Long Branch Tennis Pro Bogomolov Has Memorable Week

At an age when his many of his peers on the ATP tour are in the closing stages of their careers, Long Branch native Alex Bogomolov is playing some of his best tennis. 

Ranked outside of the top 200 last November, Bogomolov has won two USTA Pro Circuit events since then and reached his first ATP Tour quarterfinal in over seven years at a tournament in Zagreb, Croatia.  This past week, he scored the biggest win of his career with a monumental upset over world No. 4 Andy Murray in the second round of the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami, FL. Bogomolov defeated Murray in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5.

“It’s a huge win, but I definitely felt like Murray was missing something,” said Bogomolov. “I have no doubt that if one or two points went his way, he would have turned it around.” 

Even though Bogomolov would lose in the third round to John Isner, the win over Murray will place him inside the world’s top 100 for the first time since 2003 when the new ATP rankings are released next week. The start of the year has been a monumental turnaround for Bogomolov, who went from a prolific junior career to journeyman status at the pro level. 

Born in Moscow, Bogomolov lived in Mexico with his parents as a child before they moved to Miami when he was 11. As a student at Miami Sunset High, he won the Florida state championships three years in a row. Although Bogomolov had signed a letter of intent to play on the Men’s tennis team at Texas Christian University, he abruptly turned pro after becoming the No. 1 ranked junior player in the country. 

Bogomolov cracked the top 100 less than 12 months after turning pro and was touted as the next promising young American. In addition, his marriage to fellow tennis pro and Playboy centerfold Ashley Harkleroad created a splash within the tennis world. 

Just as quickly as Bogomolov began to rise up the ranks, opponents began exploiting his movement and mental lapses on court. His marriage to Harkleroad ended in divorce. Just 12 months after being the darling of the tennis world, Bogomolov found himself competing on the challenger circuit, the equivalent of the minor leagues in baseball. 

“At the beginning of my career, I got to the top 100 and had no idea what I was doing,” said Bogomolov. “I completely took it for granted. I was doing bad things while I was playing. Now, I try to be as professional as it gets.” 

Bogomolov has spent most of the last six years competing on the challenger circuit. Although he has won a handful of these smaller events, they were often directly followed by a major injury, the worst of them being when he tore all the ligaments in his left wrist at a tournament in Korea in 2008. 

“I went to five doctors across the country and everybody wanted to send me to this guy in Philadelphia,” said Bogomolov. “That’s why I moved to New Jersey, to have the surgery over there and do the rehab.” 

Bogomolov moved to Long Branch and had wrist surgery in early 2009. It was during the rehab period that he met Luana Goncalves, who he quickly became engaged to. Bogomolov credits the relationship, and subsequent birth of their son, Maddox, now 15 months old, to his on-court revitalization. 

“Nothing was really healing after the surgery and then Luana told me she was pregnant,” said Bogomolov. “The next day, I was on the court hitting forehands and backhands. I still can’t explain it.” 

With only nine ranking points to defend between now and May, it is confirmed that Bogomolov will be able to gain direct entry into the French Open this year. This will be his first main draw appearance at Roland Garros since 2004, and first main draw appearance in a Grand Slam since the 2006 Australian Open.