Ex-UCI Player Wins Berth in Volvo Tennis

Mark Kaplan admits he has struggled this year. An All-American at UC Irvine from 1987-89, Kaplan has seen his ranking on the IBM/ATP Tour fall from 117th in June 1990, to the 300s, and has spent part of 1991 playing in tennis’ version of the minor leagues.

But on Sunday, Kaplan earned a chance to play against some of the world’s best, defeating T.J. Middleton, 6-3, 6-4, in a qualifying match for the $225,000 Volvo Tennis/Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA.

The victory gave Kaplan one of four spots reserved for qualifiers in the 32-player main draw. Kaplan, a 23-year-old South African, will face fellow qualifier Gian Luca Pozzi on Tuesday. The tournament features defending champion Stefan Edberg, rated second in the world, U.S. Open champion Pete Sampras, ranked ninth, and 1989 French Open champion, Michael Chang, ranked 11th.

“I’ve been working quite a lot on my game the last six months,” said Kaplan, who recorded the match’s only two service breaks in ousting the world’s 251st ranked player. “I struggled in the beginning because I was working on certain strokes, but I feel right now.”