There were several notable players in the draws from 55s to 85s including Gary Plock who beat John McEnroe in the NCAA tournament, PTR Florida High School Coach of the Year Felipe Alarcon, and the 1978 point guard for the University of Kentucky National Championship basketball team Kyle Macy.
Macy actually played college tennis – second doubles – in his first year of college at Purdue before transferring to Kentucky, where he wasn’t allowed to play tennis because the basketball program was so focused on winning the NCAA national championship which they did by defeating Duke University in the final played at the St. Louis Checkerdome.
To see former top college and NBA player for Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers play high level tennis is a rarity but Macy is still an exceptional athlete at 68. He has classic strokes and service motion and moves pretty well despite a groin issue, which caused him to default in the semifinal today while winning 64 43 vs. Mark Reagan. The six-foot-three Macy looks like a guy who played ATP tennis back in the 70s-80s however he was too good in basketball. Macy was named “Mr Basketball” in the state of Indiana in 1975 when he was eighteen.
Macy has had a few encounters with famous tennis champions. He played a mixed doubles exhibition with Martina Navratilova against Jennifer Capriati and a coach. He had the chance to return an Andy Roddick serve which if he succeeded Roddick promised to buy everyone in the arena pizza. James Blake was there and warned Macy that A-Rod was gonna go big on the serve – 143 was in his range. Macy managed to block the serve back but it missed just wide by two inches. “The radar gun said his serve was 134, I hit it too early,” Macy joked.
Yesterday I played next to Macy in his marathon quarterfinal vs lefty Rene Mailaender which went all the way to 64 26 75. Playing next to a sports legend who I watched many times on TV back in his college and NBA days was distracting and partially caused me to fall behind in my own match love-3. Not only was it high quality tennis by Macy and Mailaender but they were both impeccable sportsman and gracious about each other’s fine play. See, I was unfocused from watching them too much despite having to play a heavy hitting lefty who pounded the ball like a Rafael Nadal clone. I lost 36 36 but the guy was too good and we had fun.
So the moral of the story is, sign up and play a USTA tournament. Because on the next court you could see not only a great player but a legend of sport. By the way, Macy wore Wilson Rush shoes and plays with a Wilson Clash racquet.
Notes: Macy serves as the Tennis Director and Pro at the Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington and as the International Tennis School Director of Sports Camps. Here are the highlights of Macy and Kentucky winning the 1978 National Championship link
Bradenton · Kentucky · Kyle Macy · Martina Navratilova · NCAA · Wilson