INTERNATIONAL tennis’ return to Adelaide this week could become permanent with West Lakes Tennis Club set for a $200,000 court upgrade.
The club is hosting the inaugural Charles Sturt Adelaide International, an ATP Challenger event and the highest-level tournament in SA since 2008. Semi-finals are on Saturday and the final on Sunday before work on resurfacing the club’s 12 courts starts on Monday.
A total of 32 professionals including Australian Davis Cup player Chris Guccione and the man with the fastest serve ever recorded at 263km/h –Sam Groth – faced off yesterday. Groth, the fifth seed, progressed with a 7-6, 2-1 victory when Guccione retired.
“I’ve been practising well and the weather has been turned on for us, so it’s great to be out here,’’ Groth said.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in Adelaide at a lot of different level tournaments, so it’s great to have another Challenger event in Australia.
“It’s a good opportunity for all the Aussie guys to try to boost their ranking and look to move to the next level.’’
Groth will play tournaments in Melbourne, Mildura and Sydney from next week before starting his 2013 overseas campaign in Japan, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. West Lakes Tennis Club president Col Lawson said he hoped the club would become a long-term home for the tournament.
“We have two plans to come out of this tournament to grow membership of juniors, seniors and social players and we want to leave an infrastructure that will suit these tournaments and (those) who come to watch their players, coach and train,’’ he said.
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