The University of Mississippi Athletics
Coming Back Home
3/8/2005 | Men's Tennis
March 8, 2005
By Kim Ling,
Associate Athletics Media Relations Director
The Ole Miss men's tennis team has become one of the premier programs in the country, mentioned with the likes of Stanford, UCLA and Georgia. The 1995 season will be remembered as the benchmark year for the Rebels, when they advanced to the final of the NCAA Team Championships. This year, the Rebels celebrate the 10-year anniversary of that accomplishment.
Johan Landsberg, a member of the 1995 team, recently returned to Oxford for a visit and recalled fondly those days as a member of the first Ole Miss tennis team to reach the NCAA championship match.
"I can't believe it's been eight years," Landsberg said. "It seems like it was just yesterday that I finished. It's been good to be back and see the guys and coach (Billy) Chadwick and coach (Mark) Beyers. I love visiting Oxford and Ole Miss. I really miss it."
Landsberg, a two-time All-American at Ole Miss in 1995 and 1997, described the Rebels' 1995 season as if they were the Cinderella team making a run to the NCAA Final Four in basketball.
The Rebels, who finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation, played their way to the final 16 in Athens, Ga. Once there, the Rebels knocked off then two-time defending NCAA Champion Southern Cal 4-3 in the first round. The Rebels came back to beat Pepperdine 4-3 in the quarterfinal, before winning a thrilling 4-3 match over Georgia to advance to their first ever final.
"We knew we had a good team, but we didn't have an unbelievable regular season," Landsberg said. "It all came together at the NCAA Tournament, and it was great. They need to take it one step further this year."
Landsberg went on to reach the semifinals at the 1995 NCAA Doubles Championships and ended the year ranked No. 12 in the nation. He concluded an outstanding career with his best season ever in 1997. Landsberg became one of the most improved players in the nation, spending most of the year ranked in the top 10. He posted a 33-8 overall record and an impressive 23-1 dual match record on his way to earning All-America and All-SEC first team honors.
"We won two SEC titles (1996 and `97) and also went to the NCAA Final Four in 1997," Landsberg said. "Those were some great years. We had great teams and a good coach."
Following graduation in May of 1997, Landsberg embarked on a new life, the life of a professional tennis player. He played mostly Satellites and Futures for two years before making it as a regular on the ATP Tour. Soon after, Landsberg found a doubles partner, Sweden's Simon Aspelin, and the two paired up for some great results.
"We did very well, making the semifinals of the World Doubles Championships and finishing ranked No. 14 in the ATP doubles race in 2000," Landsberg said. "Since then, I've had a few different partners and have managed to stay ranked in the top 100 in doubles."
In tennis, there are no guaranteed contracts, no minimum salary. The bottom line is winning. If you win, you make money. It's very difficult for many players to make it on their own for a long time.
"Anyone can be a tennis professional (laughter)," Landsberg said. "But you have to win matches to make any money, unless you have sponsors. I haven't had any sponsors. It's a lot of pressure. I didn't have a lot of money before I started playing. You have to invest in yourself, and I've done pretty well."
The 1995 team was led by a great player, Mahesh Bhupathi, who has since gone on to win seven ATP grand slam titles in doubles. Landsberg believes that the Rebels' current No. 1 player, Catalin Gard, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation, has what it takes to be successful on the tour.
"He has huge potential of making it into the top 100. He's a great player. You have to adjust to a different lifestyle out there. Everybody you face is better than in college. It's tougher. You have to travel a lot by yourself. You travel about 30 weeks a year by yourself. When you are on a college team, you have your teammates and the coach. But, I think he'll do great."
After a two-week stay in Oxford visiting his former coaches and seeing the current team, Landsberg heads back out to the professional circuit. He says he would like to keep playing for awhile longer.
"I would like to play a few more years. It's getting tougher every year with more good players. They have actually changed the rules for doubles, which has made it tougher. You can now use your singles ranking to get into the doubles at a tournament, whereas before you could only use your doubles ranking. I still love it, and I feel I can get better."
Tennis has been Landsberg's life for as long as he can remember. Maybe that's why he hasn't given a whole lot of thought to what he might do after he leaves the professional tour.
"I haven't thought much about life after tennis, but I might go back to school and get an MBA. It would be easier for me to get a good job with an MBA. I also really enjoy being around tennis and maybe I would like to come back to the United States and coach. Being around the tennis team the last two weeks, I think it would be fun to coach."
No matter where he goes or what he does, Landsberg will always be a member of the first Rebel tennis team to reach the final of the NCAA Team Championships.
