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Saturday, October 27, 2007
Time with Federer helps teenager's game
By Mike Henry, Bradenton Herald
When Ricardas "Richard" Berankis of
Lithuania won the Boys 14s title at the 2004 Eddie Herr International
Junior Championships in Bradenton, he impressed spectators with his
polished technique, consistent ground strokes and determination. Predicting
the future for any teenage sports phenomenon is risky. But when you
start swinging a racquet at age 2 to copy your older sister, lasting
habits are easily ingrained. In the case of Berankis, those
habits were sharpened to a razor's edge when Roger Federer invited him
and former University of Florida player Jesse Levine to join him in
Dubai for 11 days of training leading to the U.S. Open. While the
impact of the 3-to-4 hour marathon sessions on Federer's game were hard
to measure - he might have won the U.S. Open after practicing against a
guy in a gorilla suit - their effect on Berankis, who was coming off a
semifinal run at the Wimbledon Junior Championships, was gargantuan. After
his Dubai adventure, Berankis won the Canadian Open Junior
Championships, beating world No. 1-ranked Uladzimir Ignatik of Belarus
in the semifinals. The following week, the No. 2-ranked Berankis swept
six consecutive matches without losing a set to capture the U.S. Open
Junior. "I learned many things practicing with Roger Federer, and
he gave my coach (Remigijus Balzekas) many pieces of advice," said the
17-year-old Berankis, who spent this week at the Nick Bollettieri
Tennis Academy preparing for a pair of $10,000 ITF Futures Tour events
in Mexico. Federer's agent, Tony Godsick of IMG, had approached
Ben Crandell of IMG Academies at Wimbledon about suitable hitting
partners for the world's No. 1. After watching Berankis play, Godsick
thought he was ideal. Looking across the net at arguably the best
player ever might turn any youngster's legs to jelly. It took a while
for Berankis to recover. But soon, he felt complimented and more
motivated than ever. "The first few days, it was hard to play.
Mentally, physically, technically, he is the best. But he let me
understand that he's human, and he's also very friendly. And when you
win a few games from No. 1, it gives you a lot of confidence," Berankis
said. All told, the 5-foot-8, 155-pound Berankis won 12 matches
in a row after training with Federer. He had won an ITF Futures event
in March in Portugal, making him one of three 16-year-olds to win on
that circuit in 2007. Berankis signed after the U.S. Open to be represented by Crandell and IMG. "Richard
is very composed on the court," Crandell said, "and he's a great
fighter, whether he is playing well or not. That is something you can't
teach, but all great champions have." Bollettieri - known for his bold predictions - believes Berankis has the qualities needed to be a top professional. "We
have never had a top player from Lithuania, but being here among some
of the best young players and top professionals from around the world
including Tommy Haas, Xavier Malisse, Ivo Karlovic, Max Mirnyi and
Radek Stepanek will help him take his game to the next level,"
Bollettieri said in an e-mail response.
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