Hits with top pros benefitting Leach and Omarkhanov at Aussie Open
No matter how much match practice you can get as a junior, nothing beats the benefits of hitting with a senior pro, so says Jagger Leach of the United States.
“I have been lucky enough to have some training sessions with Ben Shelton this year and he has been really great to me and welcoming,” said the Californian.
“It’s an unbelievable experience. We have had some practice sessions that have gone up to three hours and the physicality is so much different to anything I have had with a junior.
“Usually l’ll hit for a couple of hours in the morning, a couple of hours in the afternoon, and have a nice long fitness session. After getting with Ben, my hands and feet were so sore, I couldn't feel my elbows and legs and I had to take almost the rest of the day off.
“The weight of the ball is so much heavier and faster, a great experience for me. It’s a treat anytime I can be on court with him.”
It’s a scenario that Amir Omarkhanov of Kazakhstan appreciates too after hitting with Karen Khachanov before the Russian’s third-round main draw match on Saturday.
“I practised with Karen Khachanov before his match and he lost," said Omarkhanov. "Hopefully he’s not angry now. It was a great hit, I’m proud and thankful I managed to hit with him. The ball is so heavy, you had to be to be ready on every ball or it pushes you so much.”
Both boys appear to be all the better for their senior associations, Leach seeing off Ivan Iutkin 6-4, 6-4 in 60 minutes early on Sunday afternoon and Omarkhanov moving past the American Matisse Farzam in two tie-breaks in a touch over two hours. Both are making progress at the 2025 Australian Open Junior Championships.
“it was a tough match," said Leach. "In the middle of the second set the problem was tossing the ball as the sun was so bright, so big, that I could not see the ball. I drink so much water and then in one game my mouth is fully dry.”
It is an observation only, Omarkhanov is fluent in English to the point of nuances and is engaging and intelligent company.
The 30 degree weather did not affect his play he said. A forehand drop shot on set point down in the second tie-break saved the day but is was his strength of serve on the two previous set points down that really set it all up he said.
The 17-year-old Omarkhanov, originally from Kazakhstan where he spends little more than month a year now, is still living and training for most of the year at the Janko Tipsarevic tennis academy in Serbia.
It has been most profitable but may not be for too much longer. He has a new fitness coach this month and jokes that his elder brother, who graduated through the US university system last September, may even join them.
“He works in Singapore now as a tennis coach so when I get better, maybe I will invite him as a second coach,” he said.