19 September 2012 | Tennis ACT

Emerging stars Nick Kyrgios and Alex Bolt will headline the ACT men’s team to compete in the new Asia-Pacific Tennis League (ATL) in November.

Kyrgios, world junior No5 and world No1 in his birth year, will lead the team in the NSW/ACT conference.

The 17-year-old Canberran has had a stellar year at junior Grand Slam level, reaching the singles quarter-finals of Wimbledon and the US Open; while in doubles, he teamed with Andrew Harris to win the French Open and Wimbledon titles, before reaching the US Open final (with Jordan Thompson).

He will be joined by Bolt, the 19-year-old Canberra-based AIS scholarship holder from South Australia. On the weekend, Bolt won his first Pro Tour title at the 2012 City of Onkaparinga International in Happy Valley, South Australia, beating sixth seed and 2006 champion Adam Feeney (Gosford, NSW) 5-7 6-3 6-1.

Bolt, now ranked 530 in the world, has enjoyed a breakthrough season this year, winning three ITF doubles titles.

Local juniors James Frawley and Andrew Zedde, and former tour players Alun Jones and Todd Larkham (player/manager) complete the ACT line-up.

Team player/manager Todd Larkham is excited about the team’s prospects.

“Five out of the six players are Canberra born and bred, and the other is based here, we couldn’t have hoped for a better team,” he said.

“It’s a very young team, with some of our best teenage players in Australia and they are improving rapidly. Our goal is to win the NSW/ACT conference and we believe we will be highly competitive in the national final.”

The five Australian conferences will be played in November with four conference rounds and a conference final.

The five Australian conference winners, plus a team from the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Asia will compete in the national final at Melbourne Park during the 2013 Australian Open in January.

The ACT ATL men’s team:
Nick Kyrgios, aged 17, current world junior ranking of No 5.
Alex Bolt, 19, current ATP ranking of 530.
James Frawley, aged 18.
Andrew Zedde, aged 18.
Alun Jones, highest ATP ranking of 123 in 2008.
Todd Larkham (player/manager), highest ATP ranking 136 in 2003.