Futures Head to Pittsburgh

Dick's Sporting Goods Inc Men's Futures of Pittsburg, PA
June 30 to July 6
$10,000/32 Draw
Clay Outdoor
Main Draw Singles
Main Draw Doubles
Order of Play
Qualifying Draw

Related:

Futures Tournament Supervisor, chair umpire at Grand Slams

Janko Tipsarevic, the Serbian Heritage

John-Paul Fruttero

Resources:

Meet Brad Pomeroy

Cool off with these Summer Recipes

Catch up with Wimbledon, NY Times Full-Court Coverage

Jamie Baker returns, plays Artem Sitak

Nielsen USTA Pro Tennis Championship
Challenger Series
Winnetka, Illinois
June 30 to July 5 (Saturday final!)
$50,000/32 Draw
Hard/Outdoor
Main Draw Singles
Main Draw Doubles
Order of Play
Qualifying Draw

Related:

Nicholas Monroe Player Profile

Rajeev Ram's Money Shot

Show me Izak Van Der Merwe

The Idiosyncrasies of Artem Sitak

If you watch tennis players long enough, you would see that they each have idiosyncrasies, little quirks that they do almost unconsciously. Artem Sitak, the number one ranked player in the Rochester Futures in New York state, likes to put his racket in his left hand and put his right hand to his mouth and blow on it.

As you watch, Artem Sitak, you may notice that he is just a part of a team. He travels with his coach Jason and his wife Anya from the Ukraine. Artem has developed a reputation as a competitive and hard-working player and perhaps a big reason for his competitive spirit is wife.

Tennis, unlike most sports, has an odd rule that coaches can not shout instructions or communicate with the players during the match. But there are no rules against spouses speaking out. If Artem ever appears to begin to give in to fatigue or the elements, his wife bellows out a few words of encouragement that is startling in the usually-sedate grounds of the Futures tournaments.

She speaks in Russian, which maybe unintelligible to most American spectators, put her words has the effect of grabbing Artem by the collar and shaking him.

Related:

The Idiosyncrasies of Dusan Vemic

The Idiosyncrasies of Robert Smeets

The Idiosyncrasies of Rik De Voest

Resources:

The Idiosyncrasies of Nadal, Djokovic, Sharapova

The Tennis Hacker's Mail Bag

"I visited your blog and enjoy the stories," Kel wrote.

Kel has questions: "Can you tell me how one enters a tennis futures tournament? Do I have to already have a ranking of some sort or is anyone accepted to qualify? If so how are people paired up, is it at random?"

In answer to Kel's questions, the Futures is a proving ground for top-ranked juniors, college players and pros at the beginning of their career. Their ATP ranking is usually around 150 to 900.

Players who are not ranked usually play the qualifying round of each tournament to get in. Check out the 'Pro circuit' section of the USTA or ITF website.

If you need more infomation e-mail Danielle Gooding at gooding(at)usta.com or Julio Echavarria at echavarria(at)usta.com.

*Join the conversation, send an e-mail to tennis.hacker(at)yahoo.com.

Related:

The Futures Tour Survival Guide

Brad Gilbert, the famous coach once played The Futures

Myths on the Futures Tour

Resources:

ITF Pro Circuit

USTA Pro Circuit

Artem Sitak in Rochester, New York

Futures of Rochester, NY
Thru June 29, 2008
$10,000/32 draw
Clay Outdoor
Main Draw Singles
Main Draw Doubles
Order of Play
Qualifying Draw

Related:

Competitive Tennis Devastates the body

Show me Breda Turner

Noam Okun: 'Tennis is a game of momentum'

Resources:

Artem Sitak's brother does 'the Crip Walk'

Show me the real 'C-Walk'

The Teletubbies do the 'C-Walk': 'Keep it Gangsta'

Carsten Ball in Shingle Springs, California

Freight Solution Providers Pro Circuit Tennis Championships
Shingle Springs, California
Thru June 29, 2008
$15,000/32 draw
Hard Outdoor
Main Draw Singles
Main Draw Doubles
Order of Play
Qualifying Draw

Related:

Little Rock Family Adopts Julio Peralta

The Book on Greg Jones

Adam El Midawy: 'I'd rather be playing soccer'

How to get sponsors on the Futures Tour

Ricardo Hocevar, winner of the Sacramento Futures tennis tournament, used a rather forward way of gaining financial sponsorship. During a recent tournament, he wore a shirt that read 'Would you like to advertise here?'

Players have to be creative to raise funds to travel around the country and the world to play in tournaments. It can cost around $30,000 to $40,000 a year.

"The only way you can get help with money really is if people have seen you play or know you and they love the sport of tennis," says Sydney Jim, another young Futures player. "I'm lucky I have help with money, but I also worked very hard to get the start-up costs; also getting help from equipment companies like Pro Supex, Dunlop, Quiksilver, and I get some private help from Continental.

Related:

Sydney Jim talks about his hitting partner Bryan Wooten

Eric Halaj trying to break through

Michaela Moon Runs a Tight Ship

Resources:

Sydney Jim's blog of his tennis travels

Ricardo Hocevar featured in the London Telegraph. Scroll down to the last paragraph.

Sacramento Results

Players Rumble in Sacramento

Trius Technology Futures Pro Circuit Tennis Tournament
Sacramento, California
Thru June 22, 2008
$15,000/32 draw
Hard Outdoor
Main Draw Singles
Main Draw Doubles
Order of Play
Qualifying Draw

Related:

How to beat Carsten Ball

Ryler De Heart's Pain

Michael Yani Battles

Resources:

Michael Yani Loves Yuba

Ricardo Hocevar: 'We are the champions'

Next Futures Tournament in Shingles, CA, and Rochester, NY

Players Battle in Loomis, California

Ryler De Heart is ranked number two in the Recoating West Inc. Men's USTA $15,000 Professional Tennis Tournament in Loomis, California.

Carsten Ball is number one in Loomis. (Ball photo by Tessa Kolodny.)

Resources

Michael McClune article, pictures, Loomis News

Estrella, Hocevar in Loomis

The Many Faces of Bryan Wooten

Bryan Wooten was over-matched and his facial expressions were telling.

'What the hell is he doing over there?'

'Oh, not again.'

'What time does the lunch buffet shut down?'

'Some days you shouldn't get out of bed.'

Bryan Wooten lost to Artem Sitak in this match at the Little Rock Futures tennis tournament.

Related

More Bryan Wooten Facial Expressions

Resources

Loomis, California Results

Bryan Wooten Interview, Waco Tribune-Herald

How Tennis is like Tai Chi

Tai chi is an ancient Chinese dance that is used to promote health and -- after year's of practice -- can be used for self-defense. It encourages natural movement of the limbs and promotes an erect posture.

Today's scientists and doctors are convinced that the ancient Chinese had got something right and they recommend tai chi. For example, the elderly are encouraged to take tai chi to aid in their balance and people with high blood pressure find that tai chi's calming effects lowers their blood pressure.

Many tai chi movements can be seen in tennis. For example, just before a player serves, after he bounces the ball a few times, he would tend to lean back and gather his power before he serves. That leaning back motion is a classic tai chi move: without moving his feet the tai chi practitioner leans back out of the range of an opponent's attack.

The tennis writer Peter Bodo put out a great story about Ana Ivanovic and how she travels with a physiologist who helps her with her serve. In deed, a tai chi instructor is much like a physiologist who instructs his students on posture and movement.

One of the stories Bodo tells is how Ivanovic no longer stands parallel to the baseline because that way she let's her opponent know what is coming. That is pure tai chi: the tai chi pratitioner does not stand full frontal to his opponent; he turns to the side where he less exposed and disguises his own attack until the point of contact.

Related

The Tennis Hacker on Fitness

How Tennis can save your life

Breathe

Resources

Peter Bodo on Ana Ivanovic

Tai chi video

The Mayo Clinic on Tai Chi

Marcus Fugate goes Hollywood

Marcus Fugate.

Marcus Fugate, a player on the Futures tour, has gone Hollywood. Fugate is one of several players featured on the documentary film Unstrung. I read a review of the film and picked up three things, one of each is salacious, interesting and humorous.

The salacious bit is that Fugate is apparently the modern day Yannick Noah, the former player who was known to be a lady's man.

The interesting part is another player, Gregory Hirshman, is as absorbed in calculus as much as he is in tennis and has made his way to Stanford, a school that is known as much for its academics as it is for sports.

Then there is the story of Carling Bassett, a former player who was an heiress to a fortune, and who during her playing days was known as the quintessential spoilt, rich kid, tennis brat. (I got to see that side of her up close many years ago when I attempted to interview her at a tournament she was playing in.)

It turns out that Carling Bassett has a son, Holden Seguso, one of the players featured in the film. The gods of revenge have a sense of humor as the movie reveals that Carling Bassett's son is more a brat than she was.

Resources:

A Great Review of Unstrung

The ESPN Report on Unstrung

Unstrung, the Movie

Greg Jones Scouting Report

I got to see Greg Jones in Vero Beach, Florida. A week later, he won the Orange Park Futures. Jones is very tall and actually has trouble bending due to his height. He has a lot of fight and is competitive. He has a very deceptive backhand lob; he disguises it well.

He concentrates and has a court-presence, especially before his serve. He has a very powerful two-handed backhand. His drop shot needs a little work: he is shaky and telegraphs his drop shot and gives his opponent an opportunity to recover.

He is from Australia, so like Lleyton Hewitt, he gives an emphatic 'Come on!' after winning a big point.

Related:

Greg Jones in Vero Beach

Show me more Australian Players

The Little Rock Tennis Scene

Resources:

Next Futures in Loomis, California

Futures Players Cross The Border to Mexico

Steve G's Tennis Board

Jamie Baker suffers serious illness

Jamie Baker, a young man in the prime of his life and pursuing a career in professional tennis, has suffered a serious illness. Baker came down with ITP or idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Patients with the bleeding disorder, also known as immune thrombocytopenic purpura, have an unusually low number of blood platelets and have difficulty with their blood clotting.

Baker won two Futures tennis tournament this year but, for now, his career is on hold.

Related:

Jamie Baker's Career-Threatening Injury

Jamie Baker: The Power of Words

Jamie Baker Spars with Roger Federer

Resources:

The Mayo Clinic on Jamie Baker's Illness

British Newspaper on Jamie Baker's Illness

Daniel Garza Wins in Tampa

The Tennis Hacker's Mail Bag

"I ran into your website by mistake about two weeks ago, but have been really enjoying it!" read an e-mail from Josh.

"I love watching the 'minor leagues' as well and attend the event in Mobile every year."

*Join the conversation: send an e-mail to tennis.hacker(at)yahoo.com or drop a note in the comments below.

The Futures hit Tampa

Marcus Fugate, 7th seed in Tampa.

The men's futures tour is now in Tampa, Florida. Jose Statham of New Zealand is the number one seed in the USTA Men's Futures at Harbour Island. Other rated players are Clinton Thompson, Matt Roberts, Daniel Garza, Justin O'Neal, Chris Lam, Marcus Fugate and Lance Vodicka.

In early upsets, Sekou Bangoura defeated number six Chris Lam 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 in this $10,000 professional event.Matt Roberts, number 3 in Tampa.

Related:

Matt Roberts in Little Rock

Marcus Fugate in Little Rock

Brad Gilbert on Filip Krajinovic

Resources:

Tampa Results

Orange Park (Florida) Results

Futures Players move up to Bradenton Challenger

La Familia Jose De Armas

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The Jose De Armas family. His daughter Miranda attended her first match at the Grand Harbor Tennis Classic. His in-laws' last name is De Armas. I heard somewhere that in Venezuela the husband takes the name of the wife's family. Above, mother-in-law Nelly, wife Ana and daughter Miranda.

Jose De Armas made it to the final of the Vero Beach Futures.

In-laws including Martin De Armas. (Not pictured, in the bag, bottom-center of photo, is the family miniature dog.)

It is funny how a baby can disarm a powerful professional tennis player. After the match, De Armas was talking goo-goo baby-talk with his daughter Miranda. Also above, Nicolas Pareda.

Resources:

Show me photos of Orange Park (Florida) Futures