By James Waterson                                           Photo Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images

(August 26, 2011) America’s top-ranked player, Mardy Fish, and Germany’s Andrea Petkovic were part of a group of 658 people who broke a Guinness Book of World Records record in New York Thursday.

They were attempting to break the record for the most people bouncing a ball in one place for 10 seconds. The previous record was 383 people, established in England in 2006.

Before the event, Fish took photos and signed autographs with the younger crowd, which made up the majority of the day’s ball bouncers.

The event was sponsored by Wilson, the racquet company that Fish and Petkovic endorse. Wilson handed out t-shirts and racquets for free to help with the record-breaking attempt.

At 9:16 a.m., Fish, Petkovic and the 656 others bounced their ball for 10 second, and an official with the Guinness Book of World Records was on hand to say that the record was officially broken.

With that business done, Fish and Petkovic look to next week’s US Open.

 

Fish is entering it as the highest-ranked American for the first time in his career, while Petkovic is ranked No. 11, just one spot shy of her highest career ranking that she reached in early August.

The American will try to advance beyond his previous-best appearance at the 2008 US Open, when he reached the quarterfinal. Petkovic’s best performance at the US Open was last year, when she reached the fourth round.