Despite a blistering 39 degree forecast, local hope James Frawley is ready to give his best in front of a local crew of supporters when qualifying continues on Sunday at East Hotel Canberra Challenger 2018.
With a current singles ranking of 898 in the world, Frawley is preparing to take on Queenslander Steven De Waard after he defeated Chanchai Sookton-eng (AUS) 6-7 [5], 6-4, 7-5 in R32 in just over two hours.
It will be his first meeting with De Waard, who has a career high ranking of 707 in the world.
“I’m looking forward to it, he said. “He [De Waard] is a tough competitor, he plays lots of doubles, but I’m hopeful I can get the win.”
Frawley had a bye for qualifying R32 and spent the day preparing for what is forecast to be the hottest day of the tournament.
“I had a few hours on court today to get used to the heat, he said.
“It’s pretty hot, but I’ve been training a lot and importantly I’m at home, so that helps. I’m on first so hopefully I can finish before the heat of the day sets in.
“I really love playing at home in Canberra, it’s always good playing here and I’m going to have some family and friends coming down to watch so that will really help me get through.”
Frawley and De Waard will compete in the opening match of the day on centre court at 10am.
Canberra based Harry Bourchier (TAS) will follow, set to take on Jaimee Floyd Angele (FRA).
Background
The East Hotel Canberra Challenger 2018 is on at the Canberra Tennis Centre until 13 January 2018.
Entry from 6 – 12 January is free with entry on finals day by gold coin donation.
Men’s qualifying will continue on Sunday 7 January, with main draw action scheduled to start on Monday 8 January 2018.
Draws and the Order of Play can be found here
Live scoring for the East Hotel Canberra Challenger is available here. Live streaming will commence on Monday 8 January.
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