By Staff
Luke Jensen made a stop in Niles on Monday, spending the day at the Lakeland Athletic Club on Bell Road. This was a special treat for everyone, young and old alike, as Jensen is very well known in the tennis world.
Jensen won the 1993 French Open doubles championship with his brother Murphy. He is currently the head women's tennis coach at Syracuse, N.Y. and is a tennis analyst for ESPN. Those are only a few of the things he has accomplished in his career.
The good thing about Jensen is that he doesn't let any of that get to his head.
A very down-to-earth guy, Jensen loves the game of tennis and it shows. At the Athletic Club, Jensen took time to shake hands with complete strangers, pose for pictures with young tennis hopefuls and even spent time talking about the game. Jensen went through drills with different classes throughout the day and left athletes feeling as though they had accomplished something great.
Not many people get to meet professional athletes in their lives and having one come to Niles was a huge positive not only for the Athletic Club, but for our town as well. Jensen was the perfect choice, and the Athletic Club is hoping they will have him back in the future.
"It was good timing with the French Open. We are excited to have him here. He's done an appearance here before and after today, we are hoping we can bring him back again," Lakeland Athletic Club manager Doug Campbell said.
We hope he comes back as well. Jensen left his impression on many people Monday and the Athletic Club deserves a huge thank you for allowing our area youth to be taught by one of the greatest tennis players of our time.