Sports
10-Year-Old Makes a Racket on Courts of US Open
Dix Hills junior player moves into quarterfinals of BJKNTC Junior Tennis Classic with 6-1, 6-3 victory.
The USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing plays host to the US Open every summer, but some of the top juniors on the East Coast, including Zachary Berlin of Dix Hills, got the chance to warm up the courts this weekend.
Competing in the first round of the boys 10-and-under division yesterday afternoon at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (BJKNTC) Junior Tennis Classic Championships in Flushing, Berlin displayed a strong baseline game in taking the opening set and a steely mental toughness in overcoming a late match surge from his opponent, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Maximilian Moeller of Tuckahoe.
“My forehand was working well out there, so I tried to take advantage of that and set up points with that shot,” Berlin, who is an incoming sixth grader at , said. “Whenever I got a short ball on that side, I was able to put it away.”
Find out what's happening in Half Hollow Hillsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Tennis is serious business for this 10-year-old. In addition to practicing several days a week with coach Kevin O’Rourke in Cold Spring Harbor, Berlin spends up to 15 weekends a year traveling around the state for tournaments, competing against some of the best junior players in the east coast.
“I really like traveling, so that’s probably the part I enjoy most about the tournaments,” Berlin said.
Find out what's happening in Half Hollow Hillsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The hard work in practice has been paying dividends with his results. In his last USTA 10-and-under tournament in Huntington earlier this spring, Berlin defeated several quality opponents on his way to reaching the finals.
Success at this level does come with some perks like getting to compete on the same US Open courts that pros do. However, Berlin said it’s something that he is taking in stride.
“It’s a cool experience, but it wasn’t something that I was really thinking about there,” Berlin said. “I just felt comfortable with it.”
The finals of the BJKNTC Junior Tennis Classic Championships are scheduled for Monday evening. To follow Berlin’s progress throughout the event, visit the tournament drawsheet.