News: Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy

The StarPhoenix

Life's a beach for Vasek Pospisil.

"Yeah, we can talk now," the 19-year-old Vancouverite said from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Wednesday.

"I was just relaxing on the beach, having a swim. The tournament is at a resort."

Oh yeah, and heading into Thursday's action Pospisil was riding a winning wave that extended for 22 matches.

He's hotter than the Mexican sun -- four Futures tournament wins in a row. He hadn't even dropped a set in 16 matches until his second-round win at the Puerto Vallarta event.

A respected young doubles player for a couple of years now -- he made two Grand Slam junior doubles finals and has represented Canada as a Davis Cup alternate -- Pospisil has suddenly sprung to life in singles.

He's a career-best No. 389 in the ATP rankings, a number that will climb again next week. He started 2009 at 1,085.

"It's pretty amazing," he said of the recent run. "I was obviously really happy to win the first one, my first pro [singles] title and everything.

"When I was going to the next tournament I wasn't expecting much because I really had to battle for that first one -- three three-setters, the semi was four hours -- but I played my first-round match, then the second round and I thought, Hey, maybe I can win another one. Four in a row, I definitely wasn't expecting. It feels great."

Futures tournaments are the lowest rung of the professional ladder, with $10,000 US in prize money up for grabs. Pospisil, who's given up his NCAA eligibility to turn pro, collected $1,300 for each of his wins and there's been no splurging.

His dad and self-trained coach, Milos, is a modest man from the Czech Republic.

Milos moved his wife and three boys from Vernon to Vancouver in 2002 when Vasek's tennis development stagnated at age 12.

Milos then quit his job of 15 years at the Okanagan Spring Brewery, bought a Winnebago and drove Vasek from tournament to tournament around the U.S. to kick-start his career. So you can understand the sensible celebration.

"After I won the first title, my dad went to the supermarket and got me a bunch of chocolates," Vasek said, sounding rather pleased with the booty. "He's pretty happy."

Three of Pospisil's wins have come on hard court, which is suited to the 6-foot-4 right-hander's game. But last week in Guadalajara, Mexico, he showed off his versatility with a win on clay.

Pospisil, who trains part of the year at the Prostejov Tennis Club in the Czech Republic and the rest at the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida, said he'll finish off the year with a pair of $50,000 Challenger tournaments -- the next step up on the ladder.

"It's definitely a good time for me to start playing Challengers," said Pospisil, who's also made the doubles final of his last seven Futures tournaments. "We weren't really expecting to be in this position so soon, but now I'm borderline main draw for Challengers so I'll play more for sure."

Next stop: Cancun. He's hoping the fun in the sun continues.