Top seeds Molik and Luczak edge closer to Australian Open wildcards
Top seeds Molik and Luczak edge closer to Australian Open wildcards
Top seeds Peter Luczak (Vic) and Alicia Molik (Vic) will continue their march to Australian Open 2011 with both victorious in tough conditions at the Australian Open Play-off at Melbourne Park today.
Luczak will meet fellow Victorian James Lemke in tomorrow’s quarterfinal after the Davis Cup stalwart defeated Luke Saville (SA) in a competitive second round match, 6-2 4-6 6-2.
Molik will face Canberra’s Alison Bai in a ‘sudden death’ match for a place in the semifinals after both players today recorded their second win and remain undefeated in their group.
The former world No.8 defeated No.7 seed Sophie Letcher of Queensland and has set her sights on reaching the final stages of the tournament.
“There will be some very stiff competition later in the week so it’s very important to save energy so I can go up a gear come Saturday or Sunday,” Molik said.
“I did the right things at the right time and I feel I’d be prepared against someone like Jelena [Dokic] as well.”
Former world No.4 Jelena Dokic is up against Victorian Tammi Patterson in one of the headline matches tomorrow, following a straight sets win over Nina Catovic (WA) today, virtually assuring her in the semifinals on Saturday.
“I feel like I’m playing much better than any other time that I was here during the Play-off, so I feel like I’m in much better shape,” Dokic said.
No.4 seed Matthew Ebden (WA) will meet Samuel Groth (Vic) in the pick of the men’s quarterfinals tomorrow, after Ebden claimed a hard-fought victory against Junior Wimbledon Championships finalist Benjamin Mitchell of Queensland.
Sixteen-year-old Viktorija Rajicic (Vic) enjoyed her first win for the tournament after defeating Patterson in straight sets today, and will be confident for tomorrow’s final group match against young West Australian Nina Catovic.
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.
This year the men’s event at the Play-off is a knockout tournament, while the women are competing in a round robin format before moving into a knockout phase from the semifinals. Friday is a rest day 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.
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, Australian Open, Benjamin Mitchell, Davis Cup, Death Match, Final Group, Fought Victory, Groth, Jelena Dokic, Lemke, Melbourne Park, Peter Luczak, Quarterfinal, Saville, Stalwart, Stiff Competition, Straight Sets, Tammi, Viktorija, Wimbledon Championships
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