BROOKLYN, NY - Strafing from one side of the tennis court to the other, Ben Forberg’s feet move surreptitiously in an effort to strike back a blazing return towards his unsuspecting opponent. Moving as fluidly as a wild lion with beads of sweat encompassing the diameter of his forehead, his hands and hips gy¬rate violently as he fires back a vicious shot over the net.

His opponent never had a chance.

Ask any tennis coach that’s seen him play and they’ll tell you, he’s a natural. However, what looks com¬pletely effortless to the casual observ¬er has taken a lifetime of patience and sweat to achieve.

Forberg, who was the CUNYAC rookie of the year in 2007, after post¬ing a marvelous 28-2 record with the Bridges, isn’t just a student of the game, he’s a student of life. Travel-ing all over the world with his family, who own a textile company in Turkey that out sources fabric to companies like Quicksilver and Billabong, For¬berg has taken his game to Belgium, England, Istanbul, France and Italy.

“I started playing tennis when I was eight years old in France,” he said, while opening up his tennis bag, which still had a ticket taped to it from a recent trip to Rome. “Over there, it’s kind of their national sport, sort of the way baseball is over here. After school, I would play five times a week with my brother all the time. We just wanted to have fun; I never thought I was going to take it this seriously. When I was about 13, I won this under-14 tournament near the French Open. I got this really nice trophy and it gave me the confidence I needed to keep playing.”

Coming to New York last year, Forberg had to quickly adjust to a fast-paced life. What could have been a problem for many immigrants, has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Forberg, who, armed with his Al Pacino-esque looks and undaunted confidence and charisma, has quickly become acclimated with life in the Big Apple.

“It’s really different, but I really love it here,” said Forberg. “There’s so much more to do here and the people are so much different. In Italy everyone is really laid back and they enjoy life, but here everyone is al¬ways busy doing work, but there are so many opportunities. That’s what I like here the most.”

While Forberg’s magnetic per¬sonality and French accent make him a perfect fit in the big city and some¬one anyone would wish to associate with, his personality on the tennis court is almost the polar opposite. Snarky, cruel and sometimes vindic¬tive to his opponents last season, For¬berg dominated whoever crossed his path. Like a silent assassin, Forberg transforms on the court, as the wide-eyed and laid back expression on his face is swapped for one that features a low-brow, combined with extreme focus and poise. On the court, he resembles Ja¬vier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men,” more than a college tennis ace on will do whatever it takes to come out on top.

“On the court, you really have to be a bastard,” Forberg said. “You have to take advantage of your opponent’s weaknesses. If the guy can’t return a backhand, you consistently hit to his backhand until the game is over. If the guy is hitting shorter shots, then you attack. You have to be evil out there. You have to have the mindset of a gladiator, but all you have is your racket. It’s you and someone else out there trying to win. You have to al¬most have the mentality of a boxer.”

For someone as good as Forberg, you’d expect him to pursue a profes¬sional tennis career, but Forberg, like many people his age, is still figuring out what he wants to do with his life.

“At one point when I was 16, I really thought about it,” Forberg, who is interested in a future in filmmak¬ing, said. “But it’s really a big risk. You have to play six hours a day and you don’t have time for school. It’s a really big commitment. If you get hurt, then you’re finished. Right now, I just see myself as a really good col¬lege player and if I can, I’ll try to get a scholarship at another school or something. I’m not going to give up tennis, it’s a big part of my life, but I don’t see myself playing as much af¬ter college.”

However, that doesn’t mean that the tennis fire isn’t burning brightly inside him. With the loss of team captain Tony McKoy and role player Eugene Vapner this season, Forberg will most likely be asked to be the team’s num¬ber one player and will need to be at the top of his game for the Bridges to repeat their first-place finish of last season. That kind of pressure and challenge is exactly what Forberg is look¬ing for at this point in his career.

“It’ll change things for me. Naturally, things will be more chal¬lenging,” said Forberg, who was the team’s number two and sometimes three player last season. “I just didn’t lose last year, it was too easy. I’m really happy that it’s going to be more difficult this year.”

Training during the summer and fall at home and in Europe for three weeks, Forberg has identified what he thinks his weaknesses are and is ready to make sure he comes into this season as prepared as possible.

“I’d really like to learn to place my second serves better,” he said. “Professional players kick their serves, which basically means put¬ting some movement on them to make them harder to return. I think in order for me to take my game to the next level, I have to start doing that more. I think I have to work on vol¬leying a little more as well.”

By fine-tuning his already stellar game, Forberg realizes that this season is going to be tougher and is tackling the situation head on. He understands that his opponents will be ready for him this season and knows he will have to play better than he’s ever played be-fore.

“I know things are going to be tougher,” he said. “But I’m ready for whatever comes my way.”

  E-mail this story |  Printer-friendly |  Discuss