Spicing it up at Costa Mesa Tennis Center

For true international competition, tennis is way ahead of the

game. While baseball and basketball and other sports attempt to

stretch the worldwide scouting, recruiting and developmental

boundaries, it’s a reversal of fortune in tennis.

Here, we’re the minority. In many other countries, tennis ranks

second only to soccer in popularity and participation.

But that doesn’t stop Costa Mesa Tennis Center operator Hank Lloyd

from rolling out the red carpet for a grass-roots United States

Tennis Association event, the second annual $15,000 Costa Mesa Pro

Classic on the men’s Futures circuit.

Lloyd, in fact, welcomes the international flavor to Costa Mesa.

In fact, only three of the top 18 players in the main draw -- the

ones who receive automatic berths because of their ranking -- are

Americans. Others are from places like Germany, Great Britain,

Russia, France, South Africa, Croatia and Yugoslavia. There are guys

from Argentina, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Brazil and the

Netherlands.

If these guys could cook, we could have quite an international

“Taste of” event at Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

While about 350 Futures events are played worldwide throughout the

year, only 33 this year will be played in the U.S., where the game of

tennis skyrocketed in the 1970s but has yet to experience another

boom -- and some question whether it ever will again.

But with people like Lloyd embracing the minor leagues of tennis,

promoting the use of public courts and encouraging folks to pick up a

racket, the sport will survive and, perhaps in some cases, thrive.

The top-ranked player in the Costa Mesa Pro, Japan’s Yeu-Tzuoo

Wang, is 217th in the world, followed by Germany’s Christopher Kas at

225 and the U.S.’s Doug Bohaboy at 293.

It is the second USTA Futures event hosted by Costa Mesa this

year, following the $10,000 Diadora Pro Championships in September.

Both are examples of Lloyd’s diligent effort to provide the community

with a chance to see quality tennis for free.

The Costa Mesa Pro Classic, with the main draw scheduled to start

Tuesday and run through Sunday, will award the winner eligibility

into the USTA Challenger circuit, the next level up with $50,000

purses and one step down from the ATP Tour.

*

Inclement weather delayed the start of qualifying rounds, knocking

out Friday and Saturday and forcing Lloyd, tournament director of the

Costa Mesa Pro, to scramble.

Sunday and Monday, Lloyd said, he’ll try to squeeze 123 players

into 59 first-round matches and subsequent rounds in each of the four

qualifying brackets, which includes 2002 Corona del Mar High graduate

Cameron Ball, CdM sophomore Carsten Ball, former CdM standout Boris

Turkic, Newport Beach’s Kaes Van’t Hof and former Estancia High

standout Devin Bowen.

Bowen, 30, has been a doubles player for several years on the ATP

Tour, but is trying to earn some singles points because of next

year’s new rule that will require every player registered in a

tournament to have a singles and doubles points.

While the rule is intended to make various top singles players in

the world compete in doubles, it creates an unreasonable burden for

veteran doubles players like Bowen and Rick Leach.

*

Lloyd is hosting several events tied to the tournament, including

a Demo Day on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. before the finals, which start at

noon. The event is free to the public and offers games and prizes.

“Taylor Dent’s going to be out here (Sunday) and welcome everybody

with his big serve,” Lloyd said.

A pro-am doubles event is also set for today. Details: (714)

557-0211.