tennis

Original Article in The Jerusalem Post:

How well do admiring Israel tennis fans know Julie Glushko on and off the court?

The night before beating Romanian Monica Niculescu in the US Open first round, the 29-year-old Israeli sat in the player garden and spoke with The Jerusalem Post about tennis and non-tennis matters as she ate her sushi dinner. Glushko next takes on No. 20 Naomi Osaka of Japan in the second round on Thursday.

JP:  What did you do on your days off after winning the qualifiers?

JG: I didn’t do too much for fun this time. I have been resting a lot. Eating – that’s fun actually – and sleeping.  Practicing as well!

JP:  Any superstitions, rituals, prayers or special food as you prepare for a match?

JG: I do not (laughing). No superstitions. I listen to music. I do stuff to relax but I try not to have superstitions because if it doesn’t happen or go the way I want to, I don’t want to be freaking out.

JP:  Favorite Israeli food?

JG: Is malawah Israeli? Jachnun and malawah!

JP:  Favorite beach in Israel?

JG: I just always go to the Hilton. Also Beit Yanai – it is a little bit north, next to Caesarea – is very nice.

JP:  Favorite city in Israel?

JG: Tel Aviv

JP:  Favorite world city?

JG: New York and Melbourne. They are very different, actually. New York is just so alive, it’s crazy, it has so much character. There are so many things going on. And you can find anything you want – except a beach!

And Melbourne – I just love Australia. I love the vibe too. It is the opposite of New York. It is more relaxing and people are more chilled out.

JP: Do you have a favorite Israeli singer or group?

JG: I like Omer Adam. I like Static and Ben El Tavori

JP:  What is your routine after a match, after everyone leaves you alone and stops taking selfies and asking for autographs?

JG: Shower, ice bath, shower again because I am cold.  I’ll take my protein shake then I’ll go eat after I shower, to give body the nutrition it needs, then go see a physiotherapist. It probably takes me between two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half hours to get out of the facility.

JP:  Are there other players you have become good friends with?

JG: Yeah, some girls I am friends with.  I think I am friendly with most of the girls, actually.  Definitely saying hello to most of the girls on the tour.     

 JP:  Do they ever ask you about Israel?   Are they curious?

JG: Some people think that what they see on TV is Israel, which it is not.  They ask me if it is safe to go over there, if it is nice.  I just wish we had some tournaments so people could see that it is actually super safe and nice to be there.

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Original Article Published On The Jerusalem Post

The young tennis player, who now ranks 28th in the world, brings a lot of pride to the Jewish athletic world.

from Argentina sat with a curious Jerusalem Post reporter in the Media Center of the US Open. Despite his at-the-time recently-achieved career high ranking of No. 61 (he is now ranked 28th in the world), few reporters were interested in Diego Schwartzman.Schwarzman, then 23, was engaging, polite, always-smiling and happy to speak about his family, Jewish upbringing in Argentina, love of soccer and, of course, tennis.

Schwartzman stands 5-foot-7-inches (1.7 meters), and is known affectionately by the Argentinian Jewish community as “el Peque” (the small). He started playing tennis and soccer at seven years old at Club Nautico Hacoaj, a Jewish sports club in Buenos Aires.

Schwartzman and his three older siblings – brothers Andres and Matias and sister Natali – all played soccer, attended Hebrew school and celebrated their bar and bat mitzvas.

By the age of 13, Diego focused exclusively on tennis.

“I did not have time for Hebrew school because of tennis,” said Schwartzman, though he noted that he and his family “respect Jewish traditions” and occasionally attend synagogue.

In many ways, Schwartzman is a typical Argentine young adult. He enjoys sports, hanging out with friends, listening to music and going to bars on the weekends. But unlike friends who have already attended university, Schwartzman’s desire to study management and public affairs will have to wait.

His professional tennis career is really taking off.

By the end of this year’s extraordinarily successful US Open, the 25-year-old Schwarzman was a household name among tennis fans, and members of the press from around the world filled a large interview room almost daily to ask questions – both in English and Spanish press conferences – about his stunning come-from-behind victories against top players – and about being the shortest player by far in the top 50.

What a difference three years and a tremendous two week run at a Grand Slam tennis tournament makes.

Schwartzman arrived at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, a few days before the August 28 start of the US Open.

In a post-practice interview with The Jerusalem Post in the player’s garden, Schwartzman discussed his past year on the ATP Tour, some changes to his team, and what it might take to “go deep” in a major tournament.

Schwartzman clearly had no expectation of advancing to the quarterfinals of the impending major.

“I think I have improved a lot in many things. I am really focused, both inside the court and outside the court,” he said.

He is pleased with his recent progress.

“This year was really good so far. I played really good. I made lots of quarterfinals and some semifinals, but I still need to improve a few things, like the physical and recovery after matches.”

Schwarzman lost a high-profile five setter to Novak Djokovic at the French Open earlier this year.

Then came the US Open, where Schwartzman surprised even himself, taking out a number of giants in rapid succession, including fellow countryman Carlos Berlocq (6-2, 6-1, 6-3), Serbian Janko Tipsarevic (6-2, 6-4, 7-5), fifth-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia (4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-4), and No. 16 Lucas Pouille of France (7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2) in his first career Grand Slam fourth round.

Schwartzman remained a gentleman throughout the tournament, consistently sharing kind words about his opponents. Following the Cilic match, Schwartzman shook hands and apologized.

“I just said nice words for him, because he’s a big-time player as well as a really good guy.”

Prior to facing Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarterfinals, Schwartzman noted, “It’s going to be really nice for me. I am really happy to be in the quarterfinals this year. I am excited to play Pablo since he’s my friend off the court. We have a good relationship in the locker rooms, and we share a lot of things outside the tennis life.”

Schwartzman ultimately lost to Carreno Busta (6-4, 6-4, 6-2) before an enthusiastic capacity crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium, chanting “Vamanos” (let’s go”) and the soccer chant, “Ole Ole Ole.”

Shwartzman’s storied run in New York earned him $470,000 and raised his profile and popularity in the tennis world. (Prior to the US Open, he earned $828,051 in 2017 and had total career prize money of $2,221,962).

Now, he is off to Kazakhstan where he will be a member of the Argentinian Davis Cup Team as it squares off against Kazakhstan in the September 15-17 World Group Play-Offs.

A long-awaited first trip to Israel will still have to wait.

“I am good friends with Dudi Sela and I really want to go to Israel. I almost got to go for the Maccabiah this year!” Whether or not he makes it to the Holy Land in the near future, the future is bright for Schwartzman, and with his play and attitude he is sure to garner more fans and admirers in the Jewish world and beyond.

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Original Article Published On The Jerusalem Post

NEW YORK – Three weeks of US Open tennis – from the qualifiers and the finals – drew to a close Sunday evening in New York City. Even with the absence of big names like Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Serena Williams, the tournament generated a great deal of excitement.

Four American women met in the semifinals for the first time since 1981, when names Austin, Navratilova and Evert graced the hallowed grounds of Flushing Meadows. Juan Martin del Potro knocked out Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, making a much anticipated, first-ever Nadal/Federer US Open meeting impossible. And the success of Denis Shapovalov reminds us there are many up-and-coming young players to watch.

As players from around the world return home for rest, family time, additional training and the Davis Cup, it is a good time to reflect on the state of Israel tennis.

As always, Dudi Sela was a crowd pleaser, always willing to sign one more autograph or pose for a selfie, even after a disappointing loss. And Yshai Oliel proudly represented Israel in juniors singles and doubles, though the 17-year-old, highly seeded in both, was knocked out earlier than expected.

Overall it was a very poor turnout for Israeli tennis players at this year’s US Open.

In past years, cheering Israeli and Jewish fans might have caught a glimpse of Shahar Pe’er, Julia Glushko, Jonathan Erlich, Amir Weintraub, Andy Ram (long retired) and such rising juniors as Shelly Krolitzky, Or Ram-Harel, Bar Botzer and Valeria Patiuk. In 2011, lucky fans even got to see top blue-and-white wheelchair tennis player Noam Gershony in action.

I long for those days. More than a few fans at Sela and Oliel singles and doubles matches saw my media credentials for The Jerusalem Post and wondered “Where are the Israelis?”

This year, Glushko and Erlich did not rank high enough to qualify. Krolitzky seems to be focusing on rising from the lower echelons professional tennis; during the US Open she played in pro tournaments in Ricany, Czech Republic and in Antalya, Turkey. And most of the Israeli juniors who once competed at the US Open have been lured away from Israel and are playing for American college tennis teams: Patiuk at Michigan, Botzer at Wake Forest and Ram-Harel at University of Tulsa.

Sadly, Israel provided the same number of males in the men’s singles draw (one!) as Barbados, Cyprus, Korea, Moldova and Tunisia. Even Paraguay had one woman in the draw; China and Croatia each had five.

When will fans of Israel tennis have something to cheer about?

That is a tough question to answer, though Israel Tennis Centers serve over 20,000 Israeli children every year and even offers a high performance program. And the David Squad, which boasts that it is “building the future of elite Israeli tennis” though its massive support of Oliel and others, only managed to produce one player at this year’s US Open

Hopefully, the upcoming September 15-17 Davis Cup tie will give fans of Israel tennis something to cheer about. Look for young hopefuls like Edan Leshem, 21, and Mor Bulis 20, as they play with more established teammates Sela and Erlich as the blue-and-white battles Ukraine in the first round of the Group I Europe/ Africa Relegation Play-Offs.

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The Original Article Published On The Jerusalem Post

A difficult day for the youngster

NEW YORK – Yshai Oliel’s US Open run was cut short Tuesday with shocking second-round upsets in both juniors singles and doubles.

In late afternoon action, the Israeli No. 6 seed lost to Uisung Park of South Korea 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, with the final set lasting only 22 minutes.

Then, under the lights and with the wind kicking up, just a few steps from Arthur Ashe Stadium where the crowd was cheering on women’s quarterfinalists Venus Williams and Petra Kvitova, Oliel and Russian Alexey Zakharov, the seventh-seeded duo, were sent packing in just 58 minutes by the unseeded team of Alafia Ayeni of the US and Jakub Paul of Switzerland 6-2, 6-4.

In singles, Oliel and Park exchanged hard hit groundstrokes from the baseline in the first two sets before Park pounced, quickly closing out the third set.

After a short rest to change clothes, Oliel was back in action for doubles, where he didn’t fare any better.

He spoke with The Jerusalem Post at the conclusion of both disappointing matches.

“They were both tough matches. In singles, I played well in the first set. In the second and third sets, I didn’t focus on my serve and he broke me both times in the first game of the set.”

Oliel felt he wasn’t aggressive enough and had a lot of pressure on himself. “He played well and I missed too much – and he was just better than me in the third set.”

The 17-year-old from Ramle felt the doubles match followed a similar script.

“They were aggressive and didn’t miss much.”

Oliel noted that the match was closer than they score may indicate.

“We had like eight deuces,” he said In juniors doubles, there is no “ad” scoring. At deuce, the one additional point is played to decide the game with the receiving team deciding which player will receive the serve.

For now, Oliel will rest, return home to Israel, and join his classmates for the start of the academic year. He was not selected to participate on Israel’s Davis Cup team, which will be hosting Ukraine September 15-17.

The team will include Dudi Sela, Jonathan Erlich, Edan Leshem and Mor Bulis.

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