Competing on a collegiate Division-I athletic team in a foreign country may seem like an intimidating situation to some. However, when sophomore UW men's tennis player Felipe Bellido came from Peru to play for the Badgers, he had already competed for his country.
While still a senior in high school, Bellido played on the 2004 Peruvian Davis Cup team against Ecuador.
That's probably the best thing you can do—playing for your country and at a professional level,\ Bellido said. ""We were playing on the road, so it was really hard for us, but it was a really good experience because you're playing against a really good team and there's a lot of people cheering against you. It makes you tougher.""
Bellido has since become a vital asset on the Badger squad, at one point winning six singles matches in a row this spring. Also, he and junior teammate Lachezar Kasarov are 6-1 as a doubles tandem and are undefeated in conference play this season.
""He's a really good competitor, and you know he's going to go out there and play hard,"" sophomore teammate Nolan Polley said. ""I think if he gets out there, he can beat anyone in the Big Ten in singles, be it number four [singles] or five or anyone else.""
Bellido said he struggled a lot his freshman year mainly because he had never competed indoors and had to make the transition from clay to hard court. Through sprint workouts and lifting weights, he has also become much more conditioned, which he said gives him much more confidence if matches come down to a third set.
Another area of inexperience for Bellido was the fact that he had never played doubles before this year. Since last fall, however, head coach Greg Van Emburgh said Bellido's doubles play has come a long way, helping greatly with his tennis and becoming a large part of his overall game.
Concerning his doubles partnership with Kasarov, Bellido said that they ""have a lot of confidence and understand each other really well.""
""We can hold serve, and we know sooner or later we're just gonna break,"" Bellido said, ""and that's going to give us more confidence and put more pressure on [the other team].""
Bellido said he chose to come to Madison because, though the team was not great when he arrived, he knew the athletic and academic programs along with the tennis facilities on campus were exceptional. He also knew the tennis program was bound to develop, and said it has already improved greatly this year with nowhere to go next season but up.
Beside tennis, Bellido said he loves soccer, which is the main sport in his native country. He said choosing between the two was very difficult, but he decided to go with tennis and eventually landed on the Badger's squad, something noone on the team is complaining about.
""He not only brings out the competitive spirit in himself, but projects it to the other guys on the team,"" Emburgh said.\
