After winning the US Open boys championship last year, Ryan Sweeting had to decide whether to begin college or embark on a pro career. He decided to go to the University of Florida in January, and was there less than two months when he was charged with DUI and drug possession, and suspended from school. Charlie Bricker of the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel has followed this saga closely, and he caught up up with Sweeting in New York, where he is preparing for his match against Guillermo Coria.
I don't have any inside information on which way Sweeting is leaning. The $5000 he earned for defeating Justin Gimelstob at the Legg Mason last month pales in comparison to the $16,500 that goes to a first round loser in the U.S. Open main draw. There's no question that Sweeting has had a great summer, but it's also true that he has some unfinished business at the University of Florida. It may depend on his match with Coria, a former world no. 3, who has fallen far enough to be unseeded, but was a US Open quarterfinalist last year. A win or a close loss could change his direction, but if Sweeting gets thumped as he did by Arnaud Clement at the Legg Mason, I suspect he'll be in Gainesville again.