By Harvey Fialkov
When your last name is Goode, you’d better be.
No problem for Gavin Goode, which is actually pronounced like the Gouda cheese. The teenager from Raleigh, N.C. has been making waves in competitive tennis, moving up the ITF junior rankings while also collecting ATP ranking points playing on the USTA Pro Circuit.
Goode first made national news in juniors after winning the Easter Bowl 16s at age 15. H held a career high ITF ranking of No. 19 and, following a quarterfinal finish at the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships in Vero Beach, Florida, Goode posted an ATP Tour singles ranking of No. 1252.
“I’m super excited,’’ said Goode of his rise up the junior and pro rankings while in Vero Beach at the Mardy Fish USTA Pro Circuit Event. “The Easter Bowl win kind of started my junior career pretty much. Up until that, I’ve been winning some rounds in the L1s, but I haven’t really gone too far. That like opened my eyes that I could really play at the highest level in the juniors. And after that, I kind of started raising my levels, did well in some ITFs…I qualified for a Challenger last year in Winston Salem. It really gave me the confidence I needed to know I can play at that high level.”
The powerful lefthander boasts a huge serve and topspin forehand with a solid overhead, which gave rising Spanish star Rafael Jodar some problems in their meeting at the aforementioned Challenger which Goode lost 7-5, 6-1.
“I’ve really fixed my mindset in this tournament,’’ Goode said. “I haven’t had any outbursts which I usually have a lot of out there. I get really mad on the court. This week for some reason I’ve really been handling it well. It’s affecting my play and helping me play a lot better.”
Goode began playing tennis at 3 with his father, Paul, a teaching pro at the Raleigh Racquet Club. When he was 15, he finally took a set off his father, a former college player and coach.
“He was proud, but deep down he was kind of mad,’’ smiled Goode. “He still thinks he can get me to this day but no, he can’t beat me.”
