Seeking net gains

Players competing on the Futures circuit typically are ranked from No. 300 to No. 1,500 in the world. They travel across the country, often not knowing where they'll be from week to week.

By Steve Megargee staff writer
May 6, 2003

Andre Agassi doesn't have to plan his own travel arrangements for every tournament.

Lleyton Hewitt never worries about fitting classwork in between practices.

Andy Roddick won't ever hear buddies or relatives ask when he's going to get a real job.

They're the exceptions.

The other side of professional tennis has been on display the past week at the Grand Harbor Classic, a United States Tennis Association Futures event in Vero Beach. Futures events are the equivalent of baseball's minor leagues, where players try to improve their rankings so they can qualify for high-profile tournaments on the ATP Tour.

Players competing on the Futures circuit typically are ranked from No. 300 to No. 1,500 in the world. They travel across the country, often not knowing where they'll be from week to week.

"It's a long grind and sometimes you just want to go home," said Andrew Carlson, who has an international business degree from Ohio State and now is ranked near the top 1,300 in the world. "It's mentally tough on you. Every couple of weeks, I think maybe I should get a real job.

"But everybody's got to have a dream."

Last week, 123 hopefuls lived out their dreams as they attempted to qualify for one of eight remaining spots in the Grand Harbor Classic's 64-player main draw. Carlson won his four qualifying matches to earn a berth in the tournament, which begins today.

Players in the qualifying tournament ranged in age from 14-year-old Peruvian Sergio Rojas to 48-year-old Indian River County resident Gerry Berkheimer. The field mainly included Americans but also featured players from as far away as China.

Only the most ardent tennis fans would recognize any names in the Grand Harbor Classic's main draw, let alone the qualifying rounds. The top-seeded player in the tournament is former Louisiana State star Pedro Braga, who's ranked 307th.

Then again, few people had heard of Roddick or Tim Henman when they played at Grand Harbor long before reaching stardom.

"You can have guys ranked 800 to 1,000 who have every bit as much talent as the guys who are ranked in the top 150," said Theron Cole, a 23-year-old who graduated from Abilene Christian in December. "It's a very, very minute difference."

Players at Grand Harbor are trying to make up that difference before they run out of time or money. Here's a look at the different types of people who showed up hoping to qualify for one of those coveted spots in the main draw.

The graduates

Ryan Sachire admits there's some jealousy in the air when he's talking on the phone to his former Notre Dame classmates, many of whom already have settled down to jobs that offer more financial security.

But all the envy is coming from the other end of the line.

"They're kind of jealous of me because I'm doing something I love instead of some regular, 9-to-5 job," Sachire said.

Sachire is one of many former college stars pursuing a pro career after graduation. One day, they might earn a living as teaching pros, but first they want to see how far they can go on their own.

They'll only make it as far as their cars and wallets will take them.

Many of the twentysomethings drive to tournaments to save costs on air fare and rental cars.

Texas Christian alum Scott Eddins, who lost in the last round of qualifying, drove from Texas to Vero Beach. He even has a television in his car, which allowed him to watch a DVD of the animated comedy "Futurama" on his way to Florida.

The players often sleep at the homes of friends or former college buddies to avoid paying hotel costs. If you don't have financial assistance from equipment or apparel companies, funding a tennis career can prove just as difficult as moving up in the rankings.

Even winning a tournament won't result in a financial windfall.

The Grand Harbor singles champion earns only $1,300.

By contrast, Pete Sampras collected $900,000 for winning the U.S. Open last year.

"Basically, the ones who have the best chance of making it are the ones with financial backing," said Cole, who believes he has spent $3,000 to $4,000 on his tennis career since December. "It costs a lot. Players who can afford to get the experience of playing in tournaments are going to do better. If you don't have (money), then that's that."

The players have to plan their schedules, as well as make their own travel arrangements. Sachire is ranked 425th in the world -- better than all but three seeds in the main draw -- yet he needed to qualify because he didn't decide to play in the tournament until a few days beforehand.

"It's tough to plan things," said Sachire, who lost in the second round of qualifying. "You're flying by the seat of your pants."

Because they're starting their pro careers at an advanced age -- by tennis standards, anyway -- the college stars don't have much time to make a name for themselves. One bad break could be devastating.

Eddins was ranked as high as No. 790 before he hurt his right elbow overexerting himself against a player who kept calling him "The Devil" in Spanish throughout the match. Eddins dropped out of the top 1,000 and lost his sponsorship deals while waiting for his elbow to heal.

Eddins, 24, chooses to look on the bright side. The former baseball player took a job teaching tennis during his recovery process and fell in love with the sport all over again.

"It's the best thing that could have happened to me," said Eddins, who didn't get serious about tennis until age 16. "I learned so much about the game."

The phenoms

While the twentysomethings try to work their way up to ATP events, they first must get past the plethora of younger players who participate in qualifying rounds. The Grand Harbor Classic featured almost as many teens as you'll find in front of a movie theater on Saturday night.

Florida's tennis academies make the teen presence even greater in the Sunshine State.

Wesley Chapel-Saddlebrook brought four players to the Grand Harbor Classic, just a few days after finishing second in the Class A state high school tournament in Tallahassee. The International Tennis Academy in Delray Beach sent Jack and Harry, the nicknames for Chinese teens Shuang-Qiang Lang and Rui Hao.

The younger players don't seem to mind being far from home.

"I kind of like it," said 16-year-old Derek Stephens of Charlotte, N.C., who lost in the third round of qualifying. "It's fun to get away from home sometimes."

Many of the teens already have left high school and instead are home-schooled students who take correspondence classes when they aren't practicing or playing tournaments.

"You can play more tennis this way," said 16-year-old Scoville Jenkins of Atlanta. "If you go to school, you're going to fall behind."

Jenkins was one of four teens to earn a qualifying spot in the Grand Harbor Classic. The others were Brendan Evans and Chris Clayton, both 17, and 18-year-old Dejan Cvetkovic.

Several younger players receive financial backing from their home countries, or from equipment and apparel companies banking on their long-range potential.

Jenkins, for example, has received assistance from the Georgia-based organization, Leader Enterprises. Evans said he has sponsorship deals with Nike and Head.

The players need the financial assistance to help with travel expenses. International tournaments offer more of the points that will allow teens to qualify for the Grand Slam junior events.

That's why money becomes an issue to any up-and-coming pro, no matter how much money he might be getting from a sponsorship. Jenkins often travels with his father, also named Scoville, but a large family and larger expenses prevent them from being together for all tournaments.

"I do have two other children," the elder Jenkins said. "And when you go to these tournaments, you don't want to eat at McDonald's all the time. And you're going to want to go to the movies or whatever a city has to offer. Here, we'd love to go to the beach. But there's the money problem. Then you have to pay for a coach's expenses, if he's going to come along.

"There's so much money involved. That's what makes tennis an elitist sport."

The teachers

Not all the players in the Grand Harbor Classic have aspirations of making it big.

Some just want to see how much tennis they have left.

Berkheimer, a local teaching pro, is one of the state's top players in his age group. He entered the qualifying rounds and breezed past fellow American Davis Robson 6-1, 6-0 in the first round.

Then he found himself on the wrong end of a 6-2, 6-0 beating against American Barry Kauffman in the second round.

"Today I was the student," Berkheimer said, "and he was the teacher."

Berkheimer still enjoyed the experience of testing himself against quicker players less than half his age. He said the main difference was the hard and heavy topspin that kept coming his way.

"I absolutely love competing with these guys and seeing how I can do," Berkheimer said.

Berkheimer was the oldest player in the qualifying rounds, but not by much: Ricardo Gordon is a 47-year-old Palm Coast tennis instructor who lost in the opening round.

Gordon knew he didn't have a chance of reaching the main draw, but he thought the experience would give him some lessons he could pass on to his students.

"This isn't really a flight of fancy," Gordon said. "It's just a reality check to show the people I coach that I know what's going on."

The qualifying rounds also featured an entirely different kind of teacher.

Jason Garriotte, a substitute teacher in Naples, played college tennis at Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne. He still loves the sport so much that he planned to enter the qualifying rounds at other USTA events in Florida.

"I'm going as far as I can go with my finances," said Garriotte, who lost in the first round of qualifying at Grand Harbor.

Garriotte's desire to continue entering tournaments might best explain why so many of these players make so many sacrifices for the love of their sport.

They have few dollars -- but fewer regrets.

"I know some day I'll have to get a real job," said Cole, who lost in the third round of qualifying Sunday, "but I just want to do what makes me happy and see how far I can go with it."