Janet Bergman: USTA Circuit Player of the Week
7/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
July 25, 2004
BALTIMORE - Former Wake Forest star Janet Bergman of Winston-Salem, N.C., now the assistant women's tennis coach at the university, captured the first pro title of her career Sunday, when she defeated Tomoko Dokei of Japan, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-0, in the final of the Holabird Sports 10K in Baltimore, Md. A qualifier in the tournament, Bergman cruised through her first four main-draw matches, including a 6-1, 6-2 quarterfinal-round upset of No. 6 seed Ahsha Rolle, and then went on to dispose of eighth-seed Dokei in the two-hour, 12-minute final.
With the victory, the 24-year-old received a special exempt spot to compete this week at the $10,000 Fifth Third Classic in Evansville, Ind. She will play her opening-round match against South African qualifier Alicia Pillay on Wednesday.
Bergman returned to professional tennis competition in 2004 after a five-year break, during which she attended Wake Forest for four years and became one of the most successful players in the university's history. A four-time All-American, she is Wake Forest's all-time leader in singles (129) and doubles (117) wins and was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Women's Tennis Team, honoring the top 50 women's tennis players in ACC history.
After graduating with a degree in communications in 2002, Bergman spent the remainder of the year working for her father and then accepted the Wake Forest assistant coaching job the following January. She also has a twin sister, Joyce, who played tennis at Tulane University and has competed on the USTA Pro Circuit.