By Kristen Tredwell

If anybody ever thought that American tennis players were soft and weak - as many foreign players believe - they need only watch 15-year-old Brendan Evans to realize just how wrong they are. Already ranked number 1 for the 2002 USTA Junior National Selection List, the dedicated and hard-working Evans seems to be headed for stardom and there’s little doubt that he represents the next generation of tennis in the United States.

This naturally talented sports fanatic who admits “tennis was a last choice,” claimed fame at age 11, playing point guard in an AAU national basketball tournament. “I wanted to be a pro athlete more than anything else,” said Evans, a spry go-getter who also competed in swim meets, golf tournaments, travel basketball and, of course, tennis. While he misses playing with friends in a team sport, Evans really loved tennis and understood the commitment he would need to make to secure his dream: 20-25 tournaments a year, a lot travel, separation from his brothers and dad who sees him once every 3 to 4 weeks.

There is little time for Evans to feel homesick as he hits the courts at 8 am and works with his coach on drills, plays matches, runs, lifts weights and works on his quickness. Understanding the sacrifice, Evans said, “It will help me to become a better player. I had to move to Florida because that was where I would get the best coaching and the best training and play with the best players.”

But what really sets Evans a part is the fact that he is a winner on and off the court. Knowing, “If you work hard at anything, you can succeed,” he said. Evans has learned perhaps the most important lesson in life at a very early age. “I’ve learned how to rely on myself,” he said. Left alone for a couple of days following a tournament last year in Morocco, he was “scared out of my mind.” With no one from the tournament around, and the need to re-ticket to get home, Evans understood that while “I didn’t speak the language, I told myself that I was going to have to be in this kind of situation all of my life and I just had to deal with it.”

As well as learning to take care of himself, Evans has learned about many cultures and has made many friends from different countries. He has benefited from the cultural experience of his travels from Paraguay to Australia. “In Morocco,” he said, “99.9% of the people were Muslims who prayed while we were playing.” Other lessons will be learned as he “gets a look at the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open before becoming a pro so that I can gain experience so that it’s not a huge surprise.”

With role models, like Andy Roddick who “never gives up and fights for every point” and Andre Aggassi, “who is so nice - I was lucky to meet him and he showed an interest in me,” Evans is likely to become a role model for young tennis enthusiasts who will want to do what it takes to accomplish the next level of tennis. That is - “As long as my body holds out and as long as I continue to love the game.”