The Apis Canberra International is set to commence on Monday at the Fosterville Gold Tennis Centre in Bendigo. Main draw of the men’s ATP 125 Challenger will kick off with a number of Australian’s in action, while qualifying for the Women’s USD$25,000 ITF World Tennis Tour will take place.
Former Apis Canberra International champion and wildcard recipient Matthew Ebden (WA) will lead the Australian contingent, with former world No.91 Jason Kubler (Qld), Alex Bolt (SA), Max Purcell (NSW), Andrew Harris (Vic), and Aleksandar Vukic (NSW) all in action on the opening day.
Men’s qualifying matches will also take place with Australian wildcards, Rinky Hijikata (NSW) and Harry Bourchier (Tas) to face Daniel Elabi Galan (COL) and Zhe Li (CHN) respectively.
Previous top 100 players Katie Boulter (GBR), Urszula Radwanska (POL), and Irina Falconi (USA) will headline the women’s qualifying draw.
Tournament Director, Kim Kachel, is looking forward to seeing the players out on court after a busy few days, relocating the event from Canberra to Bendigo due to the ongoing bushfire activity in the Canberra region.
“Both the men’s and women’s fields for the Apis Canberra International (Bendigo) are incredibly strong and we can’t wait to see the players out on court.
“We are very thankful to the Fosterville Gold Tennis Club for accommodating the event and we are sure the Bendigo community will get behind the tournament. It is a great opportunity to watch world-class tennis right here in their backyard.”
“Whilst we are very excited to see our tournament going ahead, our thoughts are still very much with those impacted by the fires around Australia,” Kachel added.
The Apis Canberra International (Bendigo) has joined the Aces for Bushfire Relief with $100 being donated to the Australian Red Cross bushfire disaster relief and recovery efforts for every ace served during the tournament.
A number of participating players have also jumped on board committing to personal contributions including Katie Boulter (GBR) and Alex Bolt (SA).
Eight top 100 players are competing in the event led by world No.57 Ugo Humbert (FRA). The top 16 seeds in the men’s draw all receive a bye in the opening round and will play their first matches later in the week. Second seed Andreas Seppi (ITA) faces a potential clash with former Australian Open semifinalist, Hyeon Chung (KOR) in the second round if Chung can get past Aussie wildcard Akira Santillan (Qld) in his opening match.
Former Apis Canberra International champion, Olivia Rogowska (Vic) has been granted a wildcard into main draw, along with Canberra’s Alison Bai, Jaimee Fourlis (Vic) and Belinda Woolcock (Vic) with main draw for the women’s event to commence on Tuesday.
Entry to the Fosterville Gold Tennis Club is by gold coin donation supporting the Australian Red Cross bushfire disaster relief and recovery efforts.
Draws and the Order of Play – click here
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