Kazakhstan's Omarkhanov announces himself with Australian Open shock
It was barely a few hours into the first day of the 2024 Australian Open Junior Championships and the top seed in the boys' draw was gone.
Way out on court 17, Kazakhstan’s Amir Omarkhanov pulled off one of the great turnarounds after losing the first set to the highly rated Federico Cina of Italy in just 20 minutes.
A near-guaranteed exit loomed but a toilet break, which allowed the 16-year-old to rethink and regroup, worked wonders as he slowly but surely reversed a seemingly unstoppable tide to win 0-6 6-3 6-3.
Games one, two and three of the second seed took almost as long as the first set but pivotally they ended with Omarkhanov 2-1 ahead and thinking and playing as a winner.
“I got really tight in the first set, it’s my first slam,” said Omarkhanov. “I wanted too much from myself. My coaches and family told me to try and enjoy the game and not put pressure on myself.
“I went to the toilet and I tried to focus on and analyse what I was doing wrong. I thought just enjoy the game and the tennis, it’s what you are here for. We played three long games and after that I was really pumped up.”
While it was an exemplary day’s work, the first round pairing was most certainly not what Omarkhanov had hoped for.
“I was expecting a better draw, I really wasn’t happy with it but I was going for a win and gave everything I have," he added.
A lack of suitable practice – remarkably Saturday was Omarkhanov’s first time hitting on the Melbourne Park’s cushion acrylic hard courts – also hampered him during the opening set.
Indeed two weeks ago, Omarkhanov had never been to Australia but a week’s practice and a first-round defeat last week at Traralgon were worthwhile.
“I came here with the thought that I am ready to win matches,” he said.
With the top seed now dispensed and with confidence levels sky high, the 16-year-old will be an opponent to avoid this tournament.
Based at the Janko Tipsarevic academy in Serbia, Omarkhanov is a young man with a plan. His sport-mad parents took him firstly, aged 13, to Czechia and then Serbia to try and ensure he has the best route for his tennis education (he has an older brother playing college tennis in America).
Fluent in English and Russian and with an expressive and engaging personality, Omarkhanov has the tools, on and off court, to do very well in his chosen career – starting this week in Melbourne.
America’s Jagger Leach, who won in two sets over Daniil Sarksian on court 15, comes from a very different tennis background, visiting Melbourne “six or seven” times when his mother (former Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open singles champion) Lindsay Davenport was commentating on TV here.
The likeable Leach was bowled over by playing with automated line calls and ball kids.
“It’s just so cool being here. I love it, the automated calls take all the guesswork out of it, you can go out and just play tennis,” he said.
Like Omarkhanov, he thinks about where he is going.
“I want to soak it all up and get every experience and control everything I can. My goal is to win this tournament next year," he added.
Being an invitee courtesy of his mother a few years ago, this came with benefits and unlike the bulk of his contemporaries, he has already practiced on Rod Laver Arena. Although his access has most certainly shifted this year.
“Having the junior credentials, it actually gives me less access because when was with my mom I was her guest so I could go in the players lounge and locker area," he said. "It’s still amazing though, I’d rather be a junior player than a spectator with access.”
Click here for a full list of results from 2024 Australian Open Junior Championships.