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

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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.

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The Idiosyncrasies of Nadal, Djokovic, Sharapova

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

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Artem Sitak's brother does 'the Crip Walk'

Show me the real 'C-Walk'

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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.

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More Bryan Wooten Facial Expressions

Resources

Loomis, California Results

Bryan Wooten Interview, Waco Tribune-Herald

Little Rock Final, Play-by-play

Artem Sitak (above) eats Matt Roberts' lunch.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Artem Sitak defeated Matt Roberts in the final of the St. Vincent Auxiliary Men's Professional Tennis Tournament in a triumph of Sitak's experience and seasoning over Matt Roberts' enthusiasm and adrenaline.

First set

Sitak opens the match having problems with his serve, a problem that bothered him throughout this Futures tournament. A number of double faults by Sitak led to a 1-0 lead for Roberts.

Despite the serving problems Sitak was able to move ahead 3-1 in the first set over Roberts who was playing before an enthusiastic crowd in his hometown.

Sitak was able to overcome the service problems and landed an ace for a 4-2 lead in the first set.

Roberts was able to get a little traction by using a tactic that opponents have used with success against Sitak: hit the ball to his backhand about three to four times in succession and then quickly swing it over to his forehand. Roberts was able to close the gap (4-3 Sitak, first set).

With the score 5-3 Sitak, Roberts drew on the enthusiasm of his hometown fans; Roberts put together an excellent game of serve and volley and a few overhead spikes (5-4 Sitak).

Despite a great effort by Roberts, who threw probably some of his hardest and best shots at Sitak, Sitak won the first set handily 6-4. This singular moment was a show of the difference in the level of play of the two finalists: Sitak has played tougher competition and has even won a Futures tournament this year; Roberts was playing on raw emotion, a chance to win a tournament in his hometown.

Matt Roberts waves to the hometown crowd.

Second Set

The raucous crowd cheered Roberts on for one last run. He was able to charge ahead to a 2-0 run.

In a strange way, the crowd might have helped Sitak. Sitak was a heavy favorite coming in because many of the top players were not in Little Rock and traveled to bigger tournaments in Tallahassee, Florida, and Mexico City, Mexico. The attention paid to Roberts must have allowed Sitak to relax knowing that if he could hold off the charge and enthusiasm of Roberts, the tournament was his to win.

Sitak covers the court well and runs down a lot of Roberts volleys. Roberts comes to the net occasionally but he does not put the ball away, he does not hit through the ball, and Sitak is able to run it down.

In earlier matches, Roberts used the aggression and force of the other players against them. He has a knack of hitting hard, low groundstrokes, a great forehand. Perhaps sensing this, Sitak took the pace of the ball and knocked little dingers and used a lot of spin, hitting the ball to the baseline. This didn't allow Roberts to come forward on his shots and he was unable to make 'tennis shots' and create his own pace.

Sitak took the upstart to school and it was just a matter of time before he put him away. Sitak wins 6-4, 6-3.

Little Rock in Perspective

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- After his 6-4, 6-3 loss to Artem Sitak in the finals of the St. Vincent Auxiliary Men's Professional Tennis Tournament, Matt Roberts said, "He was solid. He was on his game for sure. I haven't played anyone this week that patient."

He had not played anyone like Sitak all week. A little known fact is that many of the players on the Futures circuit were invited to bigger tournaments like the ones in Tallahassee, Florida, and Mexico. The players that Roberts ran through on the way to the final were not accustomed to playing this deep in the tournament.

As an example, Julio Peralta, whom Roberts beat in the semifinal, never made it to the main draw of the recent Mobile Futures having been knocked out in the first round of the qualifying round.

Adam El Mihdawy, whom Roberts beat in the quarterfinal, got knocked out in the second round of Mobile.

In contrast, Sitak lost to the eventual winner in Mobile and received extensive praise from the champion Travis Rettenmaier. Sitak also won a Futures this year in McAllen, Texas.

Artem Sitak denies the Hometown Kid

LITTLE ROCK, Ark -- Artem Sitak, the number one seed in the St. Vincent Auxiliary Men's Professional Tennis Tournament, was the most tested and have played against tougher opponents compared to his rivals here at the Pleasant Valley Country Club.

In the end, his toughness and experience served him as he beat Matt Roberts 6-4, 6-3 to win his second Futures tournament of the year.

He played the final match in unusually loud and raucous conditions for a Futures tournament. The players travel around the country in near anonymity but in this tournament Matt Roberts, who was born and raised in Little Rock, made it to the final and he brought what he called his 'posse' to cheer him on.

Sitak was having serious difficulties delivering his serve on the way to the final and was looking shaky coming in. But he pulled it together for the final.

In the end Sitak's experience and toughness prevailed over Matt Robert's adrenaline.

Sitak-Fugate Semifinal Play-by-Play

Artem Sitak.

Fugate Leads Early

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Marcus Fugate takes a 3-0 lead against Artem Sitak in the first set of this semifinal match in the St. Vincent Auxiliary Men's Professional Tennis Tournament.

Artem Sitak was able to close the gap and pull to a 4-4 tie on the outdoor hard courts of the Pleasant Valley Country Club.

Fugate, who had to qualify to get in the main draw, pulled ahead 5-4 on strength of a decent serve and excellent net play.

Fugate showed a bit of lethargy and a lack of urgency and was unable to put the set away. Sitak, the number seed, pushed the set to a tie-break and he basically steam-rolled Fugate in the tie-break. Sitak wins the set 7-6 (1).

Sitak's Vulnerabilities

Sitak was shown to have serious problems in delivering his serve. Throughout the match he would give away points and control of the match due to service faults and double faults.

On his backhand side, Sitak appears unable to generate any power and makes mistakes.

Marcus Fugate.

Fugate's Woes

Fugate's serve has some heat but he doesn't drill his serve often and consistently. He brings the heat occasionally, enough just to remind his opponent he has a good serve.

Fugate can be very casual on the court. He comes to the net often but he appears unable or unwilling to react if the shot is hit away from him. There were a number of shots throughout the match that he followed the ball with his eyes and did not move his feet to attempt to run the ball down.

Still Fugate was able to go ahead 3-1 in the second set.

Sitak quickly tied up the set at 3-3. Despite Sitak's continuing and obvious problems, Fugate is complacent and unable to capitalize. Sitak goes ahead 4-3.

Sitak and Fugate continue to tie each other up at 4-4, 5-5 and eventually had to settle in a tie-break.

Fugate comes to the net often where he is very good. But he does not use his net-play as an offensive weapon against Sitak. Fugate's problems appears to be not a lack of skill but lack of effort and motivation. He fails to hit threw his shots at the net and Sitak is able to return the ball and, as Fugate has shown from earlier in the match, if the ball is hit away from him he does not run after it.

As such, Sitak wins the second set 7-6 (4).

Sitak prevails 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4).

Sitak wins in a less-than-dominant Fashion

Artem Sitak, above, reacts to one of his many mistakes.

To be blunt, some serious technical flaws were uncovered in the game of Artem Sitak. Artem Sitak won -- 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4) against Marcus Fugate in the semifinal Saturday -- but had great difficulty in delivering an important part of a professional tennis player's game: his serve.

Sitak, the number one seed in the St. Vincent Auxiliary Men's Tennis Tournament, committed one double fault after another in an uneven performance at the Pleasant Valley Country Club. Sitak survived solely because his opponent -- who was leading at critical stages of the match -- had problems of his own.

As pictured, Marcus Fugate can be overly casual to the detriment of his game.

Artem who? Matt Roberts steals the Show

Matt Roberts.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A funny thing happened on the way to the final of the St. Vincent Auxiliary Men's Tennis Tournament. Suddenly Artem Sitak, the number one seed, no longer looks like the overwhelming favorite to win.

In fact, if one were to judge solely from the early performances of the finalists, one would say Artem Sitak is in trouble.

The hometown kid Matt Roberts -- who will face Artem Sitak in this Sunday's final -- is re-writing the script. Perhaps the players, like this reporter did, had dismissed Matt Roberts as the local player who was gifted a wild-card berth into this Futures tournament. But after seeing Roberts' 6-3, 6-4 drubbing of Julio Peralta in the semifinal, attention must be paid.

Artem Sitak (seated, during a change-over) will face a crowd cheering loudly for Matt Roberts.

Artem Sitak through to Finals

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Artem Sitak defeated Marcus Fugate 7-6, 7-6 in the semifinal of the St. Vincent Auxiliary Men's Tennis Tournament.

The Artem Sitak Machine Rolls On

Artem Sitak.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Artem Sitak is the number one seed in the St. Vincent Auxiliary Men's Professional Tennis Tournament and perhaps the most seasoned and tested player in this Futures tournament.

Artem Sitak has won a championship at the Futures level -- McAllen last month -- and Bryan Wooten is a qualifier at this Little Rock Futures tournament; the difference in their level of competition was evident.

Sitak dispatched Wooten 6-2, 6-3.

Bryan Wooten.

Catching up with the Mobile Players

MOBILE, Al -- The players from the Newton Cox USTA Men's Professional Tennis Classic are scattered around the country and even in Mexico City.

Some continued to the next scheduled Futures tournament; some upgraded to Challenger tournaments; and one even went to an ATP tournament.

Artem Sitak is ranked number one in the St. Vincent Auxiliary Men's Professional Tennis Tournament in Little Rock, Arkansas. This is a Futures level tournament and quite a number of players from the Mobile Futures are in the Little Rock Futures.

Ryan Harrison, who got knocked out early in Mobile, is in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston, Texas.

Travis Rettenmaier, the winner in Mobile, continues to roll in the Challenger Casablanca San Angelo in Mexico City, Mexico. Other Mobile players who made the trip to Mexico: Michael Yani, Carsten Ball, Ryler De Heart and Nicholas Monroe.

Gary Lugassy, Izak Van Der Merwe and Josselin Ouanna went to the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in Florida.

St Vincent Auxiliary Men's Professional Tennis Tournament
Little Rock, Arkansas
April 14-20, 2008
$15,000 / 32 Draw
Hard - Outdoors
Main Draw Singles
Main Draw Doubles
Order of Play
Qualifying Draw Singles

Challenger Casablanca San Angel
Mexico City, Mexico
April 14-20, 2008
$35,000 / 32 Draw
Hard - Outdoors
Main Draw Singles, Doubles

Tallahassee Tennis Challenger
Tallahassee, Florida
April 14-20, 2008
$50,000 / 32 Draw
Hard - Outdoors
Main Draw Singles
Doubles Main Draw
Qualifying Draw Singles

U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship
Houston, TX
April 14-20, 2008
$420,000 / 32 Draw
Clay - Outdoors
Main Draw Singles
Qualifying Draw Singles

Mobile Futures Scores

Gary Lugassi in Mobile, Alabama.

Newton Cox USTA Men's Professional Tennis Classic, Quarterfinals

Michael Yani beat number one seed Gary Lugassi 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5

Ryler De Heart d. Luigi D'Agord 7-5 (5), 6-4

Artem Sitak d. Izak Van Der Merwe 3-6, 6-4, 6-0

Travis Rettenmaier d. Vladimir Obradovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-0

Saturday Semifinal

Yani vs De Heart 10 a.m.

Sitek vs Rettenmaier 11 a.m.

Tennis Players Headed to the Big Dance

Being a champion is to be a part of a unique fraternity. In golf, it is symbolized by a green jacket; in college basketball it devolves in March Madness and the Final Four. No matter the sport, everyone wants to go the big dance.

Tennis' big dance, the show, is coming to Mobile, Alabama. Players would be fighting tooth and nail to enter the hallowed halls of the Futures championship.

Somdev Dev Varman

Somdev Dev Varman is a member of that fraternity. He won the first futures of the year in Wesley Chapel-St. Leo, Florida. He beat top seed Dusan Vemic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Twenty-three-year-old Dev Varman is from Chennai, India.

Uladzimir Ignatik

Uladzimir Ignatik also went to the big dance. He won in North Miami Beach, Florida, defeating Todd Paul 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-2. Ignatik won the French Open junior championship and trained at the Andy Roddick family tennis center, the John Roddick Total Tennis Academy.

Gastao Elias

Gastao Elias won his second Futures championship in Boca Raton, Florida. He was a winner over Alberto Francis 6-2, 2-6, 6-0. Elias won a Futures tournament in Mexico last October.

Jamie Baker

Jamie Baker established himself in February by winning two championships in a row in Brownsville and in Harlingen, Texas. Baker defeated Kevin Anderson in Brownsville. Anderson was the one who went into an ATP tournament the very next week and made it all the way to the final.

Artem Sitak

Artem Sitak is headed to Mobile looking for another championship. He won the last one in McAllen, Texas. The Russian staved off Tim Smyczek 6-4, 6-2.

Impressive Talent at Mobile Futures

Introducing the top eight seeds in the 2008 Newton Cox USTA Men's Professional Tennis Classic...

The Futures tournament begins April 7 at the Newton Cox Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama. The Futures is a series of tournaments for players ranked around 200 and below.

1. Gary Lugassy

Gary Lugassy is ranked 220 in the world. The left-hander from France loves hard courts. He has a double-fisted backhand. He has 10 wins and seven losses this year. He reached a career-high ranking of 194.

2. Josselin Ouanna

The Frenchman is ranked 231 in the world and loves to play on grass. He started playing at the age of five and is coached by Louis Borfiga. He loves soccer and basketball. He is the best friend of promising young French player Richard Gasquet. He has 11 wins and eight losses this year.

3. Izak Van De Merwe

Van De Merwe played for Old Dominion University. He is from South Africa and his hero is former president Paul Kruger. He loves golf and was a finance major in school. His favorite movie is the Gladiator, favorite book Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. The player he most admire is Pete Sampras.

4. Ryler De Heart

The 24-year-old American is left-handed and prefers hard courts. He is ranked 291 and played for the respected program University of Illinois Fighting Illini.

5. Amir Weintraub

The 21-year-old was born in Reehovot, Israel. He is a right-hander and enjoys watching movies. His dad is Luis, mom Carol and Sisters Daliti and Irit. He is ranked 327.

6. Nicholas Monroe

Twenty-four-year-old Nicholas Monroe was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He is right-handed. He went professional in 2004 after playing for the University of North Carolina. He won five Futures tournaments.

7. Carsten Ball

Ball has ties in both the United States and in Australia. Officially, he plays for the Australian team and his father was a respected player from Australia.

8. Artem Sitak

Sitak is from Russia and celebrated his Futures victory in McAllen, Texas, in March. Sitak says he can tell when an opponent is getting frustrated and that is the time when he attacks.

The Wind, Sitak Too Much for Smyczek

Strong winds and Artem Sitak's mobility proved to be too much for Tim Smyczek in the final of the Marquez and Marquez Men's Futures of McAllen in Texas. Sitak won 6-4, 6-2.

"He was just too good today,"Smyczek said about Sitak.

The windy conditions and Sitak's ability to cover the court frustrated Smyczek. And Sitak took notice. Sitak said he can tell when an opponent is frustrated. "That's when I can really bring them down. I can see it in their movements and behavior. That really helps a lot. When I play a player who is really calm, it's tougher."

It is all about concentration, Sitak said. "With this wind, whoever moves his feet better and sets up for the ball and just concentrated more, that person's winning. It was really tough to play in this wind. You've really got to concentrate."

Related:

Artem Sitak Trying To Make The Big Time

Resources:

Local Newspaper Coverage Quotes in above story first appeared in this article.

Next Futures Tournament: Alabama

Artem Sitak Trying to Make the Big Time

Russia's Artem Sitak created a stir on the Futures tennis circuit by defeating number one seed Jamie Baker. Baker had won the last two tournaments. Sitak has earned a trip to the finals against Tim Smyzcek in the Marquez and Marquez Men's Futures of McAllen in Texas.

Earlier this year, Sitak played in the qualifying round of the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open and the Australian Open. Sitak and other players toil on the Futures circuit where the prize money is around $15,000 to have an opportunity to play in tournaments like the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open -- prize money one million dollars -- and Australian Open -- prize money $20 million.

Over the past year Sitak has played a lot of Challenger tournaments -- which is the next step up from the Futures -- in the United States and in Europe.