11 June 2024 | Tennis West

West Australian Tristan Schoolkate has qualified at an ATP tournament for the first time in his career at a grass-court event in the Netherlands.

Schoolkate is proving why grass is his favourite playing surface at an ATP 250 tournament at ‘s-Hertogenbosch this week.

The 23-year-old Australian, who grew up playing on grass courts in Perth, is competing at a tour-level grass-court tournament for the first time in his career and is already having a major impact.

The world No.186 has defeated two higher-ranked opponents to qualify at an ATP tournament for the first time, securing his main-draw spot with a confident 6-2 6-3 victory against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the final qualifying round.

Schoolkate conceded only 15 points on serve and saved all four break points he faced in the 67-minute encounter. At world No.104, Bergs is the highest-ranked opponent that Schoolkate has beaten.

The fast-rising Aussie, a winner in 11 of his past 14 matches, now turns his attention to a first-round meeting with American Sebastian Korda.

Schoolkate’s successful qualifying campaign boosts the number of Aussie representatives in the men’s singles draw to seven.