Phenom in tennis officially elite-level
Last week while I was in the midst of the ITA Indoor, I received a link from David to this story from the Tucson Arizona Daily Star about Carlos Bermudez (and his older brother Dominic), two blue chips from that city.
Carlos Bermudez is one of the players at the USTA's new Boca Raton national training center, and, to me at least, one of the less well-known ones. The list of boys training in Boca is here.
This is a written by a sports columnist in Tucson who is probably not accustomed to writing about tennis (the paper does almost no coverage of the 12s and 14s Winter Nationals), so I found the comments below an example of sloppy reporting on the mainstream media side of journalism (Take that Chris McCoskey!).
It's likely that when Carlos gets to his dorm-style quarters in Florida, he'll be the only one of the elite group who played the USTA junior circuit while traveling by private automobile, with no paid coaching staff.and then later he adds:
Wait until the producers at ESPN get a load of the Bermudez family. Championship Tennis On The Cheap. Nobody does that these days.Yes they do. Lots and lots of families do, and I see them and talk to them at every junior tournament. Does he?
TAGS:
19 comments:
did anyone see that levine won nashville?? and he came from qualies....pretty good effort
Take it easy on the poor Arizona Star writer. It is actually one of the better tennis stories I have ever read. Tennis writing tend to be filled with acronyms and jargon known only to hard-core tennis people. The writer actually tells a common, working-man's story that some ordinary Arizona reader can enjoy while drinking his coffee.
One thing not pointed out by Collette is right after the headline is "Opinion by Greg Hansen", so if they're giving that disclaimer up front, is it really sloppy journalism or just an editorial?
the tennis hacker,
I disagree completely. If Hansen (columnist) were a true professional and didn't consider his readers to be so dull they'll happily accept any old drivel, so long as it had a 'feel good'ring and pro-Arizona tone, he'd have got his facts right. Instead, he either chose to remain ignorant or, much worse, chose to ignore them.
Personally, I have absolutely no time for any journalist/blogger/columnist/anyone - in either the Arizona Star, Sports Illustrated,Tennis magazine (Steve Tignor, take a bow) or any publication- who panders to their readership by deliberately misrepresenting the truth and I can't for the life of me see why anyone else would.
That it is an 'opinion' piece is irrelevant. His 'opinion' of the player's ability can't be questioned (it isn't reliant on any proof or certainty). However, when he makes statements such as those Colette quoted, he is misrepresenting the facts (something that no-one should do, regardless of the forum), not merely stating an opinion.
carlos bermudez is unknown for a reason. Good tennis player but none of those x factors that warrants the UTSA investing thousands in him while not doing much for others of equal ability/potential who are not at their academy. Results so far are nothing that seperates him from a lot of others. there is a reason why the usta does not produce top players anymore and this is one of them.... Nothing against carlos but again nothing so far that warrents the $$$$$ investment either. again the usta needs to spread the wealth. I CAN understand if $$$ IS SPENT on a christian harrison becasue he has realy shown great results/game AT HIS YOUNG AGE but bermudez. dont get it.
The statement that "nobody does that any more" was specifically targeted towards "Championship tennis". I agree it was an idiotic statement to write. But it does stink of an editorial opinion piece.
The other statement quoted by Collette was not a statement of fact, therefore can't be construed as a misrepresentation of fact. The author wrote that Carlos was "likely" to be the only one of the players in that elite group of boys that both drove to national tournaments AND didn't have a paid coach.
"I CAN understand if $$$ IS SPENT on a christian harrison becasue he has realy shown great results/game AT HIS YOUNG AGE but bermudez. dont get it."
Just because an elite player not at the National Training Center doesn't mean he/she wasn't approached about it. My understanding from CB's father was that some people were asked and opted not to attend. Christian and Ryan Harrison are exceptional players who happen to be doing amazing with their current coaching.
Additionally, I believe the residency program is for 14 to 18 year olds only. That's another reason why Christian isn't there.
Perhaps next year Christian will be there; I doubt it, because I doubt the USTA can do any better than his father and the staff at Newk's.
"better tennis stories I have ever read!" Gimme a break. Carlos Bermudez is no phenom...he is an above average junior tennis player and yes, he does have quite a reputation and it isn't based on his tennis skill. Hansen isn't even close on any of his facts, the kid just turned 15 in September, not 14 and the ultimate kicker...yet again, another pathetic decision by the USTA by accepting him into their program and paying for his training. If the acceptance was based on need, then yes, I can see, but I agree with anon, he has no x factor, and no outstanding results whatsoever...
A runner up result, some wins in level 3's, no ITF's or Slams. Geez, you get 92's and 93's playing Futures these days, so I give up...just don't get what USTA was thinking.
Anonymous said: "carlos bermudez is unknown for a reason. Good tennis player but none of those x factors that warrants the UTSA investing thousands in him while not doing much for others of equal ability/potential who are not at their academy."
Actually, while I'm not necessarily a huge fan of Carlos, the people who have posted so far on this subject have obviously not seen Carlos play. The USTA's decision to support him is actually one of the few smart decisions where they aren't only looking at results and rankings, but long term potential and a "big game" with pro potential. Carlos Bermudez is a lefthander who could literally serve at least 120 MPH when he was only 13 years old. He is over 6 ft. tall. He can also seriously "clock" his forehand like almost nobody's business. If any of you had seen him play, you would see the potential. His power is almost frightening.
With regard to the allusion some have made regarding reputation, certainly that is an issue, but I think some are getting him mixed up with his older brother who has been thrown out of matches (e.g., San Antonio B14s hard courts) for excessive hooking.
Really I cannot believe this article. I really do not know if Carlos is liying or the reporter was confused. The article says he just turned 14. He turned 15 in sept. 9. When he compares to other player of his age he is well behind. Harrison, Kudla and Cox are winning itf tournaments. Kudla was in the finals of the clay courts in 16. King, Kudla, Harrison, Van-overbeek, Cox, Flores and Ore are in the top 20 of 16 and under. This guy lost in first round of a boys 16 natiol open. In his age group, the 92 guys, there are like 15 kids over him in record and tennis. Can he really serve at 130????
Yeah, he is nos just very behind in his 92 age group bu he is not even one of the x-factor player in the 93 group.
The point about Collette's post was regarding the journalist quality of the article. There's no reason to start getting dirty regarding Carlos or insinuate the USTA made a bad decision. Time will tell.
The point about Carlos's age is correct, however the father pointed the mistake out to the author. Neither the author nor the newspaper made a retraction/correction.
I have seen both Bermudez boys play dozens of matches. My son often practices with them. I agree with one of the anonymous posters regarding Carlos's potential and his truly scary power. That power is truly an 'x-factor'.
Without going into details, I wholeheartedly disagree with people saying any of them purposefully cheat. Maybe they used to, but I've watched many matches of theirs in the last 3 years and haven't seen any evidence of it.
Anyone know how much $$ the USTA makes w/ the Open? How much much is spent on player dev? How many kids get grants and the range of grants?
Anyone know how much $$ the USTA makes w/ the Open? How much much is spent on player dev? How many kids get grants and the range of grants?
Lets face it, no matter what the USTA does someone isn't going to be happy. Atleast this new training center is giving some kids the oppurtunity to develop their games. The boys have a truly amazing field with formentera, jenkins, king, buchanan, and tripper. The girls decided to take a different approach but still have 3 of the strongest girls in their age group: McHale, Herring, and Vidov.
I don't think Mchale will be living at Evert like the others although she will spend a lot of time there.
The UTSA results in producing world class players in the past ten years speak for itself. Not great. Right now there are only 5 US men in the top 100, 13 from Argentina, 12 from Spain, 15 from France etc. The USTA has to big part of the problem. No issue with the training center or who they pick, but it's beyond logic why they put most $$$ into so few players when its a crap shoot who will break through. Querry who is one of the 5 US men was never supported by USTA, I believe. The USTA's development approach is way too narrow. Instead of putting so many $$$$ into one facility why didnt they consider regional training centers where the best in the different sections could push each other and then when kids get 16 makes some choices, but give as many players as possible the opportunity to develop to thier potential.
"regional training centers where the best in the sections could push each other"
Does anybody who ever reads these blogs disagree with this?
Why does cautious, unadventerous (Harrison brothers excluded) percentage type grinder, usta ranking, (thus mentally tough in usta's eyes) tennis get ALL of their attention, instead of taking more chances with their support? Regional centers would help with this, rather than so few in Florida. When you have mentally tough grinders going against each other on the clay everyday, what will that do? Make them even more mentally tough, and even more of a grinder. Great. Pro players? Probably. Division 1 college? For sure if they choose this path. Top 10 in the world? Zero chance. For even a shot at that scenario , you go see Bolletteri, Lansdorp..or many more innovative private coaches out there who look past the need to collect trophies. I mention the Harrison brothers, because they do not play this way. They are innovative, but also have the advantage of being guided by a innovative coach since they were out of the crib. Are there not kids out there, who have this potential, but without the guidance neccesary? If so, is it just "tough luck" that they have not had the proper support? For these kids who may have some Henri Leconte, or Stefan Edberg in them, should they just concentrate on keeping balls in play, so the usta notices them? Again, I'm talking about kids who have desire, athletic ability, and high risk games..that do not have access to the coaching you need for success.
Don't even have to have brick and motor regional centers, which would take a lot of $$$. The USTA could give $$$ to the different sections for USTA endorsed match play camps six or eight times a year for top sectional players and weaker sections could team up with other weak sections, then have a masters type playoff at the end of the year at Flushing Meadow with USTA scouts watching players. I am sure parents would pay part of the expenses for that as well as everyone looks for challenging match play. This would be a good way to identify more talent. The USTA needs to do something fast before we fall further behind
Post a Comment