Eric Butorac, the American doubles specialist currently ranked No. 45 in the world, has made a few visits to Bosse Sports, my club in Boston, where I have taught over the past few months.
When he came to Boston to see his girlfriend, I had the pleasure of giving him a few pointers on his ever-expanding doubles game. The nimble six-foot-three-inch southpaw from Rochester, Minnesota sparred with a few of our juniors; it was great for our club and area for a player of his caliber to come by.
We worked on his returns and volleys, which are parts of his game that Butorac feels he needs to work on to crack the top 20 in the doubles rankings. The NCAA Division III singles and doubles champion in 2003, Butorac grew up playing at his dad’s club in a town an hour and a half from Minneapolis. He partnered with Kevin Whipple to take that collegiate doubles title. He feels that the head coach of his team at Gustavus Adolphus, Steve Wilkinson, is the main reason for his success and why he has been able to make a living playing doubles on the tour. He has won three ATP Tour doubles titles, all with Britain’s Jamie Murray.
Butorac’s career high doubles ranking was No. 30 in February of this year. He recently enjoyed playing doubles with top singles player Andy Murray in Indian Wells. He felt his practices were more intense due to the amount of the fans watching them hit. However, it wasn’t always big stadiums and large crowds for him. He remembers early in his career when traveling included sleeping on park benches, the locker room, and even in his car, all for the chance to pick up ATP ranking points.
“I feel if a player is questioning his doubts on trying to make it on the tour, [he should] go to France and play their money tourneys. That’s how I got started,” said Eric.
He started his career without much sponsorship, also coaching on the side to supplement his traveling expenses.
“I never take this life on the tour for granted, it’s very surreal,” said Eric. He is looking forward to playing doubles with the Australian Ashley Fisher. They originally were set to start the year as a team, but Fisher got injured. They plan on starting their partnership at a challenger in Puerto Rico, then with tour stops in Houston and in Munich and then all the way through Wimbledon. You can follow them on their website, www.bootyandfish.com.
Have a great week and enjoy the tennis in Miami.
The Journeyman
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