Australia’s top junior tennis players will be on show at December Showdown when the 2011 Optus Australian Championships currently being held at Melbourne Park.
In the 18s event, players will compete for a wildcard into the qualifying draw of Australian Open 2012 and the main draw of the Australian Open Play-off starting on 6 December.
In the boys’ draw, 2011 Junior Wimbledon Champion Luke Saville (Barmera, SA) will lead a high-quality field including Alexander Bolt (Murray Bridge, SA), Andrew Whittington (Williamstown, Vic), Mark Richards (Highfield, Qld), Andrew Harris (Blackburn, Vic), Ben Wagland (Gordon, NSW) and Nicholas Kyrgios (Watson, ACT).
2011 Junior Wimbledon Champion and Queensland Junior Sport Star of the Year Ashleigh Barty (Springfield, Qld) will be joined by Azra Hadzic (Keysborough, VIC), Storm Sanders (Safety Bay, WA), Rachael Tredoux (Sunnybank, Qld), Viktorija Rajicic (Delahey, Vic), Belinda Woolcock (Mt Waverley, VIC) and Brooke Rischbieth (Berri, SA) in the girls’ competition.
Li Tu (Adelaide, SA), Bradley Mousley (Wynn Vale, SA), Isabelle Wallace (East Bentleigh, Vic) and Eliza Long (Knowsley, Vic) have also qualified for the 18s event today.
Tournament Director Francis Soyer is expecting a high level of competition in this year’s tournament, especially when the opportunity to play in a Grand Slam is up for grabs.
“The Optus 18s event gives players in this age group an idea of what is required to become a professional tennis player.
“Many of the players have competed against one another in junior tournaments and they will now enjoy battling it out for the chance to play in next year’s Australian Open,” said Soyer.
Previous winners of the Optus 18s Australian Championships include emerging players such as Sean Berman (Vic) and Isabella Holland (Qld).
For score updates during December Showdown follow @oztennisresults on Twitter.
For more information about this year’s December Showdown, Optus Junior Tour, Tennis Australia or the players, visit www.tennis.com.au.
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