18 October 2012 | Tennis ACT

 Canberra Velocity will make their long-awaited debuts in the Asia-Pacific Tennis League at Sydney Olympic Park on Tuesday, November 13.

AIS scholarship holder Alex Bolt (ATP ranking 477) and dual junior doubles Grand Slam winner Nick Kyrgios (ATP 900) will lead our Canberra Velocity men’s team, which will debut against the ATP Sydney team.

The NSW team of world 367 Greg Jones, Matt Barton (ATP 417), Adam Feeney (451) and Nick Lindahl (527) was impressive on paper, Canberra Velocity men’s manager Todd Larkham said.

“It’s a high-quality team with experienced professional players, and if they come with their best line-up they will be very tough to beat,” Larkham said.

Our Canberra Velocity women’s team will be led by Ashley Keir (Australian ranking 25) and Alison Bai (26). They make their debut against City Community Tennis consisting of Alex Osbourne (Australian ranking 74), Chloe Costello (80), Natalie Barbir (100), Caitlin Billingham (110).

Larkham said that the Canberra Velocity women’s team will be strong favourites for this tie, however each player will need to be on top of their game to win.

Canberra Velocity will play their first home ties at the National Sports Centre in Lyneham on Saturday, November 17 and Sunday, November 18. Please click here for the daily schedule

The men’s team meets the National Academy NSW AUStars on Saturday, led by Jordan Thompson (Australian ranking 63), Jay Andrijic (79) and Nick Horton (99); then Hunter Raworth Tigers (Ethan Coker, 83, and Jordan Smith, 94) on Sunday.

The women’s team plays an Abbie Meyers- led National Academy NSW AUStars on Saturday and the NSTA Avengers team, consisting of Danielle Wagland (Australian ranking 53) and Melissa Anderson (57), on Sunday.

Tennis ACT CEO Ross Triffit said the team name fitted perfectly with the young Canberra line-up.

“We wanted a name that was energetic and young to reflect our team roster and the new format of the competition,” Triffit said.

“We started to research tennis terms and it was actually a representative from ACT Government that came up with the name, Canberra Velocity. Our players certainly hit the ball with great velocity, so it seemed like a good fit and just kind of stuck.”

The ATL’s NSW/ACT conference comprises eight ties, two at the National Sports Club in Lyneham and six at Sydney Olympic Park in NSW.

To view all the draws please click here 

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