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TennisONE Contributor Jeff Greenwald
Wins World 35s Singles Championship!

When all hell broke loose September 11 in New York, Washington, D.C. and America, San Francisco's Jeff Greenwald, a TennisONE contributor and sports psychology consultant, was far away in Austria, where, at that tragic and difficult time, he wished devoutly he was not.

But Greenwald had to stay. A world-ranked tennis professional last year, now a regular competitor in Northern California tournaments and winner this past April of the U.S. 35-and-over National Hard Courts singles and doubles titles in Scottsdale, Arizona, he'd been sent to Austria by the U.S. Tennis Association along with non-playing captain Bill Kellogg of La Jolla and three other players — among them Brett Dickinson, also of La Jolla -- to represent America in the Italia Cup, a World Team competition sponsored by the International Tennis Federation.

"Nights," Greenwald says, "we followed the story unfold back home. It was really painful and shocking for all of us. We felt isolated, we could think only about the victims, we wished we could help." Days, though, the team had to keep on pounding tennis balls, all through that first week, competing against the world's best 35-and-over players from 19 other nations.

"We still felt real pride," says Greenwald, "pride in our country. We were Americans and we wanted to show our strength for the other countries." All the players expressed their support and empathy for the American team, then tried to crush them on the courts.

They did not. In quick succession, the U.S. team, playing two singles matches and one doubles match in a Davis Cup-like round robin competition, racked up wins against South Africa's best, then teams from Australia, Slovenia and, in the semis, a particularly tough team from Italy. Greenwald, playing in the #1 singles slot, won every one of his singles matches, including a doubles match which gave U.S. the win over Italy. It vaulted the team into the finals against France, which had upset the top- seeded German team in the semis.

There, the U.S. idyll ended. Team member Richard Schmidt from Orlando played tough but lost to France's #2 player and Greenwald, in a three-set epic battle, lost to France's #1 player, Franck Fevrier, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5. The team trophy went to France; the U.S., which has won the event four times in its 19- year history, took home its 10th second-place finish.

The American crusade to display strength under adversity continued the following week, September 16-23, in Velden, Austria, where most of the Italia Cup players, including Greenwald, Dickinson and Dexter MacBride of Gaithersburg, Md., competed in the ITF's 21st Men's Individual World Championships.

MacBride went out in the second round, but Greenwald and Dickinson, seeded #2 and #3 and playing at different ends of the 21-nation, 60-man draw, kept on rolling. When Dickinson upset France's best and the tournament's #1 seed, Franck Fevrier, in the semis, 6-1, 6-2, waiting for him in the finals was Greenwald, who had taken out two other top seeds, from the Netherlands and Germany, enroute there.

Thus it was an All-American final, but with a little extra drama to boot. In winning the USTA National Hard Courts singles title in Scottsdale in April (he won the doubles title with Brian Cory of Salinas, CA.), Greenwald defeated Dickinson 6-2, 7-5 in the semi-finals of that event. A month later, Dickinson turned the tables on Greenwald, beating him in an exciting three-set final (7-6 in the third set) at the USTA National Indoor Championships in Leawood, Kansas. The world stage in Austria was a fitting backdrop for a resolution of their 2001 rivalry.

Spectators were treated to an exciting display of world-class tennis. The first set was a taut offensive battle as Dickinson repeatedly charged the net in an effort to close out points early. Greenwald, in a stunning array of running passing shots, foiled those efforts and won the first set, 6-4. He then pulled ahead 4-1 in the second set. Dickinson called a trainer after lunging for a passing shot, then played two more points. Down 30- 0 in that game, Dickinson retired, complimenting Greenwald on his strong play, and Greenwald was the World 35s Champion.

Dickinson and MacBride, who defeated a tough Agentinian team of Fernando DeMarinis and Diego Martinez in a three-set doubles semi, then went on to win 2nd place in the doubles event, losing to Germany's Stefan Fasthoff and Stefan Heckmann, 2-6, 4-6.

Greenwald and Dickinson may close the year ranked #1 and #2 respectively, in both the U.S. and World, as a result of their consistent performances all year, culminating in their domination of the ITF World Individual Championships.

Reflecting on his experience in Austria, Greenwald views it as a highlight of his life on the road. "It was a thrill and privilege to compete against players from around the world, sent by their countries, and was especially meaningful in view of the circumstances surrounding our competition. On his world title, he adds: "It was, for me, a victory I wanted very much to bring home for America."

When he isn't competing himself, Greenwald conducts corporate seminars on stress management, gives motivational speeches, and helps athletes in all sports enhance their performance skills. He is affiliated with the San Francisco Tennis Club.

Read Jeff's series on Mental Toughness in the TennisONE Lesson Library.

Last Updated 10/8/01. To contact us, please email to: webmaster@tennisone.com

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