Bud Schultz can arguably be considered the second best male player ever to come out of Connecticut, after James Blake. He was a mainstay on the tour in the 80’s, and achieved a high singles ranking of #39 in the world. His path to professional tennis began when he picked up a racket at the age of 13, considered quite late by today’s standards, but just goes to show his athletic prowness. He chose Bates College in Maine for its academics, and also it enabled him to play two sports: basketball and tennis.There is no question that he is considered the best Division III male tennis player ever.
He idolized tennis’s Vitas Gerulaitis and basketball’s Walt Frazier and John Havilicek, growing up in Meriden, Conn.While growing up, he really didn’t have any formal coaching until college, and while on the tour he chose Bill Drake as his mentor because of Drake’s resume with working with players like Tim Mayotte and Barbra Potter.He would get coaching for free in exchange for working at Drake’s summer junior program.
He decided to give the tour a shot when after playing John James, a top 100 singles player from Australia, in a money tournament right after college. After their tough three-set match, James told Bud, “You need to get out there.” Bud responded with a quizzical look, and replied, “Out where?” James then explained to him that it would be wise to give the tour a shot. A friend of Bud’s named Carl Greenman put together a syndicate of money together to give him an opportunity to go out the circuit.Within three years, Bud had paid them back and doubled their money, and then was able to sustain himself on the tour, on his own.
If he could bring back one point from his career, he says he would like to have it when he played Yannick Noah at the Aussie Open when he was up two sets to love, and ended up going down in five tough sets. Another interesting moment happened at his third round match on Labor Day weekend against John McEnroe at the US Open. Bud lost in straight sets, and after the match his college buddy who he was staying with in NYC Rob Kramer came up to him and said to him, “We got to go now.” Bud was a little perplexed, and asked, “Where are we going?” Rob said, “I got your bags, we are going to the airport, we got to get back to Boston, and go to this party!” So within a half an hour of the match, they were on the shuttle back to Boston, and on the lake waterskiing within two hours. All of his friends were oblivious to him having just played a legend on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“My friends really kept me grounded when I was playing,” said Bud, thinking back on his career.
At the age of 29, Bud decided to hang it up on the tour, due to stress factures that developed in his legs and back. He immediately applied to the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston to be their head pro, and got the job. He also began to coach Ivan Lendl, who he had befriended on the tour. Tony Roche was Lendl’s official coach, but Bud would stay at Ivan’s house in Connecticut on weekend’s and help him out. At that time, Lendl was really making a go of trying to win Wimbledon, and Bud’s serve and volley game attracted Ivan to him to get some pointers.He also worked with Pam Shriver and Greg Rusedski. He also started along with Ned Eames a organization called “Tenacity,” that creates thousands of junior tennis players, along with teaching them life skills in the Boston area.
Bud now has three kid’s with his wife Elaine; Christo, Luke and Haley. He says they all couldnt be more different, with one son Christo being the top-ranked eighteen-year-old junior tennis player in New England. He now spends most of his time running a tennis facility he owns in Cohasset, Mass.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the tennis in Monte Carlo!
The Journeyman
John James
Mondays With Bob Greene
7 April 2008
STARS
Nikolay Davydenko became the first Russian to win the Sony Ericsson Open men’s singles crown at Miami, Florida, by crushing second-seeded Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-2.
Serena Williams outlasted Jelena Jankovic 6-1 5-7 6-3 to capture her fifth Sony Ericsson Open women’s singles title.
Bob and Mike Bryan finally won their first doubles championship of 2008, beating Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles 6-2 6-2 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.
Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama won their second doubles title as a team, edging Cara Black and Liezel Huber 7-5 4-6 10-3 at the Sony Ericsson Open.
SAYINGS
“I have only one (racquet). Surprising I didn’t break a string. Warm up and play match, warm up and play match, every match, and I finish with the racquet. I’m going to keep forever this racquet.” – Nikolay Davydenko, who said he used the same racquet in all six matches to win the Sony Ericsson Open.
“People write more about Roger (Federer), about me, about Andy (Roddick). People outside tennis can think different about Nikolay, but we know he’s a very, very good player.” – Rafael Nadal, after losing the Sony Ericsson Open final to Davydenko 6-4 6-2.
“She looked so nervous out there. I could never believe that a girl who has won so many Grand Slams, so many tournaments, could be that nervous closing out a match.” – Jelena Jankovic, after losing the Sony Ericsson Open women’s final to Serena Williams 6-1 5-7 6-3.
“I smashed a racquet? Are you sure it was me? I guess maybe my hand must have been oily.” – Serena Williams, who drew a code violation when she smashed her racquet after blowing a 5-2 40-0 lead in the second set of her three-set victory over Jelena Jankovic.
“This tie is important for the team, as a win would give us the opportunity to compete in a playoff to make it back in the World Group, where I believe Australia belongs.” – Lleyton Hewitt, saying he plans on playing Davis Cup against Thailand.
“Losing in the finals four times just makes you hungrier and hungrier. When we went out there … we didn’t take anything for granted.” – Bob Bryan after he teamed with his brother Mike to win the Sony Ericsson Open men’s doubles.
“Winning in September and staying in the World Group is obviously a key focus for us, but just as vital is working with hose younger players who may be capable of thriving in a Davis Cup environment in the near future.” – Paul Annacone, who has been named coach of Great Britain’s Davis Cup team, succeeding Peter Lundgren.
SPLAT
After he hit a backhand into the net during his third-round match at the Sony Ericsson Open, Mikhail Youzhny showed his displeasure by angrily whacking himself in the head three times with his racket strings. That sent a stream of blood running from above his hairline down his nose and nearly to his mouth. The Russian became a celebrity when a video of his tantrum was put on YouTube and drew more than a half-million hits.
SUFFERING SUCCOTASH
Here it is April and the world’s top two men players are still looking for a 2008 tournament title. Top-ranked Roger Federer’s best results this year have been semifinal appearances at both the Australian Open and the Pacific Life Open. Federer has been limited to just three tournaments because of mononucleosis. World number two Rafael Nadal has been in two finals – the Chennai Open and the Sony Ericsson Open – losing both. He also was a semifinalist at both the Australia Open and the Pacific Life Open. And, the top-ranked men’s doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan won their first title of 2008 at the just-concluded Sony Ericsson Open.
SUCCESS FINALLY
Playing in their fifth final of 2008, twins Bob and Mike Bryan finally came away with the title when they defeated Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles 6-2 6-2 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Beginning with the 2007 Australian Open, the Bryans have reached 20 finals in 27 tournaments. And this championship was their 45th career title together.
SELECTED FOR BEIJING
Players from El Salvador, Togo and Liechtenstein will compete in Olympic tennis for the first time at the Beijing Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) selected four players to compete in the Summer Games: Rafael Arevalo of El Salvador, Komlavi Loglo of Togo, Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Stephanie Vogt of Liechtenstein. Only 21 years old, Arevalo has already played 22 Davis Cup ties for El Salvador. Loglo, 23, is the first African Junior Champion from Togo. Vogt, 17, has played eight Fed Cup ties for Liechtenstein. Black, currently co-ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles, played singles at the 2000 Sydney Games.
SQUEAKER
By nipping Cara Black and Liezel Huber in a Match Tiebreak (7-5 4-6 10-3) to win the women’s doubles at the Sony Ericsson Open, Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama were just repeating themselves. The Miami, Florida, tournament title was their second doubles crown as a team. Their first came last year in Toronto when they also beat Black and Huber in a Match Tiebreak in the final.
STEERING TENNIS EUROPE
Jacques Dupre is the new president of Tennis Europe, succeeding John James of Great Britain. Others elected to the board at the meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, were Peter Bretherton of Great Britain, Michele Brunetti of Italy, Philios Christodoulou of Cyprus, Gunther Lang of Germany, Aleksei Selivanenko of Russai, Jose Antonio Senz de Broto of Spain, Stefan Tzvetkov of Bulgaria and Ayda Uluc of Turket. There were delegates from a record 43 member nations at the 34th annual general meeting.
SOUTH AFRICA ON TOP
South Africa successfully defended its African Junior Championships in Gaborone, Botswana. Tunisia finished in second place, followed by Egypt in third and Morocco in fourth. Points are earned in singles and doubles in three age groups. South Africa captured two of the six singles titles and reached three other finals. The winners dominated the 16-and -under age group with Jarryd Botha defeating fellow South African Japie de Klerk 6-2 6-2 in the boys singles final.
SENIORS DOING IT
A record 376 teams have entered the 2008 ITF Seniors & Super-Seniors World Team Championships in Antalya, Turkey, in October. More than 220 teams from 38 countries have registered for the Seniors age categories – women and men 35 to 55 – while 150 teams will compete in the Super-Seniors: women 60 to 70 and men 60 to 80. The team event will be followed by the ITF Seniors & Super-Seniors World Individual Championships.
SORE BUT READY
Despite possibly having tendinitis and a hip tendon tear – or a combination of both – Lleyton Hewitt says he will play for Australia in its Davis Cup tie against Thailand. Doctors had advised Hewitt to rest his sore left hip and continue treatment. He has suffered hip pain since losing to Mardy Fish in Indian Wells, California, in March.
SUPERHERO
India’s Davis Cup captain Leander Paes will be a superhero in a cartoon television series in his home country. According to the Indian Express newspaper, Paes will play a miracle man who helps school kids in each of the 26 half-hour episodes being planned. The cartoons, called “The Magic Racquet,” are aimed at promoting an active lifestyle in children. According to the newspaper, a date has not been set for the start of the series.
SWINGING AGAIN
Two retired Wimbledon champions will play each other on grass once again. Martina Hingis and Jana Novotna will play an exhibition match in Liverpool, England, in June. Hingis beat Novotna in the 1997 Wimbledon final to become the youngest champion in the Open Era. Novotna, who also lost in the final at Wimbledon to Steffi Graf in 1993, finally won the Championships in 1998.
SITES TO SURF
Amelia Island: www.blchamps.com
Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com/
Olympic Tennis: www.itftennis.com/olympics.
Family Circle Cup: www.familycirclecup.com
Estoril: www.estorilopen.net
Valencia: www.open-comunidad-valencia.com/
Houston: www.riveroaksinternational.com
ITF Seniors: www.itftennis.com/seniors
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
WTA Tour
$600,000 Bausch & Lomb Championships, Amelia Island, Florida, clay
DAVIS CUP
World Group Quarterfinals
(April 11-13)
Czech Republic at Moscow, Russia
Sweden at Buenos Aires, Argentina
Spain at Bremen, Germany
France vs. United States at Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 Second Round
Italy at Zagreb, Croatia; Netherlands at Skopje, Macedonia; Switzerland at Minsk, Belarus; Georgia at Bratislava, Slovak Republic
America’s Zone Group 1 Second Round
Canada at Santiago, Chile; Colombia at Soracaba, Brazil
Asia/Oceania Zone Group 1 Second Round
Thailand at Townsville, Australia; Japan at New Delhi, India
Asia/Oceania Zone Group 1 First-Round Playoffs
Chinese Taipei at Almaty, Kazakhstan; Uzbekistan at Manila, Philippines
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
ATP TOUR
$370,000 Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal, clay
$370,000 Open de Tenis Comunidad Valencia, Valencia, Spain, clay
$436,000 U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships, Houston, Texas, clay
WTA TOUR
$1,340,000 Family Circle Cup, Charleston, South Carolina
Photos of Miami: