 Photographer: Corinne Dubreuil
Date: 22 Jan 2007 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 22 Jan 2007 |  Photographer: Corinne Dubreuil
Date: 22 Jan 2007 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 05 Sep 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 05 Sep 2006 |  Photographer: Hiromasa Mano
Date: 12 Oct 2006 |
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| 22 Jan 2007 - Melbourne, Australia - Eleanor Preston |  Related Audio |
| Tomic and Holland take home advantage |
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After a disappointing opening day for Australian players, local favourites Bernard Tomic and Isabella Holland were amongst the winners on day two, restoring pride for home-grown competitors at the junior Australian Open by scoring convincing first round wins.
“There was a bit of tightness and a bit of nerves at the start, playing with hundreds of people watching you is a bit tough but I got over it and I won so I’m really happy,” said Tomic, who was in the driving seat against Jose Roberto Velasco even before the Bolivian No.6 seed retired hurt at 62 41 down.
14-year-old Tomic, who trains on Queensland’s Gold Coast, has already attracted widespread attention in Australia, where expectations are high that he can follow in the footsteps of Patrick Rafter, Mark Philippoussis and Lleyton Hewitt. In the week before the Australian Open began, Tomic was pictured on the front page of Melbourne’s the Age newspaper alongside Rafael Nadal and his post-match media conference following the first round win over Velasco was packed with local and international media. Tomic, though, has high expectations of his own, and he was unimpressed with his performance against Velasco.
“I would probably say seven out of 10,” said Tomic, who will play France’s former Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas hero Kevin Botti in round two. “I was a bit shaky with my groundstrokes; I guess that was a bit of tightness but hopefully I can let that go for the next match.”
Holland, who must also bear the weight of national expectation in Australia, looked every bit as assured as Tomic did in her first round 64 76 win over Nadia Kichenok of Ukraine. “It was a good introduction match,” said Holland, who will train with Lleyton Hewitt’s former coach Jason Stoltenberg for the next three months. “I got rid of all the cobwebs I guess. I was pleased with the way I played, a bit patchy, but overall a good result. It’s really good, especially on your home ground with the crowd supporting you the whole way. It’s a really good feeling.”
Holland plays the USA’s Julia Boserup in the next round. Boserup scored a notable 62 62 upset win over Canadian seventh seed Sharon Fichman. “I’ve got a tough match next round, but it’s winnable,” said Holland.
Australia’s Greg Jones kept up the already buoyed spirits of the home contingent by winning his first round match over Ilija Vucic of Serbia 6-2, 6-3. “I thought I played quite well, felt like I was hitting the ball well,” said Jones, the ITF Junior website’s resident blogger this week. “And I was pretty good mentally. It was a nice comfortable first round to get through. I’m feeling really good. I had a lot of physical training during December, like focused on the fitness side of my game and I think that’s helped me out a lot.”
Like Tomic and Holland, Jones views following in the grand tradition of Australian junior winners as a source of inspiration rather than pressure. “It’s not so much pressure as I’m just more excited that they have been people from Australia, my age my friends who have made it and gone deep into the tournament before,” said Jones. “That gives me more confidence to know that I’m Australian and I can do that as well.”
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