Sport

Original Article Published on The Jerusalem Post

Israel got Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I action in Eilat off to a losing start on Wednesday, falling 2-1 to Turkey.

Shahar Pe’er and Julia Glushko lost their singles matches to open the day before teaming up to win the doubles encounter.

Israel will be back in action on Thursday when it faces Estonia before coming up against Croatia in its final Pool C tie on Friday.

The group winner will play-off against the winner of Pool C for a place in the World Group II playoffs in Eilat on Saturday, while the bottom-placed nation will play-off to determine relegation to Europe/ Africa Zone Group II in 2017.

The stars seemed aligned and the script already written by the time Pe’er, ranked 189th in the world, took Center Court on a sunny, warm, slightly breezy Wednesday for her evening session match against Turkey’s Ipek Soylu.

Despite Soylu’s slightly better ranking of 161, Pe’er is nine years older, has Fed Cup experience, and reached a career high of 11th in the world.

Pe’er also had the crowd on her side, with school children from Eilat filling the stands and cheering, “Let’s go Shahar, let’s go.”

Soylu got off to a quick 3-0 lead until Pe’er hit her groove, regained composure and won the first set in 50 minutes, 7-5. However, Soylu went on to win the second set 6-3 and the decisive set 6-2 to claim the match.

Israel’s No. 1 Glushko (No. 126) took the court under the lights versus Caglia Buyukackcay (142). Shouts of “El, el Yisrael” and “Let’s go Julia, let’s go!” helped Glushko get off to a 3-2 lead, but she could not sustain the rhythm in falling 7-5, 6-3.

The evening ended with the Pool C doubles match between Turkey and Israel, with Pe’er and Glushko partnering to take on Buyukakcay and Basak Eraydin.

After trading back-and-forth 7-5 sets, Israel clinched the win with 6-4 in the decisive set.

The Arkia Airlines gate and flight attendants at Ben Gurion Airport hardly realized there was a major international tennis tournament taking place in Eilat this week.

Yet, professional women tennis players from 14 countries, as well as coaches, umpires, members of the media and International Tennis Federation staff members have all congregated at the Municipal Tennis Center in Eilat, home of the Fed Cup 2016 Europe/ Africa Zone Group I tournament.

Tzipi Obziler, the Israeli captain, is a former Fed Cup player, representing Israel from 1994 to 2009. Israel’s team is coached by Sandra Wasserman, a former member of the Belgium Fed Cup team who reached a high of 48 in the WTA rankings as a player.

Obziler acknowledged that “it’s been a while, but to be a part of the Fed Cup team for the 17th year and first time as a captain means a lot to me. To hear again the national anthem, to wear again the Israeli flag on the back are very emotional things for me and I can only think about doing the best we can on and off court at any time.”

The tournament features two daily sessions through Saturday.

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Original Article Published On The Ruderman Family Foundation

For most tennis fans, the highlight of the 2015 U.S. Open was the anticipation and excitement around Serena Williams possibly winning the Grand Slam—all four major titles in a calendar year–for the first time since Stefi Graf accomplished this feat in 1988. For me, the highlight occurred on the last Friday of the tournament, when both women’s semifinals matches were played. A great deal of attention was focused on Serena’s shocking defeat to Roberta Vinci.

For those unable to get inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to see the Simona Halep/Flavia Pennetta semifinals match life, it was being projected on the giant screen outside of Ashe Stadium for hundreds to see. On an equal size screen, the Shingo Kunieda vs. Joachim Gerard semifinals match from Armstrong Stadium, and the Michael Jermiasz vs. Nicholas Peifer quarterfinals match from Court 17 were also being shown. Who in the world are these tennis players? They are admittedly not household names like Djokovic, Federer or Williams. They are championship wheelchair tennis players, getting the respect and honor they deserve! Kunieda, from Japan, is the #1 seed and Feifer from France is the #2 seed.

Wheelchair tennis is a serious event at the U.S. Open. Members of the media receive an official U.S. Open 2015 Wheelchair Tennis Competition Media Guide and a supplemental 20 page booklet of player biographies. The guide notes that this is the ninth year of the U.S. Open Wheelchair Competition at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and features 20 of the sport’s elite talents. For the uninitiated, signs on the U.S. Open grounds provide some background:

“Wheelchair Tennis began in California in 1976. Since then, it has grown to be played on six of the seven continents and, currently, there are more than 170 tennis tournaments on the wheelchair professional tour. The Men’s and Women’s division athletes have disabilities in their lower extremities only and are classified by gender. Quad division athletes have disabilities in their lower and upper extremities and are classified based on disability, not gender. It is one of the only sports in which you may see men and women competing against each other on equal terms.”

My first exposure to wheelchair tennis was in 2012 when Israeli Noam Gershony defeated the world’s #2, David Wagner. Gershony, 24 at the time, humbly told me after the match, “It is always easy being the underdog – there is no expectations and less pressure.” Each wheelchair tennis player has his or her unique story. Gershony had taken a few tennis lessons, but he was never a serious player. Gershony served as an Israeli army Apache helicopter pilot; a crash during the 2006 Second Lebanon War left him paralyzed. Early in his lengthy rehab, he was asked the seemingly unusual but very forward thinking question, “What sport would you like to pursue?” He chose tennis and went on to win several singles titles in his career. Gershony and the other wheelchair players I have watched and met at the U.S. Open are living proof that participating in sports and physical activity allows participants—with or without disabilities—to feel good physically and mentally.

I applaud the tennis world for making wheelchair tennis just another part of the U.S. Open, up there with men’s and women’s singles and doubles, mixed doubles and juniors events. I was pleased to read recent articles in a major U.S. newspaper, USA Today, which showcased athletes with disabilities who have extraordinary abilities—and participate in typical sports events: “One-handed Receiver Dominates with Speed, Spunk” (9/15/15) and “Blind Player Joins Southern Cal Practice” (9/16/16). May we continue to see opportunities of all abilities to be included in sports—the payoff for everyone is great.

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Original Article in The Jewish Ledger:

For fans hoping to see Israelis in action at the U.S. Open tennis tournament this year, the key was to show up a week early. Three of the five Israelis hoping to compete in the main draw were out before the tournament even started.

Shahar Peer, Julia Glushko and Amir Weintraub competed in the US Open Qualifying Tournament, which took place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, N.Y. August 25-28. Players ranked from approximately 105 to 250 in the world entered a 128, player men’s and women’s draw. More than 30,000 spectators attended the free week-long event.

The 16 men and women who win three straight matches enter the main draw of the U.S. Open, which kicked off on August 31 and will run through Sept. 13. More than 700,000 tennis fans watch the top men’s and women’s players from around the world compete for a staggering $42,253,400 in prize money.

Peer lost in the first round of the qualifiers to Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-2, 6-3. Amir Weintraub lost in the first round to Guilherme Cezar of Brazil 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Julia Glushko won her first round match to American Julia Boserup 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, but lost in the second round to Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 2-6, 6-0, 6-4.

Dudi Sela, ranked 104th in the world, automatically received a spot in men’s singles draw. He lost a tough four-set match to Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, ranked 40th in the world, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. “I started off tight but then I felt very good and thought I could win,” said Sela, coming off a tournament win at a Challenger tennis tournament event in Vancouver the week before the Open. Sela plans to return to Israel then travel to Asia for several tournaments.  Despite the loss early in the tournament, he said proudly, “I love tennis and I hope to continue playing as long as I can!”

The last remaining Israeli in the Open, Jonathan “Yoni” Ehrlich, played doubles with new partner Artem Sitak of New Zealand. Erlich is perhaps best known as half of the championship team of “Andyoni.”  His partner, Andy Ram, 35, retired last year after the two won their five-set doubles match versus Argentina in the Davis Cup in Sunrise, Fla. last September. Ram is currently co-founder and CEO of Pulse Play, a company that produces smart watches for tennis and other racket sports.

Erlich and Sitak lost their first round match to the Italian doubles team of Marco Cecchinato and Andres Seppi, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6. Erlich, returning from recent knee surgery and illness, was disappointed with the loss, saying,  “I thought we would go further. We played decent but didn’t take it.”  Erlich will return home to Israel to spend time with his children, 7 and 3.

One Jewish player of note in the Open’s main draw is Diego Schwartzman, 23, of Argentina. Following a first round win, he battled Rafael Nadal, the 8th seed, for nearly three hours, eventually losing 7-6, 6-3, 7-5.  Schwartzman also lost in the second round of the men’s doubles.

Once again, the tournament offered kosher food from Kosher Grill, a food stand just off the main food court. The stand is under kosher supervision and is closed on Shabbat. The Katz operates kosher food stands at many sports stadiums and arenas and has provided kosher food at the Super Bowl.

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Original Article Published On The Jewish Telegraphic Agency

(JTA) — Can Yishai Oliel become Israel’s version of tennis champion Novak Djokovic?

London businessman David Coffer is hoping the Ramle teenager can someday join such heady company — and he’s backing up his dream with the funding to groom the hard-hitting lefty for stardom.

Oliel is the most promising member of the David Squad, a small group of young Israeli tennis players that Coffer finances and manages along with his wife, Ruth, and three children. It picks the nation’s most talented up-and-comers — the five members now range in age from 12 to 16 — who Coffer hopes will soon become household names.

The squad is committed to “developing Israeli tennis players of the highest international standards,” according to its website. Since its launch in 2005, Coffer, the chairman of a real estate advisory firm and owner of the popular Tuttons and Dirty Martini restaurant and bars in London, estimates he has financed 100 children and teenagers.

Coffer, 67, is quick to note that the name “is not a reference to me but to King David, the greatest hero of Israel’s history!”

Djokovic, the Serbian ranked No. 1 in the world, personifies Coffer’s hopes for Israeli tennis: Win lots of Grand Slam titles and woo fans for your country. Coffer dreams of the day when one of his precocious players succeeds on an international level.

“Imagine 8 million Israeli citizens glued to their TV sets and not moving until the final game of Wimbledon is over,” he says. “It would mean so much to have a champion — we will cry with joy.”

Israeli players such as Dudi Sela, Andy Ram, Shahar Peer and Julia Glushko have enjoyed some success on the international level — Ram and Yoni Erlich teamed to win the Australian Open doubles title several years ago — but have never approached the top of the world rankings in singles. Israel was shut out in its latest Davis Cup match this year.

Oliel provides some optimism. The long-haired 15-year-old has made his mark already by twice winning the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl tournament in Florida — only the ninth player in the competition’s 70-year history to accomplish the feat.

“Yishai has amazing grace and timing and hates to lose,” Coffer says.

He recalls when Oliel was 11 and playing a tournament in Andalusia in 110-degree weather. The boy was on the verge of being shut out in straight sets.

“We encouraged him to take a rest,” Coffer says, “but Yishai cried ‘I am staying’ and ended up winning one game in the third set.”

Such tenacity, Coffer hopes, will win a Grand Slam championship — the French Open, U.S. Open, Wimbledon or Australian Open.

Along with developing champions on the court, the David Squad also aims to create a good name for Israel, says its managing director and head coach, Andy Zingman, a former Argentine tennis player, “all without political involvement.”

“This can be an important technique to change perceptions,” Zingman says.

David Coffer, in black hat, at ceremony in Raanana honoring him and son Adam, third from left, for 10 years of service to Israeli tennis, April 2015. (Courtesy of the David Squad)

Coffer’s son Adam points out that countries today curry favor through sports, as they have for many years. He points to Djokovic.

“If you stopped someone in the streets 10 years ago, most people would say that it was a country of wars and murder,” the younger Coffer says. “Today, thanks to Novak, half the people will say that the Serbs are nice, athletic, smiling people.”

David Coffer says Oliel, the son of Moroccan Jews, has similar attributes.

“People may warm to Yishai — to his smile, to his talent,” he said. “We could win friends. So we are here to find talent and nurture it.

The squad mostly trains in Raanana with such top coaches as Tzipora Oblizer, formerly one of the world’s top 75 players, Dedi Jacob and Eyal Omid. Jan Pochter, who has tutored Israeli national teams and is a veteran of international tennis, serves as Oliel’s primary coach.

Oliel is joined on the squad by May Kimhi and Keren Rozen, both 16; Roi Ginat, 14; and Yair Sarouk, 12. They make occasional training trips to such destinations as South Florida and Spain to train with extended members of the David Squad family, including former pros Aaron Krickstein and Manuel Santana.

“My father could afford to put them up in a hotel,” Adam Coffer says, “but we all stay together in our home,” referring to Spain and Florida. “They spend time together, feed off each other, pick each other up and share in the glory — you can’t put a price on that.” And the older athletes, like Oliel, mentor the younger ones.

The David Squad family, as the elder Coffer calls it, “is very warm and supportive.”

Being part of the squad requires commitment by the players and their parents, who must abide by a strict code of ethics: play to win, play fair, respect yourself — and, most important, Coffer says, “respect your parents,” who don’t join their children on trips around the world.

Coffer attributes his love of Israel and sports to his parents.

“My father was an ardent Zionist,” he says. “I remember him trying to raise money in those days for armaments. He always loved Israel and sports, and he gave his four sons the opportunity to play all sports — I played college level tennis.”

Coffer remembers visiting Israel for the first time at the age of 20. And he has brought his own family to Israel on many occasions. From the first visit, he says, “I loved Israel. It stood for all Jews — for spirit, defiance and progress. It made me feel good.”

Israel does have other tennis programs for young people. The Israel Tennis Center, for one, is a grassroots effort of 14 centers designed to grow the sport in Israel across religious and socioeconomic lines, often working with at-risk youth. The David Squad approach is more targeted.

“We identify the best possible players in Israel, with the greatest potential, at any age,” Adam Coffer says. “Our sole intention is to produce international level players capable of competing for Grand Slams.”

Danny Gelley, CEO of the the Israel Tennis Center, says, “Every center has a competitive tennis program for juniors, but we can’t afford to do individual coaching. Our whole budget is a fraction of what [Coffer] spends.”

Gelley adds that Coffer “is very independent and we have little relationship with him.”

Adam Coffer stresses his organization’s independence and echoes Galley’s assessment.

“We have very little involvement with the Israel Tennis Association or the Israel Tennis Centers,” he said. “We expect our kids, who are the best in Israel, to be entitled to the same contributions, if provided, by the ITA, as other players.

While Israel tennis stakeholders may differ in organizational mandate, approach and funding, all stand united in their desire for the day when Israel will produce world-class tennis talent.

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