Off the court he is mellow and modest, with a subtle sense of humor. He enjoys hanging out with his friends, watching movies, talking sports and going out to eat. However, when he steps onto the tennis court, he is as ferocious as, well, a bear.

Pedro Zerbini, now a junior on the Cal men's tennis team, began playing tennis with his family when he was 10. The family outings to the tennis club were fun for Zerbini, but the sport quickly became more than just a hobby for the Brazilian. After Gustavo Kuerten was ranked No. 1 in the world, tennis became really popular in Brazil, according to Zerbini. That was part of the reason he started to play.

"He's my favorite tennis player," Zerbini says. "I grew up watching him play, winning the French Open and the Master's Cup too. I guess I've always looked up to him."

With passion that would make his idol proud, Zerbini has had a successful fall season so far. He's made it to the singles finals at the Wilson/ITA Northwest Regional Championships and to the doubles round of 16 with partner Jonathan Dahan at the All-American Championships.

Yet his game is far from perfect. While Zerbini has a lot of confidence in his forehand and moves well around the court, he's still working on using his passion to his advantage. After getting visibly and vocally angry in his quarterfinal match on Oct. 25, Zerbini utilized his emotions.

Down 1-5 in the second set, he rattled off four straight points and won in a 7-6 tiebreaker, hitting every forehand with force, the passion ingrained on his usually stoic face. However, Zerbini admitted his emotions got the best of him in his finals loss two days later. After a few unforced errors caused him to narrowly lose the first set, his frustration carried into the second set, which his opponent won handily.

If Zerbini improves that facet of his game, Cal coach Peter Wright has high hopes for his top player.

"He could be an NCAA champion in singles and doubles," Wright says. "He has already established himself as one of the top college players."

When Zerbini was a junior in high school, he came to the United States. He attended Nordhoff High in Ojai, Calif., but played at tennis at the prestigious Weil Tennis Academy. Living with current Cal teammate and fellow junior Bozhidar Katsarov as well as other players from around the world made for great practice. Zerbini was injured when he arrived at the academy, but when he got healthy, "then we realized how good of a player he was," says Katsarov.

Zerbini's game flourished at the academy. He performed well at regional tournaments in Southern California, beating some quality players. The talent, athleticism, passion and work ethic of Zerbini caught Wright's eye. But Wright was also impressed by the fact that Zerbini wanted to have not only a great tennis experience at Cal but also a great academic experience.

Being a foreigner, Zerbini felt comforted by the variety of ethnicities and people from all around the world at Cal. He also liked that Berkeley has many types of food, many different events going on and that it's a "pretty open place."

Now, as one of the most experienced players on the team, Zerbini has a whole new set of responsibilities: role model for the freshmen. He's regarded by the freshmen as a team captain and he runs the warmups and stretches in practice. Zerbini also sets an example off the court, by studying and doing well in school.

"Being successful with your team … there's nothing more valuable than that," Zerbini says. "It's a great feeling when you win a close dual match or an important dual match; it's something special."

He's also setting goals for his team: This year, he wants to win the Pac-10.

"That would be really, really great for us," he says. "I feel we have a great group of guys this year ... We're all really good friends outside the court, and the atmosphere is great this year. Everything should be fine for the dual season."

For all his accolades in tennis, Zerbini is still just a student, trying to enjoy the college experience with the rest of his peers. Like many other students, Zerbini misses being so far away from his friends and family, but knows it will pay off in the end.

Perhaps at the end of the season, three words will separate Pedro Zerbini from almost every other Cal student: Pac-10 champion.

Tags: CAL MEN'S TENNIS, PEDRO ZERBINI