24 August 2016 | Tennis Victoria

Victorian Andrew Whittington has had a stellar year which was recently cemented with him gaining the No.1 ranking of a Victorian male. We caught up with Andrew to congratulate him and to find out a little more about him.

Congratulations on the recent rankings announcement. You are now the No.1 Victorian male player. How does that feel?
AW: I’m really pleased with my year so far and really happy as the No.1 Victorian.

You’ve had a fantastic year, winning back to back tournaments in Mornington before heading overseas, do you have a highlight from the year yet?
AW: Well I think the 2 Mornington tournaments were a highlight, plus when I won 3 in a row in Hong Kong.  It’s really tough to backup winning so to get through physically and mentally is very satisfying.

Now that you’re the No.1 Victorian, can you tell us a little bit about your journey to get there?
AW: I started my junior tennis at my local club, Liston Tennis Club, and played pennant mainly at Kooyong where I’ve played for over 10 years, working may way up through the ranks, into State Grade as a 15yo fill-in and then last year No 1 in the ATL (Asia Pacific Tennis League) team.

Kooyong has always been very supportive of me and the people there are really nice – it’s a great environment.  I also was at the AIS for 3 years from about 16-18yo based in Canberra. I played all the Grand Slam junior events and it showed me what I needed to do for success.

I left the AIS and it was really tough and lonely on the road by myself, but then in 2013 I won three Pro Circuit doubles titles with Alex Bolt which earnt us a Wildcard into the 2014 Australian Open doubles. We made the QF playing after Djokovic and Wawrinka on a Tuesday night in the second week so to play on Rod Laver Arena was pretty special and something I won’t forget.

Do you set goals? If so, what was your main goal for 2016?
AW: My goal for 2016 was to make it to the US Open qualies and I knew to do that I had to be around ATP220 to make it into the draw, so to get to ATP181 ranking means I have achieved that goal and provides a good springboard for the rest of 2016.

What has been your favourite tournament this year?
AW: I really enjoyed the Mornington tournaments as they were really well run. I was also at home and could sleep in my bed, drive there each day and had support from my coach Glenn Busby, my parents and friends throughout the tournaments.

Looking ahead, what are your plans for the rest of 2016?
AW: After US Open qualies I’m returning home for some rest/training and then more tournaments before the Australian summer.

FAST4:
Favourite tennis player? Roger Federer
Preferred court surface? Hard court
Toughest opponent? Verdasco
Last song you like to listen to before going on court?
Depends if I remembered my headphones…