EDWARDSVILLE – Zeke Clark was a winner in his opening round singles match at the Edwardsville Futures Presented by The EGHM Foundation Wednesday at the Edwardsville Tennis Center, getting by Errol Smith in a very hard-fought match 6-4, 7-6 (7-4 in the tiebreaker). And the Futures is a tournament that Clark, born in St. Louis and raised in Tulsa, Okla., looks forward to every year.
“I’m feeling great,” Clark said in an interview in the afternoon. “Edwardsville’s always a place I look forward to coming to. I know Dave (Lipe, the tournament director) really, really well; my dad went to college with him, so I’ve been coming here since I was 10 years old, so it’s a special place to come back to, and always enjoy my time here, so I’m happy I picked up the win today.”
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Clark is also feeling good about his chances of winning the tournament but will take everything one match at a time, and won’t look too far ahead in the tournament.
“I take it one match at a time,” Clark said, “try not to look too far ahead, just focus on tomorrow. I know it’s going to be a tough one, regardless of who I play. So, gotta get the body ready, and be ready to go.”
Clark first became interested in tennis as a youngster in Tulsa, through his dad, who played at Principia College with Lipe in Elsah, Ill.
“My dad played Division III tennis at Principia, so he got me started when I was really young, and never really pushed me, but he was always there, and I kind of fell in love with the game at an early age, and having him kind of foster me, and show me how to play. I credit almost all my tennis success to him, for starting me. So he got me started, and I fell in love with the game, and played it ever since.”
Clark enjoyed success at Riverfield Country Day school in Tulsa, which was founded by his grandmother, Marty and where his father, Toby, was the head of the middle and upper school.
“I went to high school at Riverfield Country Day in Tulsa,” Clark said. “My grandma started the school, and my dad was actually the head of the middle and upper school, so I had some connections there,” he said with a smile and laugh. “So, it was awesome to be able to go to high school and play high school tennis for my dad. It was pretty cool.”
After graduation from RCD, Clark went on to play at the University of Illinois, where he’ll be entering his senior season. Clark’s been on the Big Ten’s all-academic team all three years voted the team’s most improved player in 2018 and made the All-Big Ten first team last season. His overall singles record is 66-32, 20-6 in the conference.
“I’ve enjoyed every second at Illinois,” Clark said. “Brad Dancer and Marcos Asse (the head coach and assistant coach for the Illini) have been one of the biggest blessings in my life. They’ve been but amazing to me, not only as a tennis player but as a person. They’ve grown me into a man, and have shown me and taught me so much, and I credit a lot to them, and they just do an awesome job. I’ve loved every second of it. I feel like we can always do better; I never wanted to kind of settle for just the success we’ve had, so just been working hard and next season, we can do even better than we’ve done the first three seasons I’ve been there.”
And needless to say, the competition in the Big Ten is among the toughest in the nation.
“Yeah, the Big Ten’s great,” Clark said. “We get pushed in every single match, and that what makes it so great.”
As for the future, Clark is hoping to become a regular on the ATP tour one day.
“I want to play after school, so my eyes are on next season,” Clark said. “I want to finish out really strong and do everything I can for the team, and after that, I want to focus more on kind of what’s next. I want to play full-time, so we’ll see where it takes me.”
And the Futures have had some great alumni in the past, pointing to the recent success of Tennys Sandgren, a quarterfinalist at the Kia Australian Open in 2018, and who advanced to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon last month.
“Yeah, it would be awesome,” Clark said with a smile. “It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, so I’m just going to keep doing what I can every day, and hopefully, it works out.”
