My dad is Federer’s agent and my mum was Wimbledon semi-finalist… now I’m making my own way in tennis
NICHOLAS GODSICK can certainly call on plenty of tennis wisdom as he breaks into the sport.
That is because his mum won two Grand Slams and reached a further eight finals.
And his dad is the long-term agent of Roger Federer, in many people’s eyes the greatest tennis player of all time.
But now Nicholas wants to make the Godsick name famous for a new reason.
Tony Godsick became Federer’s representative in 2005 after the Swiss maestro decided to alleviate partner Mirka of the responsibility as his fame and success grew.
The New Yorker had joined IMG in 1992, initially as a summer intern, before looking after Monica Seles, who in turn suggested Godsick to Federer when he was on the hunt for an agent.
Godsick and Federer broke away from IMG to form their own TEAM8 agency which now has American sensations Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton on their books.
The agent, though, also has very personal ties to tennis – because in April 2000, he married Mary Joe Fernandez, with Seles a bridesmaid.
Fernandez reached world No4 in both singles and doubles during a stellar 14-year professional career.
In singles she got to Wimbledon and US Open semi-finals and was a runner-up at the 1990 and 1992 Australian Opens as well as the 1993 French Open.
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But she enjoyed even more success on the doubles court, winning two of her seven Major fianls.
The first came Down Under with Patty Fendrick in 1991 before adding the French Open alongside Lindsay Davenport five years later.
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Fernandez also secured three Olympic medals, a bronze in singles at Barcelona 1992 and gold in the 1992 and 1996 doubles with fellow American Gigi Fernandez.
The Dominican Republic-born ace ended her career in the year of her wedding to Godsick with seven WTA singles titles and more than £4million in prize money.
The couple – who feature in Federer’s Amazon Prime Video documentary following the final days of his career before retiring – have two children together.
And son Nicholas, or Nico, has certainly inherited the tennis gene.
Born in Ohio in September 2004, he cannot remember a time when his dad was not working for Federer – and that meant growing up with the 20-time Grand Slam champion around… and getting plenty of tennis tips, too.
And it appears to have paid off.
Godsick teamed up with Ethan Quinn to win the 2022 USTA Boys 18s National Championship doubles – earning them a wildcard into the US Open main draw.
They even won their first round, with Nico still aged just 17, before losing to the sixth seeds – as Godsick reached No459 in the ATP doubles rankings.
The 6ft 1in ace – who played the French Open and Wimbledon junior Grand Slams – was admitted into Stanford University, and he pulled some strings to invite Federer down for a coaching lesson with the tennis team.
Fed also visited Dartmouth University, where Nicholas’ sister Bella studied, to deliver a speech for the Class of 2024 on Commencement Day – and reveal his love for beer pong.
Tennis stars’ new careers
PLENTY of tennis stars have stayed involved in the sport since retiring.
But others pursued very different careers. Here are some of the best…
- I reached French Open and Wimbledon finals as a teenager but I quit to become a nun
- I won Wimbledon mixed doubles with my sister but got fed up with English weather so now run luxury B&B
- I was tipped for stardom aged 12 but retrained to become high-flying lawyer
- I earned £9m and won French Open before setting up bistro with Brazilian model girlfriend
- I’m last Frenchman to win Roland Garros, now I’m singer with six albums hitting No1 in charts
- I’m former world No1 but quit aged 29 – instead I went on to play professional poker and golf
- I was destined for the top but swapped lobs for labs as award-winning Harvard physicist