A to Z with Zach Goldberg

By John Boothe

Correspondent Gainesville Sun

Photo by Doug Finger/Staff photographer

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20130403/ARTICLES/130409824

Name: Zach Goldberg

School: Gainesville

Year: Senior

Position: No. 1 singles, No. 1 doubles

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 150 pounds

A rea tennis player I would pay to watch play: (GHS senior) Cole Fiegel. He’s a great competitor, he gives a lot of effort and it’s fun to watch him.

B est sports movie I’ve ever seen: The Waterboy.

C oach Paul Spradling’s best words of advice for me: “Keep moving forward in doubles and attack the net.”

D inner on an ideal night? Chipotle.

E asiest class or part of my school day: Government and Economics. We have an awesome teacher, and it’s a lot of fun.

F orehand winner, service ace, backhand winner or an overhead smash to win a match? Ace.

G reatest tennis player in the world right now? Roger Federer.

Hoisting the state championship trophy this season will take… playing well as a team, everyone showing up and playing like they can.

I nteresting thing about me off the court: I’ve played violin since I was 4.

J oker on the team? Jacob Gordon. Coach Spradling says something, and he just shoots it back at him.

K ey to having a good serve is… keeping your left arm up and your eye on the ball.

L east favorite Gainesville sports moment? Last year, losing at state (in the No. 2 singles finals).

M y ultimate goal as a tennis player is to… play four years in college and hopefully play professional tennis.

N ickname? Zach Attack.

O ne person in my life who inspires me most: My dad.

P otential college major? Exercise Science.

Q uiet time activity? Watch TV.

R eading the newspaper or going online to get my high school sports coverage? Read the newspaper.

S igning last November with North Florida to play collegiate tennis was an easy decision because the Ospreys have… Great facilities, great coaches and a great team. It’s a great environment also — a lot of outdoors and stuff.

T ransitioning back to playing No. 1 singles for GHS this year after being the No. 2 singles player last season was… exciting because it was nice to play No. 2 last year and to let Cole play No. 1. He was playing well, but it was nice to be playing well and to get back the No. 1.

U.S. Open, Wimbledon, French Open, Australian Open — my favorite tournament to watch is… Wimbledon. It’s the oldest grand slam, and it’s the classiest. And also it’s the most fun to watch because of the serving and volleying. There’s a lot more aggressive play.

V acation spot I love: The beach. Moraira in Spain.

W inning the District 5-3A championship in No. 1 singles, No. 1 doubles with Peter Slaton and as team on Tuesday was… exhilarating. We’ve been practicing a little bit, and we played really well together.

X box, PlayStation or Wii? PlayStation.

Y ear I was born: 1994.

Z oo animal I like most: Gorilla.