Another Aussie young gun steps up
Australian tennis has been given a further boost with the addition of another young up-and-comer to the Davis Cup camp in China.
Beijing, China , 4 July 2011 | Tennis Australia
Fresh from the historic junior Wimbledon results, Australian tennis has been given a further boost with the addition of another young up-and-comer to the Davis Cup camp in China.
Talented Queensland teenager Ben Mitchell, a junior Wimbledon finalist from last year, has arrived in Beijing and will help the Australians prepare for their vital Asia Oceania Group One second round Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie against China starting Friday.
“I am just thrilled to be here,” Mitchell said. “I just want to use this opportunity to continue to work really hard on my game.”
Mitchell is not new to the Davis Cup environment having fulfilled the “orange boy” junior training role during the Australia v Belgium tie in Cairns last year.
“This time it will be a lot more than the traditional “orange boy” role,” Davis Cup captain Pat Rafter explained.
“We just see this as an opportunity for Ben to get a week of pretty intense training which we hope will help to continue his development as a player.”
Mitchell and fellow Queenslander, Australia’s newest top 100 player Bernard Tomic arrived yesterday to complete the full Australian contingent for the tie. Both were straight on court and into action at the Beijing International Tennis Center.
China has named a young team headed up by 19-year-old Di Wu (ranked 409) who was one of the heroes of their Asia/Oceania first round win over Taiwan when he beat world number 57 Yen-Hsen Lu 9-7 in the fifth set.
The team also includes 20-year-old Ze Zhang (ranked 380), 23-year-old Mao-Xin Gong (370) and 24-year-old doubles specialist Zhe Li (469), all under the captaincy of Shao-Xuan Zeng.
The winner of this tie will earn a berth in the World Group Playoff in September.