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Junior Ore (left) Denis Kudla (right) Legg Mason Tennis 2008 (Joe Hight photo)
They are ranked as top junior players. I wrote about them last summer when they played the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. In December 2008, Junior Ore of Gaithersburg and Denis Kudla of Arlington played the Orange Bowl International Junior Championship in Key Byscaine, FLA. Ore made it to the quarter finals of the boys 16 and under competition, losing to Pablo Carreno of Spain, 6-3, 6-3. Kudla won the championship against another local teen, Mitchell Frank of Annandale, Va., 6-0, 6-2.
I wrote about Kudla and Ore’s experience at the 2008 Legg Mason for the Chronicle Newspapers of Springfield, Virginia. After reaching the finals in doubles at the 2008 United States Tennis National Championships for boys aged 16 and under in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kudla and Ore received a wild card entry to play doubles against the pros at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic at the Rock Creek Park tennis center in Washington, DC on August 11. One of their opponents was Eduardo Schwank, 22, ranked as the 56th best tennis player in the world. The other, Lucas Ker, 34, is almost old enough to be their father. Schwank and Ker are from Argentina. The contrast between the bodies of the two 15 year old boys and the mature ath-letic muscular frames of their opponents was striking. But give the boys a few years, and those teen age muscles will develop to those of a full blown athlete.
Kudla and Ore train at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland. The coaching staff at the Champions Center hand picks talent as young as seven years old. If a youngster gets in, the chances are very high of becoming skilled enough to be a division one college player or better. Training is tough, and the center has its own school program, along with tutoring for both after school help and for students who choose to be home schooled. Practice on the court is four or more hours every day.
Their appearance at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic wasn’t the first time Dennis and Junior appeared on a big stage with the pros. On March 10, 2008 they played an exhibition match against each other on the un-der card for the Roger Federer - Pete Sampras match at Madison Square Garden, site of some of the most historic matches in the history of tennis.
In an interview after their first match against the pros at the Legg Mason, Kudla said “It wasn’t so much the pace and the speed of the game that was different, but that a lot more balls were coming back.” “That made us feel like we had to go for a winner,” Junior said.
But after the match, which they lost 6-1, 6-1, Kudla and Ore were undaunted. In response to a question about the prospect of playing college tennis after high school, Junior said, “No, not really, we want to turn pro, as soon as possible.” Neither Dennis nor Junior plays high school tennis. “No time for that,” said Jun-ior. “We are home schooled,” added Dennis.
The teen duo did win two games against their professional opponents. And they had their chances. In the second game, second set, with Kudla serving, they got up 40-0, but they couldn’t hold that lead and lost the game. That was a lost opportunity. Had they held on to win that game, it might have boosted their confi-dence enough to win a few more games. As it was, they were impressive in the sixth game of the second set, winning the game with five service winners on Kudla’s serve.
But in the end, Junior Ore’s reaction said it all, “They were a lot bigger than me. I was like WOW!”
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