Casey Dellacqua Hopes All That Bad Luck is Behind Her Now

Written by: Staff on 9th December 2011

Casey Dellacqua Hopes All That Bad Luck is Behind Her Now

epa02001406 Casey Dellacqua of Australia returns against Venus Williams of the USA in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010. Williams defeated Dellacqua 6-1 7-6(4). EPA/JOE CASTRO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Casey Dellacqua has endured more bad luck than most during the past couple of seasons.

The down-to-earth Aussie won the heart of a nation back in January 2008 when she went on a tear at the Australian Open, beating former number one and Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo to reach the fourth round. She followed up by reaching the doubles final at Roland Garros and the doubles semis at Wimbledon and at the 2009 Australian Open.

But her momentum was halted early in 2009 when she had to undergo shoulder surgery. That kept her out for most of the entire season, and almost immediately upon her return in 2010 she injured her right foot which sidelined her again for much of the year. This season has seen her attempt to re-start her career, largely at the ITF level, and her ranking has recovered from being unranked in February to a current 133.

Since losing in the first round of the US Open the 26-year old has gone on a remarkable run, winning six straight ITF events for the loss of just three sets. Now she is hoping for a wild card into the Australian Open after her winning streak came to an end when she failed to advance past the round-robin stage during the play-offs for a spot in the main draw of the season’s first major.

“I don’t want wildcards for most of my career, I certainly don’t,” she told The Age, “but that wildcard, I’ll be very grateful for that one to just try and notch a few more points under my belt and get that ranking up, for sure. Obviously I got there previously, but I feel like I’m just a completely different player and person now, so who knows what will happen?

“I’ve certainly had a lot of matches under my belt this part of the year, which I think has set my year up for next year. Top 100 is my first goal, and once I get back inside there, who knows? I watched a lot of tennis in those two years I had away from the game, but I think just a combination of getting older and a bit wiser and just, I guess, knowing the right things to do.”

Topics: Casey Dellacqua