Thanks for coming to Team Delic, the online home of Amer Delic and his fans. We hope to provide you with constant updates from the road with the Big Bozz himself, and all of his results as he makes his way into the Top 100: (Updated by Mike Cation)

Also, if you have a photo that you took of Amer (or with Amer) that you'd like to contribute, send it to info@amerdelic.com and we will post them here.

August 26 - Amer is third on tomorrow, on Armstrong court.  Very good placement for him, so expect him to play sometime around 2:30 or 3:00 Eastern time tomorrow.  Somewhere in that time frame. 

He's currently waiting to play his doubles match, as close friend Bobby Reynolds is in the fifth set against Thomas Zib.  Luckily, Amer's singles opponent is also playing in the same doubles match, so they don't have to worry about who will be more tired tomorrow.

August 25 - Well, Amer is going to be facing Robby Ginepri on Tuesday, but oddly, not in singles.  They're also opponents in the first round of doubles, with Amer teaming with Alex Kuznetsov, and Ginepri playing with Travis Rettenmeier.  Singles won't be starting until Wednesday, apparently.

August 24 - The draw is out....and Amer is playing Robby Ginepri.  Robby is obviously a well known player, having accomplished quite a bit in the last few years, settling in right now at a ranking of 62 as of last week.  But, as always, it's a match that can be won, but Amer will have to serve well, and play his game.  Anything is possible.

The guess is that the match will be on the second day of the tournament, as it isn't on the first.  So, hopefully, we'll get an update then.  And we also hope that a week off has given Amer's body a good chance to rest heading in to the biggest tournament he's played in quite a while.  Lots of points to be had. 

August 15 - Amer has received a Wild Card to the main draw of the U.S. Open.  It was officially announced yesterday, and now he won't have to go through qualies, which is spectacular. 

Here's a snippet:  Boca Raton's Jesse Levine and former NCAA champion Amer Delic were among eight men receiving wild-card entries into the U.S. Open. The USTA also invited Americans Brendan Evans, Austin Krajicek, Scoville Jenkins and Sam Warburg, along with Carsten Ball of Australia and Laurent Recouderc of France.

Now we wait for the draw.

Amer is also up to 128 in the world, his highest ranking since March.

August 6 - I'd like to specifically address this email we received last night:

Yes, Amer beat Dudi Sela last night in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.  So there you go, Pawel.  But don't call Amer Lacko.

Amer will be playing Carlos Moya on Thursday in the second round.

August 3 - Amer qualified for the Countrywide Classic in Los Angles with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Woong-Sun Jun of Korea.  We'll find out later today who he'll play in the first round, but look for him to play again tomorrow, as a guess.  Either way, he's picked up five points for qualifying, which is a very good start.  We do know he won't be playing a seed.

That's it.  I'm going on vacation on Tuesday, so updates may be light this week.  Sorry Amer!  I'm sure he'll do well without me around to watch.

August 2 - The fan photos are now up and running, with thanks to Kenny.  Hope you enjoy them, and thanks to everyone who has added some.  We'll get more up once you get them in!!!

Amer is in Los Angeles, trying to qualify for the Countryside Classic.  Today, he defeated Ramon Delgado 6-2, 6-4, despite going down a break 0-2 in the first set.  Tomorrow, he takes on Woong-Sun JUN of Korea to advance, and pick up the five points for qualifying. 

Positve thoughts for tomorrow. 

July 29 - I understand we're still waiting on the fan photos. Hopefully, we'll get those up in the next couple of days.

Rainout on Tuesday for Amer, and I'm sitting around waiting on Wednesday night to see how he does in his first round match with Bobby Reynolds, his close friend.  Never a fun match for the two of them.

The good news, as Amer posted in his blog about a month ago, is that he has no points to defend for the rest of the year.  He is poised to make a strong jump, with just a few good results.  3-4 Semis before the end of the year, and he could jump towards the 100 area. 

That's it for now.  We'll keep you posted on Vancouver.

July 15 - Internet wizard Kenny is working on putting up all of the fan photos, so we should have that up on the media gallery within the next two days. 

Amer has been dealing with a little bit of knee pain, hence his recent withdrawal, and a little bit of time off.  He assured me over the weekend that it's pretty OK at this point, and he's set to play in Aptos as the top seed this week, but runs in to a red hot Prakash Armitraj, who just reached the final at the ATP event in Newport.  Hopefully, the cross country flight will wear him out a bit, and Amer will be able to advance, and pick up some good points this week.

Amer also tells me his schedule is completely up in the air, so we just don't have any good answers on that right now.  US Open qualies are probably the only definite at this point.  I know we've got some friends out in California who are wanting to know what events he'll be at in the next couple of months.  Sadly, we just don't know.  But as soon as he gets something set in stone, we'll let you know. 

June 23-  Amer and Brendan qualified last week for the Doubles Draw, and are scheduled to play good friends Bobby Reynolds and Rajeev Ram in the first round at Wimbledon, likely either Wednesday or Thursday.  At least he isn't playing the Bryans again.  Either way, it's some decent money, although Amer has definitely said he'd much rather be playing the singles draw instead for some big points.

June 16-  Amer lost in 3 sets today to Robert Smeets.  Just wasn't able to convert any break points, and got broken in the 6th game of both the 1st and 3rd sets.

Obviously, a disappointing result after a great week in Liverpool.  He is still alive in doubles qualies, playing with Brendan Evans.

June 15- A couple of quick updates. 

Amer won the Liverpool International, in 3 sets over Paul Capdeville.  It doesn't mean anything point wise, and Amer wouldn't tell me what it meant money wise.

Now, no rest for the weary.  Amer plays TOMORROW (Monday) in the first round of Wimby Qualies, taking on Robert Smeets of Australia.  The draw is set up nice for Amer, if he can get past this one.  Should start around 10 Eastern tomorrow. 

That's it.

June 9- Not a whole lot to update here, but the schedule is updated, with a big thank you to Amer.  The biggest news is that Amer was headed to Pete Sampras' place over the weekend to play with the legend.  I am still waiting for a report myself, but I will allow Amer to update that on his portion of the site.

Today begins Amer's trip over to England.  I do know that he did arrive safely this morning, but the bags were not with him at the time, so that could be a stretch.  Again, in the June 2nd update is this Liverpool link, and after that is the Wimbledon qualies.  So we'll keep you updated with that over the next few weeks. 

That's about it.  Any questions, I'll try to update as best I can.

June 2- Huge win for Amer yesterday, beating Alex Bogomolov Jr. in straight sets to win the Challenger in Carson, California.  This is his second title of the year, following Dallas, and first, obviously, since the surgery, which I will now call a success.  The victory also gives him some much needed points, which will put him somewhere in the 130 neighborhood, pending what happens this week in Yuba City. 

The goal right now for Amer has to be Main Draw for the Open.  That means top 100 by the beginning of July.  That's pretty lofty, but also doable.  It'll take another strong week in Yuba City, and maybe a bit of a run through qualies in England for a couple tournaments.

We do also know that Amer will be playing in the Liverpool International Tournament before Wimbledon begins.  It is an exhibition featuring some very good players over the past couple of years.  A link can be found here.

We're still waiting to get a full schedule for Amer, but we do know he'll be in England for a few weeks, before the summer hard court season here in the U.S.

Also, a special thank you to Marisa, Luke, and Jake for their pictures from Carson!  We'll get those up on the website soon.

May 28- We've been waiting for a full schedule from Amer over the last couple of weeks, but he's returned to full action this week in Carson, where he's already reached the Quarterfinals as of this morning. 

The reason that Amer didn't play in the French is that he would have had to go through qualies, and with a full month in between tournaments, it didn't seem like the most prudent thing to do, when he really just needed some matches.

I can tell you from seeing him a couple of weeks ago at his sister's graduation that he feels very good, and seems mentally refreshed for the summer months.  I'd imagine that this Carson run is the start of a good couple of months, hopefully culminating in a good couple of weeks at the Open. 

I hope to get a full schedule from Amer this week, so that we can post it, and we'll update the schedule and results when that happens. 

Until next time.....

May 1st- Wow, I didn't realize it had been a month since the last update.

My apologies to Amer first off.  Now that summer is here, though, I'll have more time, personally. 

Which, consequently comes at a time when Amer is taking some time off.  He had some minor surgery on Monday which will require him to take a little bit of a break.  I'll let him discuss the surgery if he chooses too, but I will say that it is extremely minor, and should be a major positive for him in the long run.  I can say that it will allow him to return to Champaign next week for the first time since November, as he attends his sister's graduation, and also his sister's wedding in a few more weeks.  (Congrats Lejla!!!)

Amer's spirits are pretty high right now, and he seems to be, so far, enjoying the time off.  We'll try to get you an estimated return date within the next week.

Any questions, or t-shirt orders, don't hesitate to email!

April 1st- No April Fools Day jokes.  Just hasn't been the best few weeks for Amer, with a couple of first round losses, which is bound to happen from time to time.  Unfortunately, one of those first round losses came in Miami last week, meaning he's going to take a huge hit when the newest rankings come out on Monday morning.  He's currently 112.  I'd guess by Monday, he's somewhere around 150.  But, we knew this was likely, as another fourth round performance would be tough.  (Although we do want to wish former Illini Kevin Anderson congrats on knocking off the Djoker) 

As a result, Amer is back down in Tampa just working his butt off to prepare for the next few weeks.  Puerto Rico next week, then Houston. 

That's it for now.  Working on getting all those photos up.  They're all spectacular!

March 13th - Sorry for the lack of an update in the last week.  Obviously, Amer fell in the quarters in Las Vegas to Canas.  As Amer said on his IM, he "laid an egg."  Still, it was a great week for him, as he moved up 13 spots, to 113 in the world.  Also, I think I speak for him when I say congratulations to another former Illini, Kevin Anderson, who reached the finals in Las Vegas.  Tremendous week for him. 

Unfortunately for Amer, he wasn't able to make it two straight successful weeks, losing in the first round of qualies in Indian Well to Dominick Meffert.  He's now back in "New Tampa," and according to the Sunrise Challenger, playing there next week.  But I haven't talked to Amer personally since, so I'm not 100% positive of that.

Also, on a fun note, we've added a new feature on the front page where you can send in your photos of Amer playing to info@amerdelic.com.  In the next week or two, I'll be putting some of the photos we've already gotten, on the site.  There are some good ones already, and its sincerely appreciated. 

We'll get an update this weekend, hopefully, on Sunrise.

March 5th - Amer Delic, quarterfinalist. 

Sounds pretty good, and I'm exceedingly happy for Big Bozz that he's reached a QF of an ATP Tour event again, after a 6-3, 3-0 victory over Potito Starace, the tournament's fifth seed today.  Amer tells me that Starace wasn't happy from the get go with the extremely windy conditions, something that Amer is obviously comfortable with.  Either way, a win is a win, and now he moves on to take on world #22 Guillermo Canas with his first ever semifinal just a victory away. 

Also, this should just about insulate Amer from the drop he'll take after the Miami event, meaning that he'll likely rise a good bit this week, no matter what happens with his next match (at least to around 110), before dropping back down to this level after Miami, should he not pick up any points that week.  Again, that's WORST case scenario at this point.  Any victories, and the rankings situation changes dramatically.

The Canas match is expected tomorrow.  It marks the fifth straight day Amer will play.  Either way, this is a great week for Amer.

March 3rd - Amer is back in a Main Draw of an ATP Tour Event, having qualified in Las Vegas with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Ryan Sweeting this morning.  At the time that I write this, the draw with qualifiers has not been posted, but he's playing Michael Llodra, Robin Soderling, or John Isner. 

I can tell you that the Las Vegas stop is always one of the most anticipated stops on the ATP Tour, as I had an opportunity to see last year, when I happened to be in Vegas at the same time.  Great hotel accomodations, great events at any of the casinos on the strip, spectacular volunteers, and a scenic event location, well off the strip (great drivers and cars, though), but close enough to some really gorgeous mountains.  Hopefully, if Amer has some time, he'll grab some photos.  It is pretty. 

Now Amer needs to put together a pair of wins in a main draw.  A quarterfinal appearance would be huge. 

Also, we could use another t-shirts out on some of you fans!  Let me know.

February 25th - Let's just count this as another week off.

I haven't talked to Amer in the last couple of days, but from everything I can tell about the match in qualies on Saturday, Frederic Niemeyer returned very well, and just won a couple of key points.  Those things happen.  When Niemeyer plays well, he's certainly capable, having been a top 100 player in his career.

So, now Amer heads back and trains for the week, before Las Vegas, and Indian Wells.  A couple of big weeks.  Las Vegas especially, as the draw will be available for him to get some things done.  So, we'll see what happens. 

Also, I think both myself and Amer would like to wish congratulations to David Martin, a friend of both of ours, who won the doubles title at the ATP stop in San Jose over the weekend, with Scott Lipsky.  David's a great guy, so a win like that is well deserved.

That's it for now.  Keep ordering t-shirts!  Gots to get rid of them!

February 18th-  Who would have known that Kei Nishikori would rise up and destroy everyone in Delray Beach last week, including Amer, Bobby Reynolds, Sam Querrey, and yes, James Blake.  The 18-year-old was a force.

As for Amer, as he put it, he was just out of gas.  Everything sort of broke down, and who can blame him after a long, and successful, couple of weeks.  He's moved up 6 more spots to 114th in the world, and has already earned over $40,000 on the year, which is a great start. 

True to his word, he's making sure to get some rest, and is taking this week off, before heading to Memphis this weekend.  What does that rest entail?  Well, earlier this weekend, it included some golf, and tonight, it's a Van Halen concert.  At least he was nice enough to send me a picture of it on his blackberry.  Real nice, Amer.  Real nice.  Someday, I'll be expecting some of those kickbacks myself.

So again, a week off for Amer this week, and off to Memphis next week. 

Keep ordering those shirts!  Sometime soon, we'll actually see some on TV!

February 13th - Revenge is nice and sweet.  Amer picked up a straight set win tonight over Donald Young, 7-6, 6-3, coming back from two breaks down in the first set.  This is a big one for Amer, more than anything, just to keep momentum rolling. 

Next up is Japan's Ken Nishikori.  There is no doubt, this is a big one for Amer, as a quarterfinal becomes a possibility, which would mean in the past 3 weeks, he'll have made up enough points to cover Miami already.  That's HUGE.  So, tomorrow is a tough match for Amer.  25 points.  And his second ATP quarter.  It's all there for the taking.

Roughly, a 3PM EST start for the match.  Live results are available at ATPTour.com. 

Also, thanks to Kelsey and her sister for becoming members of TeamDelic!  Their t-shirts are on the way to Dallas!

February 12th - Amer has qualified once again for a ATP event, this time in Delray Beach, including a straight set, two tiebreaker win over Max Myrnyi.  This is obviously a good roll that Amer has been on, with the Australian Open, Dallas Challenger, and now Delray Beach.  This just keeps adding to the points he needs to cover Miami, especially with no points from San Jose last year that he has to cover.  He does pick up five points (and some cash) for qualifying, and gets a draw with Donald Young.

You may remember that last year, Donald Young picked up his first ATP win against Amer, which was at Amer's low point in the season, when he just couldn't find his confidence.  We'll see what happens when the confidence is rolling.  Should be a lot of fun to watch tomorrow.  If you can get down there.  Lucky. 

Amer is working with someone new, and it seems to be working.

Here's a link for a preview of Delray Beach.

February 4th- See, that wasn't that hard, was it?  In case you missed it, Amer picked up a great victory down in Dallas, only losing a set along the way to a Challenger title.  Great victory in the final over Stephane Bohli, which you can watch

here......

Amer is back up to 117th in the world, picking up 55 points in Dallas, and losing 20 from last year.  That's a good step towards making up some of his points from last year. 

This week, Amer is taking a week off, before heading to Delray Beach. 

On a personal note, I'm finally moved in to my new place.  If you need a Team Delic t-shirt, we've got em available for $12, which includes shipping! 

January 29th-  Well, it wasn't the result he wanted out in Waikoloa, but thems the breaks.  It's now on to Dallas for Amer this week, with a first round win over Alex Bogomolov on Monday night.  What's cool about the Dallas Challenger is that they provide a live webcam, with a unique couple of guys doing the color commentary.  They accurately pegged Amer last night for staying too far beyond the baseline, and not hitting his backhand. 

Here's the interview for you....

And here is his match.....

For the rest of the week, you can find his matches here.....

Like I said, a unique commentary, but it was a lot of fun to watch his match last night, so enjoy the opportunity as it presents itself.  He is losing his Delray Beach points from last year, where he got a win in the RR over Kohlschreiber, but a win in his second round match should take care of that. 

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

January 21st - 

Well it was a heck of a week for Amer down in Australia.  Obviously, just an awesome match with Monaco, coming back to force a fifth set after being down two sets to none.  Great effort, and Amer told me afterwards that more than anything, he was just sore.  No kidding.  A 5 hour match will do that to you.

Most importantly, he picked up some points, because of his qualifying run, and then defending his second round appearance from last year.  Points for Amer are huge right now, because he needs to get back up in to the top 100, but first, he has to defend his points from last year, and he has a huge one coming up, the 90 points he earned in Miami with that awesome fourth round run last year.  But, because he's in the Challenger level right now due to his low ranking, he's having to hit some semis and finals in the next two months to try and make up that 90 just to stay where he's at right now.  And then, in the summer and fall, he can make a solid couple of tournament runs, and be good for 2009.  I know he's like to personally like to do it a little bit faster, but that's the most basic way to present it, really.

Right now, Amer is in Hawaii, playing in the Challenger out there.  It's a good way to pick up a few points before heading back to the States full time to take part in some Challengers.

If you've emailed in the last couple of months, give me a few more days, and I'm responding to some of the emails as I get a chance.

January 11th- 

Alright, so, don't hate me for not updating in a while.  As I've told Amer, personally, there have been some things that popped up, namely two computer crashes, that have kept me a way, and then just some stubbornness about getting back to it.

That being said, Amer has started 2008 just the way he wanted, with some good time off with friends and family, training down at Saddlebrook, and now, a qualifying run in to the Main Draw at the Australian Open, and a first round win over Robert Kendrick in straight sets.  Nothing to complain about. 

The biggest news of the offseason is Amer's move to train with some of the top Americans at Saddlebrook.  For a good recap, go here......

Now he's down in Australia, and beat up on Robert Kendrick, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2, to set up a match with the Argentinian, Juan Monaco, the 21st seed.  And as Amer's good friend Evan said when I asked him about Monaco, Amer is 0-2000 against Argentinians.  So, it's going to be a challenge.  It's also another opportunity for Amer to make his first 3rd round match at a Slam, which we've all been waiting for.

More updates to come, and it's good to hear from you all when you get a chance. 

September 17 - Amer lost in the quarters down in New Orleans today, and for a report, we turn to Mark, our New Orleans correspondant, who sent me this email over the weekend:

I feel sooooo bad ....Amer lost in the quarters to Ryan Sweeting ..I think it was 4-6 6-0 6-3 ...I finally get to see him play singles and he loses ....

but after the first set ..he did not look great ....He even called out the trainer ...He did try to fight in the the third but something else was up...After the lost ...I was going to see him before he left ..I saw Scott Humphries ( I think that is right ) I asked him if Amer was ok...he said that he thinks Amer had some bad sushi last night ...they were working on him...so I knew he was in good hands so I went to watch some more tennis ...but when I can back I think he was gone...I don't blame him...

Before he went out to his match , he saw me  at the player's desk and came up to make sure I got in...

I just feel bad....I even offered him to arrange red beans and rice while he came into to town...but he said no.......anyway not sure that is great tennis playing food...

Anyway ..here is the best part after Amer left ...something was in the water...Warburg was picking a fight( got an unsportsmanlike violation)  with his quarterfinalist opponent ...Kendrick was yelling and throwing racquets everywhere ....Oh the drama....
Amer e-mailed me as he was in ...I will check with him in a few days make sure the New Orleans sushi ..did not kill him...man I feel bad...I need to find out what place it was...

So, obviously not what we all wanted, but it happens from time to time.  As a result, a pretty bad dropoff for Amer in the rankings, falling to 81st.  He'll have to get some wins as he head overseas next week.  More on that as the week progresses.

Also, on a side note, congrats to another former Illini, Kevin Anderson, who won the singles and doubles portions down in New Orleans.  Great win for him.

September 10 - Amer heads back to the Challenger Circuit today, playing in New Orleans, where he was a finalist a year ago.  These are going to be some crucial tournaments over the next few weeks, as he has to defend a lot of finals, and a couple of titles.  The draw shapes up well, as he got the top seed, and plays a wild card, Alberto Francis in the first round.  He's also surrounded by good friends, as four former Illini players will be on hand as well.  Brian Wilson and Rajeev Ram are in the main draw, while Kevin Anderson and Ryler DeHeart are trying to qualify later this morning. 

Amer spent his time after the Open at home in Jacksonville, recovering for a couple of days, and working with Scott Humphries.  Sadly, he was unable to make it to Craig Tiley's wedding ceremony on the 1st, and his presence was greatly missed by the slew of former players and staff that did attend.

More updates to follow.

August 27 (evening) - Did hear from Amer tonight.  He is on first on Arthur Ashe court tomorrow morning, the Center Court, at 11AM EST, 10AM CST against Hewitt.  Meaning he'll get a ton of face time on USA.  So, a great opportunity for those of us who haven't had a chance to see him yet this year. 

Also, I neglected to mention earlier that Amer is playing with Justin Gimelstob in doubles, in what is Justin's last US Open.  So, that could prove to be a great opportunity for him.  We'll see.

August 27 - Amer will open up play in the US Open on Tuesday against Lleyton Hewitt.  As I write this, we have not yet found out a time, or a court.  But I assume that it will be on one of the show courts, as Lleyton is one of the top 16 seeds in the tournament.

I haven't actually had a chance to speak with Amer yet, but he is obviously in New York City, has been prepping himself mentally, and I think it's pretty simple.  If he serves the way he is capable of serving, he can do this.  If he's not serving well, it will be a struggle.  But we all know he is capable of doing this, and getting through to the second round.

What's interesting is that on a personal note, this will be the first year I haven't been out to the Open in five years, and of course, he's in the main draw against a top seed.  Figures. 

Also, as a side note, this weekend is the wedding of his former coach at the University of Illinois, Craig Tiley, to another good mutual friend of ours, Ali Kawa.  I certainly hope that I don't see him at the wedding, and that he'll be kicking butt in NYC.

August 20-  I won't try and sugar coat how difficult it is right now for Amer.  I've heard through a friend that he's incredibly down after losing to Donald Young yesterday in New Haven.  This after a loss to Ljubicic last week, in a match he could have won, but his serve deserted him.  He's struggling a bit with his confidence, so if you have a chance today, or this week, as we head up to the Open, shoot him an email, or a phone call, and tell him something positive, as he could use it. 

That's my two cents.

Personally, I finished a half marathon last weekend, and had a little vacation, which is why there hasn't been an update.  And as always, got a nice congratulations from Amer, which just shows the kind of guy he is.  So, now's the time to turn the tables, and show him some love.

I'll talk with Amer this week, and get everyone an udpate on how he's doing.  He also did want to say thank you to everyone who is sending the new phone numbers.  He's getting caught up on that little by little.

August 6 - Well, the first ranking drop came today.  Amer is down to 78, dropping twelve spots after losing points from last year.  This week, he'll drop another 5 points, as he loses a second round in Binghamton, but not much more for the next 3 weeks.  So, any points he can pick up along the way will be a bonus, especially heading in to the post Open time period, where he has all those finals appearances. 

on a side note, Amer managed to break his phone, so he may not have your phone number available to him, for those that are in contact with him.  I haven't heard the story yet of how it was broken, but I hope to find out soon.

Again, Amer will be trying to qualy in Cincinnati, so he'll be in action this weekend.

August 2 - Amer's struggles continue, as he dropped a straight set decision to Paul Capdeville on Tuesday in Washington.  I wish I had some good answers as to what exactly was happening for him, and I'm sure he's wishing the same thing.  Capdeville is a guy he should beat probably 8 or 9 times out of 10, so it's another disappointing loss.  At least he got 10 points for receiving a bye in the first round.

Now we're hitting a pretty dangerous spot for Amer, as he'll start to see some significant drop off.  This week, it will be a 39 point loss, as he loses his Vancouver final.  That will continue each week, due to that spectacular fall that he had in 2006.  So, you might see Amer in a few Challengers in the next couple months to stop the hemorraging, and just to get some points, and more importantly, some court time. 

I do know that Amer was headed home yesterday to work and train with Scott Humphries, to try and figure out what could be done to get him back on the winning track, and I think that will happen quickly.

July 30 - Mike here.  I got a little vacation last week, and unfortunately, at the same time, missed what will likely be Amer's closest stop to me in Champaign of the year.  Disappointing.  But, obviously, the result wasn't what Amer wanted either, in a straight set loss to Del Potro.  That's just not a first round draw you want to see.  Too bad.  The guy who beat Del Potro was Frank Dancevic, another guy who has been with Amer in the Challenger circuit for a whle.  And he runs through to the final.  It shows you what a little bit of confidence can do for you, and you just get on a good run, and anything can happen. 

Now comes Washington, and Amer is once again a seed.  He picks up the 13th seed and a 1st round bye, meaning next he'll meet either Ilija Bozoljac, or Paul Capdeville.  Both of whom are tough, but beatable matchups.  Amer needs a win, or two, to get rolling before the Open.  He needs to get some matches in, more than anything.  And he knows it, too.  He's got a lot of points to defend this fall, so some results would be nice.

More on that subject later in the week.  We'll give you a breakdown of how many points he has to defend. 

July 22 - Round two of the U.S. Open Series for Amer begins tomorrow.  As in Monday.  Which is really too bad, as Amer was hoping for a Tuesday start, after a late Friday night doubles match in Los Angeles.  But, no dice, as Del takes on Juan Martin Del Potro.  The 57th ranked player in the world is a tall young man, still a player with a lot of promise, but interestingly, he has not played a single match since his second round loss to Roger Federer at WImbledon.  So in that respect, maybe Amer has a slight edge.  He'll certainly also have a home crowd advantage, as several people from the U of I will be making the trip over for a roughly 5PM start.  Sadly, yours truly will not be there, due to a mandatory work meeting, which is incredibly frustrating for me, but hey, I may get a bonus.  So those things happen. 

Amer did not make it over to the Playboy Mansion on Saturday.  Which is OK.  I think it was a good week for him anyways, outside of the first round loss.  Look for a nice week here in Indy, and I hope to see you all out for his second round match there on Wednesday.

Also, as a side note, web designer Kenny Kim will be on hand tomorrow, so expect new photos this week. 

July 20 - Amer got a tour of the Playboy Mansion this week.  He made sure to instant message me yesterday to tell me that.  He's still alive in doubles, playing the Bryan brothers today, and that, apparently, will determine whether or not he goes to a party at the Mansion tomorrow.

Amer.....you must go, for those of us who never can. 

And, many of us are jealous.

Other than that, things seem to be going well for the big guy, and those of us in the Midwest are getting ready to see him in Indy next week.  Should be a blast.

July 17 - Well, obviously a tough match Monday for Amer, as he fell to Michael Berrer in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.  A disappointing start to the hard court season, especially since it was his first ever seed on the ATP Tour.  Very few break opportunities for Amer, just two.  And he served in the low 50 percent range, which is obviously below where he needs to be.  He'll be back in action next week in Indianapolis, so maybe a little Midwestern hospitality is in order, and Amer will be again close to being seeded, if some people drop out.

On the plus side, he picked up a doubles win yesterday, setting up a potential quarterfinal matchup with the Bryan brothers, who he owes from Wimby last year. 

And another positive, espn.com selected Amer to be part of an online chat.  While I will admit that I'm disappointed that my question was not selected, it sure is nice to see Amer get some positive press.

Here's the link

July 10 - Amer Delic is in the unique position of having lost to the last two Wimbledon doubles champions, and having given them their toughest tests in both.  Last year, it was the Bryan brothers in the first round, a five setter.  This year, it was Clement and Llodra in the big five setter.  Amer tells me that Bobby Reynolds claims Amer owes him around $250,000.

Anyways, this is a quiet week for Amer, as he's getting some home time before hitting the US hard courts, and the US Open Series.  He tells me that he has managed to find some time to go fishing with his father (more on that in his blog) and also celebrate the birthday as well, and is starting to get some practice time in. before heading off to Los Angeles.  Some good players out there for that one, but I hope personally that he gets another crack at Safin.  Maybe in the 3rd round or so.  :)

Just as another note, we've got some more Team Delic t-shirts, if you want to be a part of the Amer Delic fan club.  Just let us know!

July 1 - First off, a belated Happy 25th birthday to Big Bozz, who celebrated with yet another rain delay on Saturday at Wimbledon.  Personally, I want to apologize for not posting this yesterday due to my being out of town, but more importantly, I want to personally say this to Amer.  When you went pro, I remember having a conversation with a close friend of both of ours.  I said, he has an amazing amount of talent, but at this level, he's going to have to stay healthy, and develop a desire and killer instinct that he shows in flashes.  If he does that, he can be successful, if not, he'll be done by 25.  I'm very happy to see you around and kicking ass at the age of 25, so congratulations, and happiest of birthdays.

That being said:  Unfortunately, Amer fell in four sets to the Djoker on Thursday.  All things considered, not too bad.  Got a great experience.  Took a set from a top seed at Wimby, and played well while doing so.  On top of that, Amer was doing some damage on his serve.  After two rounds were complete, Amer was 4th in aces with 39, and was in a tie for the 5th fastest serve, at 137MPH, only 3MPH behind A-Rod.  So that's making quite a dent.

Now, doubles is still in action, as we've been going for four days now with the 10th seeded French duo of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra.  Of course, Amer is playing with Bobby Reynolds, and they're at 3-3 in the fifth.  They're first on Court 10 on Monday morning, which means a 5AM start Central time, and 6AM Eastern.  Get up early, watch it on your computer in bed.

Great last week for Amer though.  35 points, already roughly $40,000.  No complaints.  Expect a nice little jump in the rankings when they come out next Monday.  Now, GO BEAT THE FRENCH!

June 27 - Amer is through to the next round.  He knocked off Lukas Dlouhy in four sets on Tuesday, but the news is not all great.  Amer told me that in the third set, at 5-all, he did roll his ankle again, something he's managed to stay away from in the last few months.  So obviously, that's going to be something that we'll all be watching over the next few days.  He is scheduled to play doubles with Bobby Reynolds this afternoon, and when I talked to him last night, he said he was going to give it a full night of treatment and rest, and see where he was at before playing dubs again.

But all in all, a first round win at Wimbledon is a first round win at Wimbledon, meaning 35 points, and yeah, around $34,000.  Both are spectacular, and Amer is going to move up to a new career high after the tournament is over, regardless of whether he wins another match.  Yesterday, he smacked 20 aces to only 2 double faults, with a first serve percentage of 63%, and he told me that he was able to get a bunch of winners off of that first serve.  Obviously, that's going to be the key again tomorrow, when he takes on the Djoker.  That first serve percentage likely needs to be around 70%, and he'll have to cut down a bit on the unforced errors.  I've seen him play well enough to pull this off, and let's face it, nobody is expecting him to do anything.  Perfect time for an upset. 

Also, don't forget, Amer's birthday is coming up this weekend.  How about a nice birthday present. 

June 25 - The great Wimbledon experiment begins tomorrow, as Amer takes to the grass at the All England Club for his first Main Draw action at the famed event.  Very, very exciting stuff.

What do we know about the Czech?  Well, he's in a similar boat as Amer, ranked in the 70-110 range for most of the last year or two.  He had a good week in Hertogenbosch, Netherlands last week, getting four matches in, at least, going 2-2, and defeating Danai Udomchoke and Jordan Kerr, a former Doubles partner of Amer's at Wimbledon, in the first round of the Main Draw.  Last year, he defeated Florent Serra at Wimbledon, before losing a five set heartbreaker against the very talented, as Amer can tell you, Jonas Bjorkman. 

I think it's pretty simple for Amer tomorrow.  Serve well, and great things can happen.  At Wimby, its all about serving and returning.  Amer has a tendency to chip his returns, and as long as Dlouhy isn't approaching too much, that will give Amer a chance to sneak in a little bit, which, with his long arms, and deft touch, give him an edge. 

He is the fifth on Court 16 tomorrow, so likely he'll get on in the noon time frame, central time.  ESPN2 had the broadcast this morning, and might have the opportunity to throw on a couple points, or at least a nice mention.  You can always head to Wimbledon's web site for live scoring as well. 

And as Amer is the first to tell you, "Shake and Bake."

June 19 - Woo hoo!  How about that.  Even without serving 60 percent, Amer cruised past Justin Gimelstob, 6-4, 6-4.  In fact, he only served 53%, but some days, that's enough.  Gimelstob served up 16 double faults, and Amer told me this afternoon that it was extremely windy, which can obviously wreak havoc on your toss, and Justin didn't adjust as well. 

Also, Amer mentioned that he's had the opportunity to hang out with Justin a little bit in recent months, and told me he's not as bad as I may have made him out to be last night.  So I'm certainly happy to hear that too, and maybe Justin and Amer can have a lager afterwards.

Alright, so next up is the crafty old Swede, Jonas Bjorkman.  I won't sugarcoat it.  Despite the fact that he's 35, he's an amazing serve and volley player, and one of the best doubles players in the world.  Last year, he was a WImbledon semifinalist, and he reached the fourth round of the French earlier this month.  This is another great experience for Amer to get some good grass court tennis under his feet before Wimby.

June 18 - Justin Gimelstob.  Loved by those who read cnnsi.com, or watch him on television, hated by fans of Amer Delic everywhere.  And by lots of others out there as well.

Justin is an interesting character, to say the least, and as Amer prepares to play him, and his surgically reconstructed back, I look and see that Justin leads this series 4-0.  One 3 set match, and 4 tiebreakers in the other 3 matches.  Justin's favorite surface is grass.  He is a proven serve and volleyer, now at the age of 206. 

Personally, I, and these are not at all the feelings expressed by Amer Delic, am not a fan of Justin's.  I think he is a great competitor, but I've seen over the years too many instances of referee and ballkid abuse.  And again, while Amer won't admit this, or would never say this, I think Justin has done it in Champaign to get Amer distracted.  Not cool in my book.

All of this is to say that these two go at it tomorrow morning in Nottingham, on the grass courts, and I think we'll see exactly how fit Justin is since returning from that back injury.  If Amer serves 60% or better, I like his chances. 

June 13 - Well, obviously a disappointing result for Amer at the Stella Artois, dropping a three setter to Florent Serra, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4.  I haven't had much of a chance to talk to Amer since the match, but looking at the statistics, I think what is telling is that he didn't have a single break point in the match, and really struggled to pick up points on Serra's serve.  That's obviously got to change quickly as Amer prepares for his first main draw at Wimby. 

So the rest of the week will be spent practicing on the turf, and prepping for next week's event, a weak draw at Nottingham, where the majority of players are ranked 40th or higher.  I think once Amer gets used to the surface, and starts working that serve and volley game, along with the chip and charge on return, he'll be in good shape. 

If i hear from Amer, we'll get you a report shortly.

June 9 - The draw is out for next week's Stella Artois in Great Britain, and Amer is settling in for a possibly strong week.  Up first is a "grinder," the Frenchman, Florent Serra.  Serra is ranked roughly the same as Amer at #77, and reached the second round of the French last week before being humbled by Carlos Moya.  Does he have any grass court abilities?  Well, much like most Europeans, he's a clay courter, but last year, he did reach the semis of a grass court ATP event, so he's got some work to do. 

So Amer traveled over on Friday, and today got some grass court experience, the first of the year.  And, according to Amer, won one game in two sets against the duo of Mardy Fish, and Alex Bogdanovic.  Possibly some jet lag, possibly some bad tennis.  During the week off, it rained quite a bit down in Jacksonville, so he was only able to get in two hits, and no time on the one grass court there. 

Needless to say, the next couple of weeks are pretty important for Amer, and so if he can get a good couple of weeks, that can help accumulate some of those points he needs to defend from last year.  Beat Serra, and a second round matchup looms with either the incredibly beatable Robby Ginepri, or British wildcard Richard Bloomfield.  So.....hopefully, he can figure out the grass courts within a day. 

Amer Delic also recommends the new singles by both Common and Kanye West.  As do I, Mike, the web administrator for amerdelic.com.  So get on it.  Talk to you this week.

June 3 - Well, let's see.....for a complete report from the French, check out Amer's blog on the back page.  He updates a little....and so does Paulie P.  Good stuff.

Obviously, it was a tough draw for Amer, having to play a previous champion in the first round.  And the two day rain delay was a bit of a hassle as well.  Just kept putting things off, and when you're playing in your first French Open, I don't care what he says, it builds the nerves a bit.  There were some errors that day, and as Amer told me, he just couldn't keep it consistent enough to really put a dent in to Ferrero.  But, obviously, it's a great experience for him, getting to play at Roland Garros for the first time, and now we move on to the grass court season.

As we've talked about before here in news, Amer was raised on the clay, and so that is his natural surface.  But there are few players better suited to make the switch over to grass than Amer.  Big serve, great hands, and there you go. 

This week is a week off for Amer, as he heads home for a few days, and gets refreshed before heading to England and the warm confines of Doug Dixon and company.  I had the opportunity to meet up with Amer as he tried to qualify for Wimby last year, and if he stays at the same locale as he did last year, he's just a few blocks away from Wimbledon village, and will be driving a ferrari to and from the courts.  Lucky bastard.

Anyways, I expect the next couple of weeks to be solid for Amer.  I think he'll have a chance to pick up some points, and make a QF.  Just a hunch, but one of these tournaments will work out for him.

Any questions, don't hesitate to email me at info@amerdelic.com.  We've also got some great t-shirts ready for you!

May 15 - Amer sends his best from Zagreb, where he has some family to keep him company, and some matches to play, hopefully, to get in shape for the French in the next couple of weeks. 
That's the main reason he's playing this Challenger this week, to get some good matches in, and it doesn't hurt to have a couple wins under your belt before you start facing the likes of Federer and Nadal and company.  They certainly won't be expecting a big 6'5" clay lover, that's for sure.

Amer says he's been troubled a little bit by a bad back of late that flared up after Rome, but he's surviving.  His internet access hasn't been as constant, shall we say, while in Zagreb.  But they do have a fun website, with what appear to be crows, so....they've got that going for them.

Next week, he's off to Paris, to take on Roland Garros.  Amer has been through qualifying before at the Grand Slam event, but never the Main Draw.  It's obviously a chance to pick up some points, a good paycheck, and an amazing experience.  When the draw is released, we'll give you a preview, and hopefully get a good report from the big guy himself.

Outside of that, he did beat a qualifier in the first round of Zagreb, and is playing Marin Cilic, the 115th ranked player in the world, on Wednesday in round two.

Questions?  Holla.

May 7 - Obviously a great weekend for Amer on the court, as he was able to qualify for the ATP event in Rome this week.  And look across the court.  It's his old buddy Marat Safin.  The match was originally scheduled to be played this morning, but due to bad weather, it got pushed back, and Amer is being forced to stay in Rome for another night.  For free.....he's got it so, so rough.

Among other things, he's had a chance to meet legendary footballer Thierry Henry, the French superstar.  You Europeans know exactly who I'm talking about.  You Americans:  He plays soccer.  Kickball.  And he's very, very good. 
But yeah, he got to meet him on Sunday, but only got a handshake, because he was next to some guy named Roger.  I'd never heard of him, but Amer tells me he's kind of a big deal.

As you can tell with a couple of wins, Amer is feeling pretty comfortable on the dirt.  I'm going to link a couple articles for you to read up:

here

And from the Rome website:

Amer Delic of the USA moved into the main draw on Sunday with a solid 57 62 64 victory over Fabio Fognini.
Seventy-two ranked Delic has an all all-court game and hit fluid, deep groundstrokes, overcoming both his opponent and the packed outside court crowd.
He could have won easier than he did. At 43 and a break up in the decider he missed a straightforward volley and was broken back. The 44 game proved crucial; Delic took it on his fourth break point. He blew his first match point, slapping his forehand wide, but did not make the same mistake twice. He closed the match with an ace.
He will join Oscar Hernandez in the main event. Hernandez 'routined' Russia's Igor Kunitsyn 62 64 on Sunday.
Elsewhere, big serving Ivo Karlovic and Chile's Nicolas Massu (pictured) are one set apiece after two tiebreaks.

Back with more later in the week.

May 3 - Hi everyone.  It's been a very quiet couple of weeks for Amer in terms of his tennis.  In the past couple of weeks, he's been training quite a lot on the clay courts in Florida, and just got to Rome this morning to prepare for qualies there.  He did have a chance to train with Andy Roddick, but unfortunately due to a conflict in schedules, had to pass. 

Outside of that, Amer did have a chance to get down to Robert Kendrick's wedding, where there were quite a few ATPers out for a mid-season party, really.  There are plenty of  good photos out there if you're really looking, it's available out there on the interwebs.  But, from someone who has met Robert a couple of times, congratulations.

As I mentioned, Amer is indeed in Rome, and I chatted with him this afternoon as he was trying to stay awake long enough to stay up til 11, and fight off the jet lag.  Obviously, with qualies beginning on Saturday, it's a quick turnaround, so tomorrow's practice on the courts will be key.  It's a great draw, so if Amer can get in, who knows what happens. 

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask.  We've gotten a couple t-shirt orders in the last week, which is always spectacular. 

Mike

April 17- It was a decent week for Amer in Houston.  Picked up a win over his close friend Robert Kendrick, followed by a second round loss to the talented clay courter, Juan Monaco.  Not exactly a huge surprise, but hey, 15 points ain't bad.  Also, combined with his doubles result, he picked up an 8K check for a week in Houston.  I also read today that during a charity event, Andre Agassi smacked Steffi Graf with a racket to the face, resulting in three stitches.  Why couldn't Amer have been involved in that particular event? 

For those of you Amer fans in the states, you know that today is of course, tax day.  I talked to Amer last night about his taxes, and if you think that you've had it bad?  You're not even close.  Amer has different tax forms for each of the events he was in last year, both in the states, and overseas.  Which means not only a ton of forms to go through and fill out, he also has to fill out tax forms for each and every state he played in.  Awful.  Luckily, he has a good accountant, so he's able to just ship it over, and it's taken care of for him.

This is a week off for Amer, as is next week.  After that, it's time to head overseas and prepare for the French.  He was also working on some construction projects around the house on Monday, so feel free to ask him about it.  He'll tell you.  He's a regular Bob Villa. 

April 3- I know Amer has written a blog, thanking everyone for all of the messages that have been sent his way, but on behalf of amerdelic.com, I want to thank everyone as well.  Amer thrives off of good positive support, at matches and off the court, so Back to top