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

Mobile Futures Stacked With Talent

The qualifying round of the 2008 Newton Cox USTA Men's Professional Tennis continues 10 a.m. Monday in Mobile, Alabama.

The tournament, part of the Futures series, is being held at the Newton Cox Tennis Center.

Qualifying Round

Monday, April 7. All matches begin at 10 a.m.

Alexander Sadecky (Switzerland) vs Filip Krajinovic (Serbia)

Richard Ruckelshausen (Austria) vs Adam El Mihdawy (USA)

Erik Halaj (Slovak Republic) vs Jean-Michel Durango (Ecuador)

Chris Lam (USA) vs Sergio Ramirez (Colombia)

Jarmaine Jenkings (USA) vs Tommy Garrison (USA)

Patricio Alvarado (Ecuador) vs Justin Malina (USA)

Marcus Fugate (USA) vs Vlademyros Mavropoulos-Stoliarenko (Greece)

Derek Schwandt (USA) vs Christopher Klingemann (USA)

Michael McClune Engaged in a Battle of the Young Guns

Hi, my friend. Good of you to have come. I enjoyed the time we spent together recently. I suggested that you keep an eye on a young, up-and-comer Michael McClune. He is scheduled to come to Mansfield, Texas, for the Texas 76ers Pro Event at the Walnut Creek Country Club.

I look forward to seeing him in person. Recall, I told you, he is in Sacramento, California, playing in the Swanston Challenger. He won his first match 6-1, 6-1 over Chris Lam.

As a reward he will play another young gun, the young man who has been burdened with the title 'the future of American tennis' -- Donald Young.

I took two road trips recently and I saw an unremarkable Donald Young in Lubbock, Texas, and a more polished Donald Young in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Perhaps, Michael McClune is hoping to play the former.

Drop by later. Or drop in tomorrow, I will keep you posted.

Movers and Shakers: Michael McClune, Hacker's Guide to Texas 76ers Pro Event

Hello, friend. Glad you can join me again. In our last visit, I told you that David Kuczer of Southern Methodist University won a spot in the upcoming Texas 76ers Pro Event.

Today I will tell you about the movers and shakers, the players to watch in this $15,000 United States Tennis Association Futures tournament. The Futures is a kind of developmental league in pro tennis where players get ready for the big time.

Hopefully, this would be the first in a series of conversations before the start of the tournament: qualifying round this weekend Saturday through Monday, October 13-15, at the Walnut Creek Country Club in Mansfield, Texas.

Michael McClune, at 18 years, is backed by the behemoth IMG: IMG is the Nike of sports management -- can you say Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova? IMG is so big, it owns the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. He is 6-foot-2, bangs a one-handed backhand and likes to pressure. He made some noise in the juniors and won the annual championship in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He got a wildcard entry in this year's U.S. Open, losing to 20th-ranked Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina.

He is playing as we speak in the Swanston Challenger in Sacramento, California; scheduled to play Chris Lam October 9.

So far he has won one Futures championship and is hungry for another. Michael McClune, write it down.

I will talk to you soon about more movers and shakers.