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Kile Sherry plans to take his game to its highest level.
Having learned the fundamentals at 3, 19-year-old Sherry has earned the first of what he hopes will be many ATP points toward a stellar world ranking.
"One of my uncles is a teaching professional, and he started me out with the basics," Sherry said. "My family had a Har-Tru court at our house, so I learned at an early age to serve and volley."
Sherry grew up in Lehighton, Pa., a community of 6,000 about an hour from Philadelphia. The community housed a quaint, old-style tennis club that included a clubhouse, offered croquet and other amenities along with tennis.
"It was tough keeping up with your game in the winter since there weren't any indoor tennis facilities nearby," Sherry said. "I was doing pretty well in competitions in the Middle States, so I started coming down to Saddlebrook for about six months when I was about eight or nine. I knew that this was the place to be to train for tennis, so I was home-schooled beginning in the third grade in order to come to Saddlebrook."
Sherry continued at Saddlebrook for two years and then went to the Everts academy in South Florida for a year. Sherry had the same coach for 12 years until this year, when he moved permanently to the Tampa area and hooked up with former professional Martin Zumpft.
"I met Martin when I was going to Bradenton to train, and we got together just last month," Sherry said. "He's traveled with me some and my game has improved, even in this short time."
Sherry is especially pleased with his improvement in being able to remain calm and collected when at the net, rather than panic when approaching the net on his return of serve or after his serve.
In last weekend's St. Petersburg Tennis Center Adult Classic Championships, Sherry had an opportunity to hone his serve-and-volley game in the 47-player men's open singles division. Seeded No. 7, Sherry played through the competition to win the title in a tight 7-5, 6-4 matchup against Tarpon Springs' Ben Kronk.
"I knew some of the players from practices, but I had never played any of them in a tournament," Sherry said. "When I don't know an opponent, if my coach can watch them play a match, he'll give me a report. If not, I'll judge their backhand, their second serve and footwork during the warmup and try to see what I can attack."
Sherry's style is serve and volley, and with his 6-foot-4 frame he's an imposing figure at the net.
"I didn't serve and volley as much when I played the juniors, but now that I'm taller and stronger, it's to my advantage to get to the net as often as possible," Sherry said. "I stopped playing in the juniors when I was 17 and have been concentrating on playing Futures and Challenger events. I get the best experience in those events playing older and more professional players."
Sherry's ultimate goal is to take his game as far as he can and make an impact. He plans to spend the next couple of years playing U.S. Tennis Association Futures and Challenger tournaments with hopes of collecting more points. He has earned one ATP point in singles and seven in doubles.
Next month Sherry travels to Ecuador for a Challenger event. Having received a wild-card into the main draw, Sherry hopes to increase his professional points.
"I just came back from a Futures event in Mexico, where I made it to main draw," Sherry said. "I'm in the main draw of the Ecuador tournament and another one in Texas. Hopefully, I'll get through them, be challenged and pushed, but peak at the right time."
In each match Sherry tries to take something positive from the experience to build on his game. Last weekend's results gave him not only a victory but a boost in confidence, he said.
"I was off with a wrist injury for about nine months, so now is sort of my comeback period," Sherry said. "Everything is going all right so far, and my game is improving. I'll see where it takes me."
CAPTAINS MEETING: The USTA Senior Men's and Women's Doubles Leagues team captains' meeting is Oct.8 at Countryside Country Club. The 7p.m. meeting will be in the main clubhouse. For information call Judy Murphy at (727) 815-9618 for the women and David Wisotsky at (727) 938-7902 for the men.
NET SHOTS: Saddlebrook's Alexandra Moreno-Kaste paired with St. Petersburg's Anthony Barrancotto to win Florida's mixed 10 competition.
COMING UP: The second annual Charity Golf and Tennis Tournament, a benefit for the Mason Dixon Christmas Fund, is Oct. 3-4 at East Lake Woodlands. For details call (813) 340-3030. ... The East Lake Junior Rookie Tournament is Oct. 4-5 at East Lake Woodlands. Call (727) 785-2212 before the Oct.1 deadline. ... The Temple Terrace Junior Halloween Classic is Oct. 18-20. Call Manny Mariani at (813) 989-7178. ... The SPTC Adults and Senior Vets is Oct. 18-20 in St. Petersburg. Call Al Sarmiento at (727) 360-2643.