Nov. 19, 2012
THE FLATS – Carlos Benito, the 85th-ranked player in Spain and No. 168 among juniors by the International Tennis Federation, has signed a letter-of-intent to play tennis at Georgia Tech, head coach Kenny Thorne announced Monday.
The 17-year old Benito, from Madrid, Spain, has played for the Spanish junior national team as an under-18, under-16 and under-14 player. He has a current ATP world ranking of 1485 in singles, and has been as high as 1475.
“Carlos will be an immediate impact player for us,” said Tech coach Kenny Thorne. “He has qualified for numerous professional level tournaments in Spain, which has the toughest competition in the world. He defeated Austin Krajicek in May of this year. Austin was a three time All-American at Texas A&M, was ranked No. 6 singles and No. 1 doubles NCAA, and is currently 154 in the ATP world rankings for doubles and 354 for singles.”
Benito also has recent wins over Roberto Ortega (506 ATP) and Sergio Magro (975 ATP). In the past 12 months, he has participated in 27 international tournaments. Benito trains at the SD Tennis Academy in Madrid, Spain, which is one of the foremost tennis academies in the world.
He helped Spain win 2010 World Championship in the Czech Republic, and was the 2010 singles world champion of Nike Junior Masters Tournament in the Dominican Republic.
“His mother is a school teacher and his father is the director of a consulting company,” said Thorne. “They are family friends with Eduardo Segura (a Tech sophomore), and they understand how well respected a degree from Georgia Tech is internationally.”
