Hopeful tennis stars fight for first ATP ranking points at Mardy Fish pro event
VERO BEACH – Every career needs a starting point. Tennis is no different.
While tennis fans relish watching teenage phenoms such as world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 7 Holger Rune win prestigious tournaments, there are thousands of kids their age looking for that first precious ATP ranking point so that they could begin the long, arduous climb up the ladder just to get out of the ultra-competitive sport’s minor leagues.
Just ask the dozens of teenage hopefuls competing in the qualifying rounds of this week’s Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation ITF/USTA Pro Circuit Futures clay-court tournament at the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club at Timber Ridge.
“I was pretty nervous honestly at the beginning,’’ said Stiles Brockett, 17, after winning his first-round qualifying match on Monday, 7-5, 6-3 over Huzaifa Abdul Rehman, the 20-year-old from Pakistan. “I was tight and thinking about it a lot and felt kind of jittery. I was serving for the first set when I got tight, and double-faulted. But I reset well and found my form in the second set.”
Brockett would have to win his second-round match on Tuesday to qualify for the 32-player main draw and then win his first-round match to earn his first ATP ranking point.
That’s exactly what a then 16-year-old Tommy Paul did in this event in 2014 where he went through qualifiers to the quarterfinals to notch his first ATP point. It took him five more years to crack 100, seven years to win his first ATP title in Stockholm and is now ranked 17th with earnings approaching $5 million.
The lanky 6-foot-2 Brockett is a native of New York living in College Park, Md., where he trains at the Junior Tennis Champion Center, the starting point of 11th-ranked Frances Tiafoe, a US Open semifinalist last summer.
“I’ve hit with Frances since I’m 15 and he always gives me so much advice,’’ said Brockett, who has won two gold balls as a junior, by winning the USTA Clay Court National singles and USTA Winter National doubles last year. “He says it was like a war out there on Tour, and you have to grind so much. I want to go to college a few years and be the best player I can be and hopefully be one of the best in the world.”
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For 15-year-old Lev Seidman of Ocean Ridge in Palm Beach County, the war might’ve been lost on a wind-blown, rainy afternoon, but he realizes the journey has just begun.
“It was a great experience to play in my first pro tournament, especially at my age,’’ said Seidman, who fell 6-4, 6-2 to 19-year-old Tim Phung of Bradenton. “It was a great environment with people cheering. I noticed everyone takes it more serious than juniors and he has a lot more physicality. Every rally I had to hit 5-6 quality balls and there weren’t many free points coming from his side. Overall, I felt I competed very well.”
Seidman, born in Los Angeles but lived in New York before moving to South Florida during the pandemic when he was 12 to pursue tennis, is coached by Jay Berger, former US Davis Cup captain and Top 10 player, but now the director of athletics at The Club at Ibis in West Palm Beach.
“Jay tells me not to focus on winning or losing junior matches or any matches at this point,’’ Seidman said. “I’m only 15 and have a lot of years, so in 10 years nobody is going to remember I won or lost a Futures match. His philosophy is to put in the hours and enjoy the process of getting better, rather than winning and to focus on what player I want to be when I’m 19 or 20.”
That said, Seidman is a muscular, 5-11, and he features an inside-out forehand weapon that far belies his age. He admitted that Alcaraz and Rune inspire him because of their success at a young age, but he hopes to create his own steps to the top.
“I’m inspired by them I’m working toward their level, but I won’t be disappointed if I’m not there at 19. I’m trying to take the long picture approach, whether I make my breakthrough at 19, 20 or 28.”
Sean Daryabeigi, an 18-year-old Californian transplant living in Delray Beach, has come close to that first ATP ranking point. Daryabeigi, who will play for the University of South Carolina in the fall, cruised 6-0, 6-0 over Marcus Saron-Terry Jr.
He’s coached by his father Ramin, a former Division I college player who toured in Europe and will also be under the tutelage of USC coach Josh Goffi, whose father Carlos once coached John McEnroe.
“My favorite part of my game is my speed and ability to figure out my opponent’s weakness,’’ said the 5-11 Daryabeigi, who rose from 2157 in the ITF junior rankings in 2020 to 100 in January after winning prestigious J4 events in Cancun and Guatemala. He has also won some money in the Battle of Boca UTR and Professional Tennis Tour UTR events at the South Country Regional Park.
“I’m here because it’s close to home and I’m trying to get my first point. Hopefully, it’s here.”
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Mardy Fish: These hopeful tennis stars are fighting for first ATP points
