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Aug. 17, 2012
Israeli impresses at VanOpen
Julia Glushko and Olivia Rogowska win the doubles title.
MARVIN GLASSMAN
Israeli Julia Glushko played superlative tennis by winning the doubles title at the $200,000 total purse Odlum Brown Vancouver Open held July 28-Aug. 5 at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver.
Glushko teamed with Australian Olivia Rogowska to defeat five opponents, including Americans Jacqueline Cako and Natalie Pluskota 6-4, 5-7, 10-7, for the doubles crown. In the title doubles match, Glushko hit a forehand off the net court to win the final point to defeat the American duo. Glushko also performed well in singles, finishing as a semi-finalist. Glushko defeated American Lauren Embree 7-5, 6-3, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski 7-5, 6-1 and American Madison Keys 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, before losing to American Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-3 in the semi-finals.
Glushko’s results have capped off an impressive summer thus far, winning the Lexington, Ky., Challenger event in late July, and finishing as a finalist in Waterloo and as a semi-finalist in Granby, also in July, to raise her current ranking from #220 to #165 in four weeks.
“I always enjoy playing the VanOpen and feel that I have been playing my best tennis this summer,” said the 22-year-old Glushko following her doubles title victory. “I am gearing up for play at the U.S. Open in New York, and my results at the VanOpen will give me confidence to do well.”
Born in Donetsk, Ukraine, Glushko started to play tennis at age three and emigrated with her parents to Israel when she was eight years old. Glushko honed her game through the Israel Tennis Centres training program and won four junior titles representing Israel. By age 17, Glushko was ranked 10th in the world junior tennis rankings.
Glushko made her pro debut at 14 and won her first pro title by age 17 to go with the three pro doubles titles in her career. Those that have played against Glushko say that her talent will offer her a long tennis career.
“Julia plays a very aggressive game and when she is in a zone, she becomes difficult, if not impossible, to beat,” said Sharon Fichman, Canada’s top ranked Jewish player at #205, who defeated Glushko 6-3, 6-2 at the Waterloo tournament title match.
Glushko earned a memorable title in her homeland when she defeated fellow Israeli Shahar Peer for the singles title at the 2011 Israeli National Tennis Championship.
“Beating Shahar in my homeland was such an emotional win for me,” she said in a telephone interview. “Shahar has been a model and inspiration for all Israelis, so to beat her in our national championship was an unforgettable memory.”
Glushko added that she hopes to find sponsors to continue her career, as her financial support is limited in Israel.
“Julia is a promising player and it would be a shame if she could not continue to travel to tournaments to improve her ranking. Israel does not have a lot of resources now for tennis, so Julia must now rely on private sponsorship to continue her career,” said her agent, Dan Nadler, who invites potential sponsors for Glushko to contact him.
Glushko was one of three Jewish women competing at the VanOpen. Fichman, 21, defeated Australian Sacha Jones 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 before losing to another Aussie, Monique Adamczak 0-6,6-2,6-4 in the second round of the VanOpen.
Born and raised in Toronto, Fichman’s parents are from Romania and lived in Israel for three years en route to immigrating to Canada in 1988. Fichman won the Orange Bowl Junior International Tennis Championships at age 12 and was a finalist by age 14. Turning pro in 2009, Fichman has won three International Tennis Federation junior titles and is the first Jewish player to play for Canada on the national Fed Cup team since Vicki Bernier of Vancouver in the late 1960s.
“I did not play as well at the VanOpen as I did in Waterloo, but I have the confidence to challenge myself to do better and hope I can make a breakthrough in the next year to improve my rankings,” said Fichman.
Fichman also played an exhibition match against retired tennis pro Martina Hingis of Switzerland, who made a special appearance at the VanOpen. The match was light-hearted, as both players dazzled the crowd in an entertaining contest. Hingis emerged victorious with a 6-3, 6-3 win.
American Gail Brodsky of Brooklyn, N.Y., lost to Australian Bojana Bobusic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7) in the opening round. The 21-year-old Brodsky, ranked #236, is the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants who taught Brodsky tennis on the public courts.
“I am very proud that I learned to play tennis without having to relocate to live at the private and expensive tennis academies. I feel that, each week, I am getting better and will continue to have good results as I continue my career,” said Brodsky.
Israeli Keren Shlomo lost 6-3, 6-2 to U.S. player Jan Abaza in the first round of the women’s qualifiers.
Israelis Dudi Sela and Amir Weintraub were the Jewish men competing at the VanOpen. Although Sela won two VanOpen singles titles in the past few years, his 2012 results were different. Sela defeated fellow Israeli Weintraub 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 and Czech Jan Hernych 6-4, 6-4, before losing to Ukrainian Sergei Bubka 6-4, 7-6(5) in the semi-finals. Although Sela lost his first singles match in the many years he has competed at the VanOpen, he was still upbeat about his future in tennis.
“I am no longer ranked in the top 100, but I hope that things will change quickly for me,” said Sela, 27, who is currently ranked #112. “I will be playing with Amir Weintraub in the Davis Cup in September and feel confident we will win the tie there.” Sela had his most impressive results in Davis Cup play, defeating two Russian players en route to a 2011 semi-final finish for Israel in the Davis Cup, the best result in the history of tennis in Israel.
Like Sela, Weintraub, ranked #211, has played his best tennis when he represents Israel in Davis Cup play. Weintraub’s best match of his career took place last year when he upset top Canadian Milos Raonic, ranked #31, in Davis Cup play to allow the Israelis to stay competitive with the Canadians, who eventually won the tie.
“My win against Raonic was unforgettable. Even though I knew he had an injury, some players play with more intensity when hurt. I sensed that I was able to beat him if I played my best and it was wonderful to have the home crowd in Israel on my side,” said the 25-year-old Weintraub.
Weintraub also teamed with Sela in winning their last Davis Cup tie by winning their singles matches against Portugal. Weintraub’s 2011 five-set victory against Jerzy Janowitz gave Israel the decisive 3-2 victory against Poland.
Prior to coming to the VanOpen, Weintraub played World Team Tennis with the Springfield Lasers and was their top singles player, winning 54 of 104 matches played on the team tennis circuit.
To read more on the VanOpen tennis, visit vanopen.com.
Marvin Glassman is a Toronto freelance writer.
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