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Nov/13

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Stefan Kozlov Biofile

P1011085

Status: ATP Tennis player. Finalist of 2013 Orange Bowl Boys 18s (lost to Francis Tiafoe in three sets).

Ht: 5-11 Wt: 148

DOB: Jan. 2, 1998 In: Skopje, Macedonia

Resides: Pembroke Pines, FL

First tennis memory: “Playing in the rain with my dad (Andrei). When it was raining we kept playing with soft balls. Really good memory.”

Tennis inspirations: “My dad. Probably Federer. He’s a complete player.”

First famous tennis player you met or encountered: “Yevgeny Kafelnikov at Sony Open in Miami. But I was really little. My parents were telling me the story. (What’s the story?) I didn’t want to take a picture with Kafelnikov. I don’t know why. I was five years old. I started crying. Never took a picture [smiles].”

Last book read: “I haven’t read a book in a while…just kidding. Probably Life of Pi.”

Favorite movie: “Day After Tomorrow.”

Greatest tennis moment, so far: “Tough one…tough question…so many good memories. Maybe winning Spring National Championships (in Carson, CA). And getting to the finals last year.”

Most painful moment: “Maybe losing the Orange Bowl finals 14s. (To who?) Hong. Korean kid.”

Favorite tournament: “Wimbledon.”

Closest tennis friends: “Henrik Wiersholm. Spencer Papa. From juniors.”

Funniest players encountered: “Monfils maybe. Monfils, yeah.”

Fiercest competitors encountered: “I practiced with Federer a couple of times. But I don’t know.”

Did anything surprise you about practicing with Roger Federer (at US Open in 2012): “Nothing really. I mean, I was pretty surprised that I could hang in with Federer, return his slice, and I was getting everything back with the same speed on my shots.”

Who do you love playing tennis: “I love tennis because it’s a fun sport. There’s a lot of other things that you can do on the court and it’s pretty fun.”

Funny tennis memory: “Once there was a huge bug on the court. I don’t know what kind of bug it was.”

Strangest match: “Junior Davis Cup. I was up 5-1 in the third set in the semi and I lost. I had maybe six match points. (Against who?) Australian kid.”

Favorite sport outside tennis: “Probably basketball.”

Three athletes you like to watch & follow: “LeBron James. Dwyane Wade. Chris Bosh.”

Best you ever felt on court: “Maybe playing this year at Wimbledon, second round. (Against who?) Lucas Gomez of Mexico.”

People qualities most admired: “Great attitude and great spirit. Great competitors.”

8 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 22, 2013 at 9:33 pm

    Stefan Kozlov just won a $l0,000 Futures doubles title in Bradenton FL with partner Sekou Bangoura, they didn’t lose a set.

  • Kelsey · November 23, 2013 at 10:09 am

    That’s great! Nice to see him doing well! :]

  • Dan Markowitz · November 23, 2013 at 2:36 pm

    Scoop, did you seeKozlo is playing the Survivor Series, the winner of which gets entry into the Delray event qualifiers:

    Top Seeds:
    1. Stefan Kozlov: Pembroke Pines 15-year-old who played in his first ATP-level tournament on a wild card in Newport last summer…ranked No. 13 in ITF world junior rankings with a 66-28 career singles mark…reached the 2013 Junior Wimbledon quarterfinal and won the International Spring Championship title in Carson, CA last year…2009 Eddie Herr 12s winner…Orange Bowl 2011 14s finalist and 2009 12s finalist…Stefan’s 13-year-old brother Boris is also entered in the tournament….the family is originally from Macedonia
    2. Bernard Tefel: Former 4 star recruit is a freshman at the University of Miami…the lefty went 20-7 against 4-star players as a junior and was ranked the No. 16 player in the state

    Other Notable Players:
    Eric Hechtman: The former University of Miami star won Survivor Series titles in 2010 and 2011, reached the semifinals in 2012 and was a Survivor I finalist last year. The player with the best results in Survivor Series history teaches tennis at Royal Palm Tennis Club in Miami
    Chase Perez-Blanco: Miami Gulliver Prep senior committed to the University of Florida this month…high school state champion in 2011 and 2013…2013 Florida Boys 18s state champion…plays out of Miami’s Royal Palm Tennis Club
    Martin Redlicki: Listed by the ITF as the No. 45 junior in the world and by the USTA as the No. 18th ranked junior American, Redlicki has signed with Duke where his brother Michael is a sophomore….won the 2013 Junior US Open doubles title…has played singles in three Futures events…from Hawthorn Woods, Illinois, currently resides in Boca Raton
    Van Winitsky: This 54-year-old is a former ATP player residing in Delray Beach. During his pro career he won 3 ATP titles and reached a career-high of No. 35 in 1982…after retirement, coached men’s tennis at St. John’s University (NY)…in 2002-2003, the only two years he competed in national senior events, he was ranked No. 1 in the US in the men’s 40’s division. He won the USTA National mens’ 40’s hardcourt singles and mixed doubles championships.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 23, 2013 at 4:42 pm

    Yes I did Dan, Lisa Franson actually asked me for some background info about him. He just won the doubles last week at Bradenton Futures. Hopefully Lisa will provide us with some scoops on how he plays at this pre qualifier. Younger brother Boris is in the draw too. Maybe I’ll try to get in next year đŸ™‚

  • Dan Markowitz · November 23, 2013 at 8:18 pm

    The one I fid amazing is 54 year old Van Winitsky. Anyone who ever saw Winitsky play knows he had game in an unorthodox style, but is he seriously trying to receive entry into an ATP qualifier? I haven’t heard his name in a long time as a player.

  • Thomas Tung · November 24, 2013 at 6:34 pm

    Last time I saw Van Winitsky is when he was working as a coach at the USTA National Tennis Center, but this was 10+ years ago (before they tore down the old indoor facility and built the new one).

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 24, 2013 at 8:09 pm

    Thomas; This guy Van must be playing great ball to try to enter a tournament like this. I saw a 40s German from Sarasota named Julien Link play a qualies match in the Sarasota Challenger and he actually won a game or two in the beginning as the Korean ranked around 200 seemed troubled by the slower balls of Link. Once he adjusted it became one way traffic and Link quit early in the second claiming injury. But I was impressed that Link was as competitive as he was.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 27, 2013 at 2:36 pm

    Guess what…Kozlov won the first qualifying event in style, now he’s got a spot in the qualies.

    DELRAY BEACH: Stefan Kozlov, the Pembroke Pines (FL) 15-year-old tennis phenom, won the “Survivor Series I” pre-qualifying title over a record field of 149 players at the Delray Swim & Tennis Club on Tuesday.

    “Survivor Series I” is one of two pre-qualifying tournaments for the the Delray Beach Open by The Venetian® Las Vegas.

    Kozlov found himself down 5-2 in the third set to 18-year-old Spencer Papa, but put on a furious rally to claw his way to a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 win.

    “I actually don’t know how I got through this match,” said Kozlov, who was born in Macedonia. “It was one of the toughest matches I have ever had. It was a coin flip really, we were both pretty tired. But I gave it my all.”

    Kozlov is the No. 13-ranked junior in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) world rankings, and along with Papa, trains at the USTA’s Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton. The two have won a pair of major international doubles titles together this year.

    Papa, the No. 4 seed, is one of the nation’s top recruits and recently signed with the University of Tulsa. The Edmond, OK native is rated by the ITF as the No. 7 U.S. player and No. 56 in the world.

    To reach the final, Kozlov won six matches in four days, but didn’t face a seeded player until the semifinals when he beat Survivor II champion and No. 8 seed Juan Rocha 6-2, 6-3.

    In the other semifinal, Papa downed two-time Survivor winner and former University of Miami star Eric Hechtman, 6-3, 6-2.

    Hechtman earned his sixth “Survivor Series” semifinal, making him the winningest player in “Survivor Series” history. In addition to his pair of titles, the Royal Palm Tennis Club (Miami) coach has reached another two seminals and finals.

    But in the end it was Kozlov and Papa, 2013 doubles champions at the ITF’s Asuncion and Banana Bowls, who rose to the top of the draw.

    With the win comes a wildcard for Kozlov into the Delray Beach Open’s qualifying tournament, scheduled for February 15-16, 2014. The four top finishers in that 32-player field receive automatic entries into the Delray Beach ATP World Tour event draw.

    Kozlov will be trying to qualify to play in his second career ATP event. He played in the 2013 Newport ATP event, taking a set off of veteran Michal Przysiezny and saving four match points before going down to the 29-year-old Pole.

    Players have a final shot at earning a wild card by entering the “Survivor Series II” pre-qualifying tournament that will be held January 25-27, 2014 at the Delray Swim and Tennis Club.

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