Molik and Dokic off to winning starts in Australian Open Play-off

Written by: Staff on 15th December 2010

Molik and Dokic off to winning starts in Australian Open Play-off |

Top seed Alicia Molik (Vic) and former world no.4 Jelena Dokic got their campaign for a wildcard into their home Grand Slam off to the ideal start with victories in their opening matches at the Australian Open Play-off.

The Australian Open Play-off offers homegrown talent the opportunity to play against the world’s best at the Australian Open, with the last man and woman standing to receive a wildcard into the Grand Slam® tournament in January.

Molik got the Play-off underway at Melbourne Park by defeating young Queenslander Jade Hopper in a comfortable straight sets win, 6-1 6-0.

“For the last six months my goal has been to make it to the Australian Open, and for me it’s a matter of being here on Sunday and earning my spot,” said Molik. “I think I hit well today and it’s something I’ve been trying to do, day in and day out. I feel better this time than last year, and it’s important to be physically fresh and mentally fresh.”

The competition is round robin format, with players drawn together in green, magenta, yellow and blue groups.

Molik, a former world No.8 is also grouped with Canberra’s Alison Bai and Sophie Letcher of Queensland in the blue group.

No.3 seed Dokic won in straight sets against 16-year-old Viktorija Rajicic (Vic) in the magenta group and was happy with her performance after a long break between tournaments.

“It’s my first official match in over two months, so I’m happy and hopefully can play better in the next match,” said Dokic. “If I do get through my group, I’ve had three matches and can go into the semifinals very prepared.”

Dokic is set to face the youngest player in the women’s draw during the group stage, 14-year-old Ashleigh Barty (Qld), and could meet Molik in the semifinals of the tournament.Barty was defeated this morning by No.6 seed Tammi Patterson of Victoria.

In the knock-out men’s draw, Luke Saville (SA) defeated Joel Lindner (Qld) in straight sets.

Junior Wimbledon runner-up Benjamin Mitchell (Qld) opening his campaign strongly with a win over Maverick Banes (Qld) and will now meet Matthew Ebden (WA) in the second round, one of the top eight seeds in the men’s draw to be given a bye in the first round.

Optus 18s Australian Championship winner Isabella Holland (Qld) defeated Ashling Sumner (Qld) in a repeat of last week’s final, while fellow 18s Championship winner Sean Berman (Vic) defeated Joey Swaysland (NSW), who had replaced Jason Kubler (Qld) after he withdrew from the Play-off.

This year the men’s event at the Play-off will be a knockout tournament, while the women will compete in a round robin format before moving into a knockout phase from the semifinals. Friday is a rest day for the tournament and finals will take place on Sunday 19 December from 11am.

Selected matches will also be streamed live on the Tennis Australia website: http://live.tennis.com.au. Viewers can also send comments during matches using Facebook Connect or using the hashtag #aoplayoff on Twitter.

The Australian Open Play-off is the finale of this year’s December Showdown, the curtain-raiser for the tennis season in Australia. The event brings together the best players in each age group for a three-week carnival at Melbourne Park, home of the Australian Open.

Australian Open 2011, presented by Kia Motors in association with ANZ, Jacob’s Creek and Rolex, will take place at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, from 17 to 30 January.

Tickets are now on sale and available from Ticketek via www.ticketek.com.au.

The great value $29 Australian Open ground pass gives fans access to all the outside courts and free entertainment on Grand Slam Oval™ and in Garden Square.

For more information about this year’s December Showdown, Optus Junior Tour, Australian Open 2011, Tennis Australia or the players, visit www.tennis.com.au.

Topics: Alicia Molik, Ashleigh, Australian Open, Bai, Blue Group, Canberra, Grand Slam Tournament, Group Stage, Jade Hopper, Jelena Dokic, Knock Out, Last Man, Lindner, Long Break, Man And Woman, Melbourne Park, Saville, Straight Sets, Viktorija, Wildcard