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August 20, 2010
Israel’s pro tennis hero
Sela delights fans with third-time VanOpen win.
MARVIN GLASSMAN
One would have thought that Israeli tennis star Dudi Sela was competing in Tel Aviv and not Vancouver with so many fans waving Israeli flags and banners and shouting Kadima! (“Let’s go!”) while he was competing at the $175,000 Odium Brown Vancouver Open held late last month at Hollyburn Country Club.
Buoyed by the support, Sela delighted fans with lobs, drop shots, volleys and aces to defeat five opponents – including two final opponents on the same day – to claim his third VanOpen title by winning 15 matches in a row. Sela previously won the VanOpen in 2005 and 2008.
“I felt like I was in Tel Aviv with all the support I received in Vancouver. I think I will come back to enter the tournament again, even when I am 40, just to have the excitement of winning here again,” said the jubilant 25-year-old Sela after the tournament. Sela won $14,400 and raised his world ranking in pro tennis from #105 to #91 with his new title.
Sela showed resolve and inner strength during the tournament, especially in his defeat of two opponents in a single day. Sela first upset top-seeded American Taylor Dent 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the semi-finals and then, two hours later, dismantled Lithuanian Ricardes Berankus 7-5, 6-2, in the final.
Doing the unexpected to win matches is nothing new for Sela. Since 2007, he has been regarded as a hero in Israel when, as an underdog, he defeated two Chileans, Francisco Gonzalez and Nicholas Massu, in two five-hour Davis Cup matches to lead the Israelis to a berth in the World Group in 2008.
“That match against Gonzalez is the highlight of my career,” said Sela. “I wasn’t expected to win, but playing in front of my country, I played as perfect as possible and everything went our way.”
Sela went on to perform more tennis miracles last year. Because of political protesters demonstrating against Israel in Malmo, Sweden, the Swedes were forced to play the Davis Cup matches without spectators. Sela responded with two five-set wins to lead his nation to the quarterfinals with a 3-2 victory after trailing 2-1.
“I resisted the temptation to be angry about politics interfering with tennis. I chose to remain focused and give our team another reason to win that day. As was the case versus Chile, I felt that I gave my best effort, as did my teammates, when we won the final two matches. I think if our team would have been caught up with the emotion, we would not have won the matches.”
Then, in the quarterfinals played in Tel Aviv, Sela led the underdog Israelis to a four-set victory over Mikhail Youzhny of Russia to begin Israel’s 3-0 sweep of Russia before 10,500 fans – the largest crowd ever to watch tennis in Israel. Israel went to the final four as semi-finalists in the Davis Cup for the first time in its history.
“I can never forget the run we made as a team and receiving congratulatory phone calls from both the prime minister and president of Israel. Israel made world headlines for what we accomplished in tennis and that will always be special,” Sela said.
Sela is often called the “Hebrew Hammer” by teammates and fans for his perseverance during matches. “Without a doubt, Dudi is the leader on our team. His willingness to fight and having so many upset wins over his career just made the rest of us play better too,” said Israeli Davis Cup teammate Harel Levy, who lost in the second round at the VanOpen.
Sela started playing tennis at age seven and, by the time he was 18, was ranked 12th among the top junior players in the world. Sela’s highest ranking on the pro men’s tennis circuit is 29th in 2009. His best match in 2010 was his upset of top-ranked American Andy Roddick in the Queens tournament.
There were a total of seven Jewish men and women players from Canada, Israel and the United States that entered the Van Open, including Americans Amanda Fink and Jesse Levine, who finished as doubles finalists with their partners.
Marvin Glassman is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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