Youth, Junior, and College Tennis
Belkin was one of America's early tennis phenoms, with his parents moving to Miami Beach when he was 12 for the sake of his tennis. He won the United States National Boys' (15 and under) singles championship, and won the prestigious Orange Bowl boys and junior (18 and under) singles titles, coincidentally played in Miami Beach, in 1960 and 61 respectively.
While still a student at Miami Beach High School, the right-handed Belkin was Florida men's champion, defeating both Frank Froehling and Gardnar Mulloy to become so. He was also U.S. National Junior Champion (18 and under) champion, according a March, 1963 Sports Illustrated article. It goes on to describe how Belkin was an excellent clay court play without any tournament experience on grass. His game was built around an excellent baseline game with both a solid forehand and two-handed backhand. At the time of the article, the 17 year-old Belkin was 3 months into revising his game to include serve and volley technique.
Belkin was a top-ranking collegiate player attending the University of Miami. He reached the finals of the 1965 NCAA individual championships where he lost to Arthur Ashe 4–6, 1–6, 1–6.
Read more about this topic: Mike Belkin
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