Não resisto a copiar um artigo ( em inglês)do jornal Brandeton Herald Today, de ontem, sobre Gastão e Michelle.
Future stars display their skills
MIKE HENRY
Herald Staff Writer
BRADENTON - In a few years, junior tennis players Gastao Elias and Michelle Larcher de Brito may be household names.
But the first step toward international recognition is getting more notice in their home country of Portugal.
"When the newspaper comes in the morning, it's always talking about futbol (soccer)," said Elias, who turns 16 today. "Then, there is a small square on the last page that is about tennis."
Officials at IMG Academies in Bradenton know all about Elias and the 13-year-old Larcher de Brito. They train at the world-renowned Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, and at the rate their games are improving, it won't be long before they are front-page news back home.
Both are set to compete in the 20th annual Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships, which begin today with qualifying matches at IMG Academies.
Elias - who signed recently with IMG for exclusive representation, arriving earlier this month at the academy - was the world's No. 1-ranked 15-year-old and is No. 53 on the International Tennis Federation junior circuit.
He won the Group 2 Gerry Weber Open Boys 18s singles title in Germany in June and was a finalist the following month in Boys 16s at the European Juniors Championship in Italy.
Last year, the 6-foot, 180-pounder from Lourinha, Portugal - where his family still lives - won a Group I event in Boys 16s in France and captured a Group 3 in Boys 18s in his homeland.
Elias, who will compete in the Boys 18s division of the Eddie Herr, is making a smooth adjustment to life at the academy. He will take classes at The Pendleton School next semester, but much of his time is spent on the courts and getting stronger inside IMG's International Performance Institute.
"I like the way they train here," said Elias, who has a personal coach, Luis Nascimento, in addition to the academy staff. "The partners are very good and bring a lot of intensity to the court. In Portugal, there was nobody for me to practice with.
"It is great to be with IMG," added Elias, who played in the Wimbledon and U.S. Open junior tournaments, losing in the second round in New York to eventual champion Dusan Lojda of the Czech Republic. "They can provide me with good opportunities, like sponsors and maybe some wild cards to tournaments."
Part of Bollettieri's mission is convincing Elias how good he can become.
"His ground strokes are what people dream about," Bollettieri said. "No money can buy that; he's as smooth as smooth can be. He's a laid-back guy, and there's nothing wrong with that. He just has to understand he can be something special."
Larcher de Brito, also an IMG client, lives in Bradenton with her parents, Antonio and Caroline, and 17-year-old twin brothers Sergio and Sebastian, also tennis players at the academy.
Coached by her father and Bollettieri, Larcher de Brito stunned observers last year at 12 by winning the Girls 16s Division of the Eddie Herr, breaking the tournament record for youngest 16s winner set by Maria Sharapova in 2000. Larcher de Brito also teamed with Mallory Cecil of South Carolina to win 16s doubles.
A move up to Girls 18s this year is unlikely to faze Larcher de Brito, who has won against older girls at the ITF Group 3 U.S. Tennis Association International Grass Court in Philadelphia and the Group 2 Jerry Simmons in South Carolina.
"She has the capability to be top 10, top five, and who knows what," Bollettieri said of the 94th-ranked junior girl. "She is a very offensive player, her movement is impeccable, and she has great court sense. Plus, she is highly competitive."
That trait manifested itself when Larcher de Brito was 4 or 5 and she watched her brothers win trophies at a tournament in Lisbon.
"I always wanted to play tennis as soon as I was old enough and strong enough, and when they got trophies, I told my mother I wanted one, too," Larcher de Brito recalled. "She said 'No, you have to earn it. You have to work for it.'
"A couple of years later, I won the first tournament I ever played and got my own trophy. I won because of my brothers, because I always wanted what they wanted."
Larcher de Brito moved to Bradenton in 2003 and is playing in her fifth Eddie Herr tournament. She considers IMG Academies the ideal place to chase her dreams.
"The nice thing about the academy is it is not only about tennis," Larcher de Brito said. "The training here is great, and if I need help with any part of my game, there is a coach who can help me. But I really like being able to try another sport and having friends who play different sports."
Por curiosidade aqui fica o report das 4 anteriores participações de Michelle no torneio EddieHerr.
Em 2002 ( 9 anos) perdeu na 1ª ronda com E.Chernyakova por 6/3 e 7/6 ( Raparigas 12 anos) e em pares na 2ª ronda , fazendo parceria com J.Dobbins, perdendo contra K.Frilling e J.Vasic por 8/6.
Em 2003 ( 10 anos) foi finalista em 12 anos, perdendo na final contra G.Brodsky por 6/4 e 7/5 e em pares e de novo com J.Dobbins , foi semifinalista, perdendo contra N.Bartnick e A.Cercone por 8/6.
Em 2004 ( 11 anos) perdeu na 1ª ronda de 14 anos com a futura finalista K.Pervak por 6/4 e 6/3 e em pares o mesmo resultado e ainda com J.Dobbins como parceira, perdendo contra A.Simidian e A.Will por 8/4.
O ano passado, foi a história que já contámos. E este ano, como será??
Future stars display their skills
MIKE HENRY
Herald Staff Writer
BRADENTON - In a few years, junior tennis players Gastao Elias and Michelle Larcher de Brito may be household names.
But the first step toward international recognition is getting more notice in their home country of Portugal.
"When the newspaper comes in the morning, it's always talking about futbol (soccer)," said Elias, who turns 16 today. "Then, there is a small square on the last page that is about tennis."
Officials at IMG Academies in Bradenton know all about Elias and the 13-year-old Larcher de Brito. They train at the world-renowned Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, and at the rate their games are improving, it won't be long before they are front-page news back home.
Both are set to compete in the 20th annual Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships, which begin today with qualifying matches at IMG Academies.
Elias - who signed recently with IMG for exclusive representation, arriving earlier this month at the academy - was the world's No. 1-ranked 15-year-old and is No. 53 on the International Tennis Federation junior circuit.
He won the Group 2 Gerry Weber Open Boys 18s singles title in Germany in June and was a finalist the following month in Boys 16s at the European Juniors Championship in Italy.
Last year, the 6-foot, 180-pounder from Lourinha, Portugal - where his family still lives - won a Group I event in Boys 16s in France and captured a Group 3 in Boys 18s in his homeland.
Elias, who will compete in the Boys 18s division of the Eddie Herr, is making a smooth adjustment to life at the academy. He will take classes at The Pendleton School next semester, but much of his time is spent on the courts and getting stronger inside IMG's International Performance Institute.
"I like the way they train here," said Elias, who has a personal coach, Luis Nascimento, in addition to the academy staff. "The partners are very good and bring a lot of intensity to the court. In Portugal, there was nobody for me to practice with.
"It is great to be with IMG," added Elias, who played in the Wimbledon and U.S. Open junior tournaments, losing in the second round in New York to eventual champion Dusan Lojda of the Czech Republic. "They can provide me with good opportunities, like sponsors and maybe some wild cards to tournaments."
Part of Bollettieri's mission is convincing Elias how good he can become.
"His ground strokes are what people dream about," Bollettieri said. "No money can buy that; he's as smooth as smooth can be. He's a laid-back guy, and there's nothing wrong with that. He just has to understand he can be something special."
Larcher de Brito, also an IMG client, lives in Bradenton with her parents, Antonio and Caroline, and 17-year-old twin brothers Sergio and Sebastian, also tennis players at the academy.
Coached by her father and Bollettieri, Larcher de Brito stunned observers last year at 12 by winning the Girls 16s Division of the Eddie Herr, breaking the tournament record for youngest 16s winner set by Maria Sharapova in 2000. Larcher de Brito also teamed with Mallory Cecil of South Carolina to win 16s doubles.
A move up to Girls 18s this year is unlikely to faze Larcher de Brito, who has won against older girls at the ITF Group 3 U.S. Tennis Association International Grass Court in Philadelphia and the Group 2 Jerry Simmons in South Carolina.
"She has the capability to be top 10, top five, and who knows what," Bollettieri said of the 94th-ranked junior girl. "She is a very offensive player, her movement is impeccable, and she has great court sense. Plus, she is highly competitive."
That trait manifested itself when Larcher de Brito was 4 or 5 and she watched her brothers win trophies at a tournament in Lisbon.
"I always wanted to play tennis as soon as I was old enough and strong enough, and when they got trophies, I told my mother I wanted one, too," Larcher de Brito recalled. "She said 'No, you have to earn it. You have to work for it.'
"A couple of years later, I won the first tournament I ever played and got my own trophy. I won because of my brothers, because I always wanted what they wanted."
Larcher de Brito moved to Bradenton in 2003 and is playing in her fifth Eddie Herr tournament. She considers IMG Academies the ideal place to chase her dreams.
"The nice thing about the academy is it is not only about tennis," Larcher de Brito said. "The training here is great, and if I need help with any part of my game, there is a coach who can help me. But I really like being able to try another sport and having friends who play different sports."
Por curiosidade aqui fica o report das 4 anteriores participações de Michelle no torneio EddieHerr.
Em 2002 ( 9 anos) perdeu na 1ª ronda com E.Chernyakova por 6/3 e 7/6 ( Raparigas 12 anos) e em pares na 2ª ronda , fazendo parceria com J.Dobbins, perdendo contra K.Frilling e J.Vasic por 8/6.
Em 2003 ( 10 anos) foi finalista em 12 anos, perdendo na final contra G.Brodsky por 6/4 e 7/5 e em pares e de novo com J.Dobbins , foi semifinalista, perdendo contra N.Bartnick e A.Cercone por 8/6.
Em 2004 ( 11 anos) perdeu na 1ª ronda de 14 anos com a futura finalista K.Pervak por 6/4 e 6/3 e em pares o mesmo resultado e ainda com J.Dobbins como parceira, perdendo contra A.Simidian e A.Will por 8/4.
O ano passado, foi a história que já contámos. E este ano, como será??
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