Status: Former ATP pro from 1986-1998. Member of Israel’s Davis Cup team from 1986-1995. Winner of four ATP doubles titles. Reached a career-high singles ranking of 61st in 1990. Holds career wins over Petr Korda, Brad Gilbert, Carlos Costa, Jacob Hlasek, Marcelo Rios and Martin Jaite. Currently coaches at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy at Sportime Randall’s Island in New York City.
Date of birth: March 1, 1967 in Tel Aviv, Israel
Height: 5-ft. 8-in. Weight: 160 lbs.
First tennis memory: Playing on the wall at my parent’s house in Israel with my brothers, I was seven- or eight-years-old. I only started playing real tennis at the age of nine.
Tennis inspiration: Since I started playing, I always wanted to be a pro on the tour, play Davis Cup and all the majors.
Current car: Volkswagen Jetta Diesel.
Favorite ice cream flavor: Chocolate swirl.
Greatest sports moment: In 1994, I played in the Davis Cup for Israel against Switzerland. They reached the finals the year before and had Jacob Hlasek and Marc Rosset on their team. I played Hlasek in the deciding match at 2-2 in the tie. I won in straight sets and never lost my serve once in front of a crazy home crowd. The fans carried Amos Mansdorf and me to the locker rooms on their shoulders. It was like a soccer game atmosphere. I didn’t have to pay for a meal or a drink in Israel for weeks after that match. Hlasek was ranked 100 spots above me at that time and with the win, Israel qualified for the World Group.
Most painful moment: In 1986, I was 19-years-old and ranked about 160th. I played Brad Gilbert, who was number six in the world. We played in the quarterfinals of my hometown event in Tel Aviv. I was serving for the match at 5-4 in the third and two points away from victory, and I lost the match. Gilbert went on and won the tournament easily. I couldn’t sleep for months. With a win, I could have been in the top 100 in one leap and probably win the tournament. It was a huge disappointment.
Favorite tournament: Australian Open. The people are so nice down under, and the tournament organizers were very easy to deal with, friendly and they give away plenty of tickets. I have lots of family in Australia.
Last book read: Life, the autobiography of Keith Richards.
Funniest players encountered: In my time on the Tour, Mansour Bahrami was pretty funny and entertaining, and Karsten Braasch, the German, was hilarious too.
Closest tennis friends: I still keep in touch with many players from my time, including Bruno Oresar from Croatia and Pablo Arraya from Peru, among others, who are my closest friends. I work closely with John McEnroe on a daily basis, so I see him a lot as well.
The best you ever felt on court: In Manchester, England in 1991, I played Brad Gilbert who was still ranked in the top 15 in the world. From 2-2 in the first set, I won 10 games in a row, broke Gilbert five times in a row and played perfect tennis for those 10 games. I hit many winners and spectacular shots, including diving winners, etc. Brad kept looking at me and shaking his head … he didn’t say hello to me for about a year after that match. Prior to that match, he beat me three times.
Why do you love playing tennis: It’s a passion. The feeling of hitting a clean ball or hitting a winner or playing a good match is something to look forward to every time you step on the court.
Favorite players to watch: Growing up, I loved watching John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors play … I love lefties. I liked Ilie Nastase as well. In the new era, I like to watch Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych, Andy Murray and Dudi Sela, my first student. I used to love watching Fabrice Santoro, and I love watching the Rochus Brothers play, being a short guy myself.
Personality qualities most admired: Mental strength, sportsmanship, being cool under pressure and bringing your best tennis to the big matches.
www.thebiofile.com
Gilad shocked Gilbert in Manchester
Dan Markowitz · February 26, 2012 at 11:38 am
Nice Bio-File, Scoop. Bloom is a very personable guy. Loves tennis, can talk it all day long. Not many tennis pros would go on to be as involved in teaching tennis as arduously as he does. Amazing he started at nine to play real tennis. Shows you that hitting against a wall at 7,8 might be just as good as starting to take lessons at five, as my kid is doing. I don’t know how much he processes or really enjoys playing in a lesson atmosphere. I had him on the court at 1 and 2.
Scoop Malinowski · February 26, 2012 at 7:31 pm
It’s a great Biofile. I first met Gilad at the US Open in the cafeteria, he was sitting down and I stumbled upon him and remembered reading a few months earlier that Gilad had crushed Rios in a senior match in Brazil. And I asked him if he’d tell me the story about it and it was one of my favorite parts of the book. Then when we hung out with him at his music performance that was another awesome experience, all the stories he told us. We did the Biofile a few months ago which like you I thought it came out very good. I think he was one of the best in the world at age 12 or 14 which is amazing for not starting til age 9, but then again, Rios started at 11. Starting to think you don’t have the kids playing matches so young, just have them learn the art and the fun of hitting a ball with a racquet, first the soft slow ball, then the real ball as they get stronger. Dan have you had Callum hitting those softer puff balls? It’s like when I was a kid, I enjoyed playing puff basketball or mini basketball better than real hoops till I got big and strong enough. Real tennis can be very frustrating for young kids because that ball is so bouncy and jumpy, bet tennis loses a lot of kids because it’s so hard in the beginning and the court is so big and intimidating.
Dan Markowitz · February 26, 2012 at 11:19 pm
I started Callum out at about two with the big fluffy nerf ball. Now we play mostly with the colored balls and he can hit those balls over the net from the service line almost every time. I hit with some regular balls now with him and he knows how to handle the higher bounce and heavier ball, but his form isn’t as good as when we use the lighter, lower-bouncing balls.
This summer, I’m signing him up for a tennis camp where they go from 8-1 pm, two hours of tennis, an hour of golf and an hour of multi-sports. Pretty expensive, $400 without lunch, and it for kids 6-10, but he’ll be the only 6-yr-old in the group. I’m going to see if he has the concentration to enjoy it. There are low-key tournaments for 6 yr olds, but I haven’t put him in one yet. He can serve into the box from the service line now sometimes, but I agree with you that I’d rather him enjoy hitting the ball before competing. I’m happy now that I can just go out and rally with him. Before he always wanted to keep score.