions event which featured Monica Selesversus Martina Navratilova in July of 1995.

The night began with a battle of two Hall ofFamers, as Ivan Lendl faced Mats Wilander.The 43-year-old Lendl was returning to matchplay for the first time since 1994. The rustshowed a bit, as Lendl had trouble keepingup with the defensive play of Wilander, whosestrategy seemed to be to wear down Lendl.

I am a tough opponent for Ivan due tomy style of play, said Wilander. Wilanderwas able to use his consistency to forceLendl into mistakes and win 6-3. Whenasked after the match if the result was

what he expected after such a long layoff,Lendl responded, Unfortunately, yes.

In the second match, Marat Safin de-feated Pete Sampras 6-4. Safin and Samprasjoked with each other a bit during the match,but the competition was certainly there. Thematch was even until Safin broke Samprasat 3-3, and then held serve the rest of theway to record the victory.

Sampras then played again and took onAndy Roddick in the most entertaining matchof the night. In the pre-match warm-up, thebanter was already starting, mainly provokedby Justin Gimelstob who was co-hostingalong with Venus Williams. Gimelstob startedby joking with Roddick about how Roddickswife, Brooklyn Decker, had been on the coverof Sports Illustrated as well as has his oppo-nent Pete Sampras but not Roddick himself.Roddick replied, Hey Justin, have you evereven been in Sports Illustrated? The twocontinued to exchange good-natured barbs,as Gimelstob commented on Roddicks re-ceding hairline and Roddick pointed outJustins tiny calves.

Even Venus joined in on the fun whenRoddick said, Hey Venus, you should buyJustin calf implants, she fired back, I al-ready bought him two Grand Slams (talkingabout their two mixed-doubles GrandSlams together), isnt that enough?

The match itself was somewhat one-sided, with Roddick in control throughoutand able to hold on for a 6-4 victory. Thematch was played loosely, as after Sampraslost a few points in a row, he playfully threw

his racket into the crowd and went over andtook one of Roddicks rackets to help gainan advantage. Roddick provided some funfor crowd and tried to get fans to engage ina drinking game each time he heard theterm old school yelled from the crowd.

In the final match of the night, Marat Safinreturned to face Andy Roddick. With Safingetting more fatigued as the match went on,Roddick was again able to control the setand won 6-3. After the match, Roddick saidhe had a good time while in Atlantic Cityand that the tables were good to him.

Roddick also provided the media with acouple laughs in his joint post-match pressconference with Safin. When a reporterpointed out Roddicks affinity with Twitter,Safin was asked about his use ... I have noidea what Twitter is, Safin replied to whichRoddick shot back, I think Marat has to geta computer before he can start using Twitter.

The night was a great success for everyoneinvolved. All who took part seemed to enjoythemselves, from the players, to the fans.

There were a few celebrities in thecrowd, including, Bethany Frankel fromThe Real Housewives of New York, JeremySisto of Law and Order and the movieClueless, and Olympic Gold Medal figureskater Nancy Kerrigan were all on hand.

In addition to setting a new attendancerecord, Harrahs Entertainment, CaesarsAtlantic City and Star Games also formallyannounced that the Caesars Tennis Classicwill return to Atlantic City for a secondevent in the Spring of 2011.


Andy Roddick facesoff against a lucky

youngster in WiiSports Tennis dur-

ing the CaesarsTennis Classic event

in Atlantic City

Reps from Cruise Control were onhand to show off their product line

USTAs QuickStartdemonstration wasa popular exhibitduring the event

Pete Sampras takes some prac-tice strokes prior to his CaesarsTennis Classic match

Reps from MadisonSquare Garden wereon hand to promoteupcoming events andattraction at TheWorlds Most FamousArena

Justin Gimelstobwarms up Pete

Sampras

Pete Sampras addresses themedia following his Caesars

Tennis Classic match

Andy Roddickand Marat Safinjoke with themedia duringtheir post-matchpress conference

The crowd of 7,330 filled Boardwalk Hall in At-lantic City for the inaugural Caesars TennisClassic

Andy Roddickjokes with theBoardwalkHall crowd

Pete Sampras and MaratSafin hug after their CaesarsTennis Classic match


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Long Island Boys High SchoolPreview

2009 season recapLast year, Cold Spring Harbor was crownedwinners of the 2009 Nassau County Cham-pionship, while in Suffolk, Commack HighSchool was the winner of the 2009 SuffolkCounty Championship. Cold Spring Harborwent on to defeat Commack 5-2 in theLong Island Championship to capture theoverall Boys 2009 Long Island TennisChampionship. Cold Spring Harbor willhave many of their players return from 2009and are aiming to repeat in 2010.

Players to watch in 2010 Zach MorrisGarden City (Sophomore)Zach finished second in the county and ad-vanced to his second straight state tourna-ment. He was 11-0 in the regular season.

Eric AmbrosioCold Spring Harbor (Junior)One of the many Cold Spring Harbor play-ers returning from last years championshipteam, Eric Ambrosio finished fourth lastyear in the Nassau County Championships.

Nolan GelmanHalf Hollow Hills (Senior)Nolan Gelman teamed with Matt Stevens,who has since graduated, to finish secondin the Suffolk County Doubles Champi-onships in 2009. This year, Gelman will lookfor a singles crown at Counties and States.

Newcomer to watch for Zain AliHalf Hollow Hills East (8th Grade)The son of Deer Park Indoor Tennis headpro Efzal Ali, Zain will play with the big boysand play varsity as an eighth grader.

Teams to beat Cold Spring HarborNassau CountyLed by Eric Ambrosio, Josh Levine andConor Dauer in singles, along with a pre-mier first doubles team of Jensen Reiterand Alex Tropiano, Cold Spring Harbor re-turns most of their top talent from a teamthat lost only one match last year on theirway to the Long Island Championship.They are the odds on favorite to take theLong Island title again this year.

Half Hollow Hills EastSuffolk CountyHalf Hollow Hills East has won the Suf-folk County Title four out of the past fiveyears. Last year, they were knocked offby Commack, and those two seemeddestined to battle it out once again. HillsEast brings in eighth grader Zain Ali whowill play singles along with junior ChrisHunter, while the doubles team of SteveFerrantello and Christian Bormann re-mains intact.

ChaminadeCatholic High School Ath-letic AssociationThe clear favorite and rightfully so isChaminade. They have won 25 of the past30 CHSSA titles. Brothers Pat and ChrisBrosnan lead the way this year as theylook for yet another CHSSA title.

Check our Web site, www.LITennisMag.comfor updates throughout the season andplease send any match photos [email protected].


The year is 1987. Ronald Reagan ispresident and country club tennis isflourishing on the South Shore of Long Is-land. American tennis players, such asJohn McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, ChrisEvert and Tracy Austin, solidify tennis aspart of the American landscape. SouthShore golf and tennis country clubs, In-wood, Seawane, Woodmere and MiddleBay, have bustling programs. South Shoretennis clubs, Lawrence and Atlantic Beachhave overflow capacity and full tenniscourts throughout the day. Charity tourna-ments, such as the United Fund & SouthShore Sweethearts, see bustling draws.The United Fund is so popular that eachof the country clubs mentioned abovesend teams to compete in 16 flights withLawrence and Atlantic Beach having somany players they need club eliminationmatches in order to qualify to compete.

North Shore golf and tennis clubs, such asEngineers and Old Westbury, and NorthShore tennis clubs, such as Shelter Rockand Piquets Lane have full memberships.

During the 1990s and the early part ofthis decade, the economic downturn saw

many of these same golf and tennis clubsneglect their tennis memberships in orderto attract higher paying golf members.

Country clubs who viewed aging tennismembers as breeding grounds for futurehigher paying golf members saw theyounger generation of members bypassingtennis memberships and joining directly asgolf members with the emergence of play-ers such as Tiger Woods. The youngergeneration of tennis members opting awayfrom country clubs in order to play at moreeconomical alternatives, such as publicparks and USTA leagues.

Field Maloney, in an article in Slate Mag-azine, compared golf and tennis by stating:

Theres a Cain and Abel element at playhere. Golf and tennis are essentially siblingrivals, both raised in white polo shots, onewielding a nine-iron, the other a woodenracquet, who, during the leisure boom afterWorld War II, left their stuffy country club toseek fame and fortune on a larger scale.

While some country club tennisprograms continue to suffer

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As the summer of 2010 approaches, thetennis programs at some of these clubs havebecome almost non-existent, especially thegolf and tennis clubs on the south shore ofLong Island. However, a few of these clubswho neglected their tennis program in favorof golf have reversed the course in order tore-attract tennis memberships. One of theseSouth Shore golf and tennis clubs is InwoodCountry Club, which also has a Beach Clublocated on the Atlantic Ocean in AtlanticBeach. David Miller, who is the tennis chair-man at Inwood stated, Inwood did a costanalysis by comparing the spending pat-terns of both golf and tennis players. Theboard was surprised to learn that tennismembers, as a group, spent more of theirentertainment dollars at Inwood than manyof the golfers. Miller went on to state that,Percentage-wise, tennis players were morelikely to participate in dinners and utilize theBeach Club by renting cabanas. Whereas inthe past, the board made efforts to attracttennis members back to Inwood. Two yearsago, the board aggressively made an effortto reconnect with tennis players. Instead oftargeting anyone to join as tennis members,whether they played or not, we made a con-scious effort to attract tennis players. In-woods board lowered the introductoryTennis family membership to $4,200 a yearfor the first two years, which included a half-share of a locker at the beach and offeredlimited golf to its tennis members. In addi-

tion, we hired a new tennis pro that every-one respected, David Brent, and startedwomens and kids clinics. The club alsobudgeted extra money to the tennis courtsso they would rival any tennis club on LongIsland.

Miller went on to state that Inwoods ef-forts have created a healthy tennis program.

In the past two years, we have dramat-ically increased our tennis membership.More importantly, many of the memberswho have joined have 4.5 and 4.0 USTARatings, which has allowed us to create atravel team in the North Shore CountryClub Leagues. Its nice again to see all ofthe tennis courts used on the weekendswith pickup games and clinics.

One of the strongest tennis clubs on theNorth Shore, Shelter Rock Tennis Club inManhasset, has also changed with the timesto attract new members. More than 200 fam-ilies strong, Shelter Rock is a year-round fa-cility with indoor courts in the winter, cardrooms, indoor and outdoor swimming poolsand a dining facility open 10 months of theyear. Lee Raisfeld, president of Shelter Rockstated that, For the first time, Shelter Rockis now offering single memberships alongwith their family memberships. In addition,we made our food requirements and dresscodes more user-friendly to attract someyounger members.

Engineers Country Club, located in RoslynHarbor, is one of the most family-friendly

country clubs on the North Shore. JustinFries, membership chairman, stated that En-gineers came up with a step-up trial programfour to five years ago to introduce tennismembers to the club experience and the clublife. By introducing gradual dues increases,the program attracted a number of youngfamilies who came to Engineers, enjoyedwhat we had to offer and allowed us to builda strong program. The program has not onlybeen successful with the men, but with ourladies tennis program as well. Tennis mem-bers at Engineers enjoy all of the amenities ofa country club in that they have full use of theclubhouse, dining facility, pool area with waterslides, tennis clinics and limited golf.

While some country club tennis pro-grams continue to suffer today due to thecurrent environment, it seems that theclubs which have taken the initiative togrow their memberships have been suc-cessful. Clubs that have recognized theirdemographics and have increased theirservices have both retained and grownmembers. Country club tennis is, in fact,alive and well on Long Island.

Jonathan Klee is a partner at the Law Firmof Klee & Woolf LLP. He is a member of theUSTA National Adult League Committeeand is the Long Island Representative onthe Eastern Adult Grievance Committeewhere he currently serves as chair. He maybe reached by e-mail at [email protected].


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The Racquet Should Do the Talking!

One of my first tennis in-structors when I firstbegan taking lessons in thelate 1960s-1970s taught mesomething I will never forget.

I preach this message to this day to manyof my students, as well as my own twoboys who compete in college and theUSTA Junior Circuit: Just let your racquetdo the talking for you.

The game of tennis has changed drasti-cally over the last four decades, as has thetechnology of the racquets. That would bean understatement, to say the least, butcan we just go beyond that for a momentand realize this the person who playsbetter on a given day will win the match case closed!

I have attended many USTA junior andcollegiate matches over the years, and thecompetitive trait I have come to admiremost is of those competitors who go out onthe court and go about their business com-peting. I can live without the tantrums, theendless array of line call questioning, thefist-pumping after winning every pointand the sense of entitlement that top com-petitors feel they have when they walk onthe court that all is going to go their way.Guess what, you have to earn it! I am notsuggesting that everybody should be arobot on the court without expression or en-thusiasm, but there is a time and a place foreverything. I will even add some more con-troversy I am willing to bet that somecoaches teach their students to fist-pump,

shout after winning almost every point andgenerally be as obnoxious as possible. Thisstrategy may work from time to time, butover the long haul, the player who stays inthe moment, thinks logically and strategi-cally and relies on their tennis and mentalskills will go further in the game. Leave theantics behind and get on with the game!

There are those who say, What aboutJohn McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and IlieNastase who made a living on being ob-noxious and intolerable on the court?Sure, there are exceptions, and when youhave the talent of those players, you mightbe able to overcome those attributes. Ioften wonder how much better McEnroecould have been? Could Nastase havewon more Grand Slam titles? Connors was

By Lonnie Mitchel


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one of the fiercest competitors to play oursport and he sold a lot of tickets, but hewas an exception and perhaps a freak ofnature having reached the U.S. Opensemis at the age of 39.

You can find exceptions from the norm inevery sport I suppose, but for every McEnroe,Nastase and Connors, there were greatchampions, including Chris Evert, Bjorn Borg,Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Ivan Lendl, RodLaver, Pete Sampras, Kim Clijsters, JustineHenin, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova justto name a few. I believe those players repre-sent traits we should choose to emulate.These players represent a cross-section ofthose who tirelessly worked on their gamewith attention to detail with every stroke. Itseems as though as their careers advanced,they continued to show improvement whenthe average weekend warrior could evenargue why improve when you are alreadythe best. You improve because a greatchampion is never satisfied with the statusquo and besides that there is always thenext player who would be happy to takeyour throne away.

Let your racquet do the talking is my way ofsaying Go on the court and prove it! Workon the details of your game with great devo-tion and because it is the hard that makes itgreat. It seems to me that the obnoxious be-haviors I see in todays juniors never reallychange this fact: The better player will win.I will be fair though, it is not the majority andfor those who do not engage in this behaviorI say bravo. So go out there and just Let YourRacquet Do the Talking!

Lonnie Mitchel has been teaching tennissince 1985, mostly at Carefree Racquet Clubin North Merrick, N.Y. and is a USPTA Level1 certified tennis instructor. He has producedmany high school and collegiate level tennisplayers, including his own children, Wayne(who plays at Muhlenberg College) andTrevor (who competes regularly on the USTALong Island Junior Circuit, gaining the num-ber one ranking in the 14s). Lonnie has alsoworked in the travel and tourism industry asa regional sales manager for 25-plus yearsfor such companies the Walt Disney Com-pany and Royal Caribbean International. Hiswife, Harriet, is a club level tennis player andcan often be found on the court. Lonnie maybe reached by phone at (516) 414-7202 ore-mail [email protected].


The worlds top tennis professionals will compete in WorldTeamTennis (WTT) action once again this July at the state-of-the-art Sportime at Randalls Island Tennis Center, where the NewYork Sportimes will play their second season at their new home inNew York City. New York will open their home schedule againstthe defending WTT Champion, the Washington Kastles, on Mon-day, July 5 at 7:00 p.m.

World TeamTennis at Sportime at Randalls Island Tennis Cen-ter is the perfect place to come this summer to see the stars oftennis up close and personal in high-energy and exciting tennismatches. It is great fun for the whole family, as the atmosphereand entertainmentis fantastic.

The Sportimeswill once again becaptained by NewYork tennis legendJohn McEnroe,playing in his 10thWTT season. OnMonday, July 19,McEnroe will take the court in astar-studded night of GrandSlam champions, teaming withdefending U.S. Open Cham-pion Kim Clijsters in her onlyNew York pre-U.S. Open ap-pearance, to face off againstformer number one-rankedwomens player Martina Hingisand her New York Buzz team.McEnroe will also play at homefor the Sportimes when theyhost the 2009 Western Confer-ence Champions SpringfieldLasers on Monday, July 12.

Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open Mens Singles Champion,

will make his first-ever WTT playing appearance in New York onWednesday, July 14, leading the Philadelphia Freedoms againstthe Sportimes. Roddick is presently ranked number eight in theworld and has 28career singles titles.He is a formerworld number one-ranked player andhas played for theUnited States DavisCup Team.

Other highlightsof the Sportimeshome schedule in-clude visits by NewYork native James Blake playing for the Boston Lobsters onWednesday, July 7, and a return match with the Washington Kas-tles and their star, Serena Williams, on Thursday, July 15.

We were very pleased to be able to bring back four of my fa-vorite New York Sportimes players ever, especially welcomingnew mom Ashley Harkleroad back to full-time WTA and WTT ac-tion. With Ashleys husband, and proud father, Chuck Adams re-turning for his third stint as coach, it will be a family affair in2010, said Sportimes Chief Executive Officer Claude Okin.This group, combined with the many great fan-friendly ele-ments we have in store, not to mention the leadership of ourgreat captain John McEnroe and the addition of our newest star,Kim Clijsters, should make 2010 very competitive and a lot offun. We want to win a second championship this year, whilebringing great professional tennis to New York area fans, upclose and personal the WTT way.

Season tickets are currently available. Tickets for theSportimes are available by calling (888) WTT-NYC1 or by visit-ing www.nysportimes.com. The team will be adding a numberof fan-friendly promotions, and will offer free shuttle bus serv-ice from the east side of Manhattan on all event days andnights this season.

Photo credits: Fred & Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

LITennisMag.com May/June 2010 Long Island Tennis Magazine 25

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2010 New York Sportimes home scheduleAll matches begin at 7:00 p.m.

Monday, July 5 vs. Washington Kastles

Wednesday, July 7 vs. Boston Lobsters (with James Blake)

Sunday, July 11 vs. Philadelphia Freedoms

Monday, July 12 vs. Springfield Lasers (John McEnroe will be playing for the Sportimes)

Wednesday, July 14 vs. Philadelphia Freedoms (with Andy Roddick)

Thursday, July 15 vs. Washington Kastles (with Serena Williams)

Monday, July 19 vs. New York Buzz (with Martina Hingis, andJohn McEnroe and Kim Clijsters will be playing for the Sportimes)

Lester Cook, Julie Ditty, David Martin, Marie-EvePelletier and Maria Sharapova (Coach: TrevorKronemann)

Brett Joelson, Vania King, Dusan Vemic and RizaZalameda

Lindsay Davenport, Liga Dekmeijere, Anna Kournikova,Andrei Pavel and Tripp Phillips (Coach: Rick Leach)

Martin Damm, Rik DeVoest, Carly Gullickson andChani Scheepers (Coach: John-Laffnie de Jager)

Angela Haynes, Leander Paes, Bobby Reynolds,Rennae Stubbs, Serena Williams and VenusWilliams (Coach: Murphy Jensen)


James Blake, Eric Butorac, Jan-Michael Gambill,Coco Vandeweghe and Raquel Kops-Jones(Coach: Bud Schultz)

Jarmila Groth, Sam Groth, Kveta Peschke andRicardo Mello (Coach: Brent Haygarth)

Prakesh Armitraj, Ramon Delgado, NoppowanLertcheewakam, Courtney Nagle and Andy Roddick(Coach: Craig Kardon)

Sarah Borwell, Alex Domijan, Martina Hingis andScoville Jenkins (Coach: Jay Udwadia)

Kim Clijsters, Ashley Harkleroad, Robert Kendrick,John McEnroe, Abigail Spears and Jesse Witten(Coach: Chuck Adams)

2010 WTT full rosters (including marquee and roster players)

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Long Islands own John McEnroe is a for-mer world number one-ranked professionalplayer. McEnroe won seven Grand Slam sin-gles titlesthree at Wimbledon and four atthe U.S. Opennine Grand Slam mens dou-bles titles and one Grand Slam mixed-dou-bles title.

Kim Clijsters is a two-time U.S. OpenChampion (2005 and 2009) returns to WTTthis summer, but this time as a member of theSportimes. Clijsters is a former world numberone-ranked womens player who, because ofher enthusiasm, spontaneity and sportsman-ship, will make many fans amongst the NewYork crowd.

A native of Flintstone Ga., and a long-time crowdfavorite on the WTA Tour, Ashley Harkleroad,aka Pebbles, is playing in her fourth WTT sea-son; her third for the Sportimes. She recently re-sumed her professional career in Miami, playingwith a protected ranking of 77th in the world afterhaving given birth to her first child, with husbandand Sportimes coach Chuck Adams, in Marchof 2009. Ashley has achieved a career-high

ranking of 39th in the world in both singles and doubles.

Robert Kendrick is an ATP veteran and isin his fourth WTT season with the Sportimes,he was a member of the Sportimes WTTchampionship team in 2005. Kendrick is aformer All-American at both the University ofWashington and Pepperdine University, andachieved his career-high ranking of 69th inthe world during last years WTT season.

Abigail Spears is a native Californian, play-ing in her third WTT season, her second forthe Sportimes. Spears is currently the 47th-ranked doubles player in the world, havingachieved a career-high ranking of 40th in theworld in doubles and 66th in singles.

2010 will be his Jesse Wittens fourth con-secutive WTT season with the New YorkSportimes. He was Male Rookie of the Yearin 2007, and is a former all-American at theUniversity of Kentucky. Jesse reached thethird round of the 2009 U.S. Open beforelosing to Novak Djokovic in four sets andachieving his career-high ranking of 163rdin the world.

John McEnroe

Kim Clijsters

Ashley Harkleroad

Robert Kendrick

Abigail Spears

Jesse Witten

New York Sportimes player profiles


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By Rob Polishook, MA, CPC

Im the better player, how did Ilose? Does this phrase soundfamiliar? Imagine this: it was the

finals of the annual 16-and-Under Tournament,the weather was hot and muggy, and the sunwas beaming down like a laser. The time was3:00 p.m. and the stands were jammed withfans, coaches and the local media. The matchfeatured the heavily favored local boy, SanderMyles, and his opponent Paul Robinson. Theyhad never met before, but many people sus-pected that Myles was the stronger playerbased on his reputation and ranking. Somepeople even referred to Robinson as a pusher.Robinson referred to himself as a competitor.

The match did not go as most expected.Myles, who had looked so self-assured duringthe warm-up, seemed surprised by the steadyRobinson. At points in the match, Myles got abit deflated, began missing some easy balls,berated himself a few times, and soon wasshaking hands at the net with his head down.The score was 4-6, 2-6. The boy now lookedshell-shocked. He had no idea how he couldlose to a fellow with strokes like that. But one

thing he did know was that Robinson nevergave up, always ran down that last ball thatseemed out of reach, and maintained asteady level of play until the last point.

All club, high school and tournamentplayers have probably experienced this sit-uation at least once in their competitive ca-reer. Yet how many of these players reallyseek to understand what happened, andtry to put a plan together so that historydoesnt repeat itself in the next match?

This article is intended to highlight thebiggest mistakes a favorite can makeagainst a supposed underdog:

1. OverconfidenceHow many players have you seen begin amatch feeling like they are entitled to winbased on seeding, technique or past results?The downfall with such a mindset is that fo-cusing on off-court factors will take a playerout of the present moment, and distract themfrom performing their best during the match.

2. Focus on winningWe all want to win! However, it is important toremember that winning is not 100 percent in

our control; he or she must also take into ac-count that they have an opponent who alsowants to win. Additionally, winning is in the fu-ture, and we cannot control the future. When-ever a player begins to think ahead to the result,he or she should change their focus away fromthe outcome and back to the process of thepresent moment on something they can con-trol. They could ask themselves, What do Ineed to do to play this point well? It might startwith focusing on their breathing and gettingthemselves in a centered and relaxed place.

3. Listening to the hypeYour friends, teammates, coaches andmaybe even the media are going to besinging your praises. While these accoladesare nice to hear, they will not get you onepoint on the scoreboard. All of your effortsshould be on what you can do to prepare forthe match. This mindset isnt glamorous, butif you listen to the true champions, this is howthey approach each match. They focus onlyon what they can control and let the rest go.

4. Rely on talent aloneTalent is great, it makes the sport easier to

Im the Better Player How Could I Lose!The seven biggest mistakes the favorite makes


learn for some than for others. However, every-one eventually faces an opponent where tal-ent alone isnt enough to earn the victory. Infact, sometimes talent is a curse for a playerwho views his or her ability as enough to getresults. Talent, work ethic, on-court intelli-gence, and the ability to compete are all crucialfactors in player development.

5. Lack competitive intensityIf you ask anyone what percentage of a matchis about competing, and what percent isabout playing your best, the answer alwayscomes back that competing is more impor-tant. Brad Gilbert, author of Winning Ugly,spoke about how essential it is to scrap, bat-tle and fight no matter what the circum-stances. Its extremely rare that someone isable to play their best all the time. However, aplayer can always control how ferociously theycompete.

6. Lose composureSure, if youre the favorite, everybody is ex-pecting you to win. Therefore, when things

get close, the underdog is inspired, while foryou, the frustration kicks in. Before you knowit, the negative self-talk begins, the racketflies, and suddenly you have lost control onthe court. The favorite always has to be pre-pared to give a full effort, remain focused, andwork for every point, no matter what the levelof player they are competing against.

7. AwarenessOftentimes, the favorite is not even aware ofwhat is happening on the court in regards totactics and strategy. This is particularly thecase because they have a pre-conceived no-tion of how the match should play out. Onceagain, their focus is in the past/future andthey are playing to an ideal instead of playingin the present. Its important to play the matchwith no preconceived notions except thatyou will compete fully and attempt to playyour best. This will put the player in a state ofcurious presence and allow them the calm tosee whats unfolding before them. This openmindset will allow the player to be relaxedenough to make necessary adjustments.

As a favorite, it is important to rememberthat you must focus on the present, com-pete and let go of uncontrollable expecta-tions. The famous Tiki Barber, formerfootball player for the New York Giants andcurrent NBC analyst, was once asked whathis mother said to him before games. Tikireplied that, regardless of whether he was afavorite or an underdog, She told me toplay proud. These words are simple, em-powering,

long island tennis magazine - may / june 2010

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