Latin's Quazzo: City's next tennis ace?

Latin sophomore Ben Quazzo may be Chicago's next great high school tennis player.
(Scott Powers/For the Sun-Times News Group)

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Parker senior Elizabeth Epstein left a permanent mark on Illinois high school girls tennis, reaching three state championship matches and winning back-to-back singles titles.

Not only that, though, she proved you don’t have to be from the suburbs or a large school to achieve such goals.

Latin sophomore Ben Quazzo certainly took notice. While most boys tennis players would list Andy Roddick, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as their idols, for Quazzo, it’s his friend Elizabeth Epstein.

“She is my inspiration,” he said. “Yes, she was 20th in the nation and she’s great, but to get to the finals three years in a row and win it twice in a row, it’s just a very difficult feat. She accomplished that.”

With Epstein’s prep career over and Chicago’s top boys players lately fleeing in the spring for the national tour, Quazzo may just be city’s next great high school player.

“Without a doubt, without a doubt,” Latin coach Howard Carley said.

Quazzo does have the necessary tools. He already possesses a forehand that Carley describes as “Roddick-like.” His serve can be deadly. His backhand has also come a long way.

A year ago, he showed glimpses of his potential as he and Bowen Trethway won three state doubles matches. He then went onto claiming a No. 8 ranking in the Midwest on the junior tour. He is now 5-0 this season at No. 1 singles.

For Quazzo the question isn’t of ability, it’s one of consistency. He has improved, but still has work to do.

Last week in a three-set win against Oak Park’s Devin Jones, Quazzo displayed his up-and-down game. There were times where Quazzo’s shots were unreturnable; other times he lacked control.

“Ben will always make a lot of mistakes because he goes for things, but I don’t think that’s bad,” Carley said. “You have to go for it. At the same time, you have to have patience and set your points up. It’s like a boxing match. You don’t just pummel the guy. You wait for your openings and you strike. He’s getting better at that.”

Quazzo understands where his game needs to be.

“You know what you have,” Quazzo said. “How are you going to work with that? How are you going to structure a point? Obviously, the top players in the state and in the nation are able to structure it really well. That’s what you should be gunning for.”