Tim Downer

In this week’s hot seat article, John interviewed Amine Benjelloun who is the number one singles player for NKU men’s tennis.

John Rasp: How fast is your serve? Amine Benjelloun: My serve is probably around 115 mph. JR: What’s your strength on the tennis court? AB: I would say my biggest strength is my quickness and my forehand.

JR: What’s the biggest match you’ve ever played in your life? AB: The Moroccan championship when I was a Junior.

JR: Which NKU women’s tennis player would give you the toughest tennis match? AB: I would say maybe Elizabeth Brunsman because she’s very consistent and keeps the ball in play. I’m such a gentleman, I don’t know if I could beat a woman.

JR: Have you ever lost to a female in tennis? AB: No, I really haven’t played too many females. I beat the 97th ranked women’s player in straight sets. There’s such a big difference in how women’s and men’s tennis is played.

JR: Have you ever seen a John McEnroe type incident on the tennis court? AB: Yeah, against my opponent this year when we were playing Carson-Newman. I aced him on set point and he tried calling it out. He started cussing and wouldn’t shake my hand after the game. Both coaches and the referee had to get involved.

JR: Which team will advance farther in the NCAA Tournament- the men’s or women’s tennis team? AB: We would. We’re ranked 37th in the nation right now. On paper we should be better than them.

JR: I’ve heard that you are an expert at getting girls numbers. What’s the most phone numbers you’ve ever gotten in a night? AB: When you go out, girls want to meet guys, and guys want to meet girls so it’s not that hard meeting people. The most numbers in one night is probably five or six.

JR: What do you plan on doing after your college tennis career is over? AB: Next year I might try to play soccer in my last semester at NKU. I’m also going to try to get a Master of Accountancy. Then I would like to get an MBA.

JR: If you could pick one tennis star to play against who would it be? AB: Pete Sampras. I’ve hit against Younes El Aynaoui who use to play at my club. He was the tennis star who played Andy Roddick in the long match last year. So I have had the chance at playing against one of the top ten players in the world.