Segura Repeats as USTA Pro Circuit Mardy Fish Wild Card Tennis Winner

Matthew Segura of Apopka, Fla., the great nephew of Tennis Hall of Fame tennis legend Pancho Segura, defeated fellow 18-year-old American Perry Gregg of Chicago 7-6(0), 6-4 in the final of the wild card tournament for the 2019 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships Friday at the Sea Oaks tennis club.

It marked the second straight year that Segura won the tournament where the winner is awarded a main draw wild card entry into the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, a USTA Pro Circuit $25,000 ITF World Tennis Tour professional tennis tournament in Vero Beach, Fla.

Segura last year lost in the final of the Boys’ 18s division of the USTA Florida “Bobby Curtis” Junior State Singles Championships to David Lins of Boca Raton, Fla., 4-6, 7-5, 5-0, retired.

Segura will be among 32 players from around the world who will compete in the main draw of the event on April 29-May 5, 2019, at The Boulevard tennis club. One of the top junior players in the nation, Segura plays ambidextrously, hitting right-handed and left-handed and also using two-handed forehands and backhands just as his great uncle Pancho did during his career.

En route to the title at Sea Oaks, Segura beat 39-year-old Brian Battistone in the round of 16 in what is believed to be the first-ever pro tennis match played between two ambidextrous players.

Proceeds benefit the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, the non-profit tennis foundation named for Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, the former Top 10 tennis star and the newly-named U.S. Davis Cup captain.

Tournament tickets and sponsorships for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships are now on sale and can be purchased at www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org.