TRARALGON locals Amelia Charlton and David Hough have been offered qualifying wildcards for the AGL Loy Yang Traralgon Junior International tennis tournament starting today.
The 16 year-olds, who competed in qualifying matches last year, continue a long-standing tradition of competitive Traralgon qualifiers looking to make good at their home venue.
The likes of Sophie Grumley, Joseph Colaciello and Vicki Stuckey have performed admirably in recent years without reaching the main draw of the International Tennis Federation event, giving a good account of the host township.
Traralgon Tennis Association manager Susie Grumley said there had always been clear cut candidates for the local wildcards, reflecting a culture of excellence at the club.
“We’re very lucky that every year we’ve had good juniors to give our wildcards to… not a lot of country clubs would have that,” Grumley said.
“Traralgon has got a really strong junior base… we have a long background of good quality juniors.
“It says a lot for Woofa (head coach Graham Charlton) and his programs and the Gippsland Sports Academy.”
Amelia and David will take to the courts today with qualifying to continue tomorrow.
The practice partners will also pair up off the court at Amelia’s upcoming debutante ball.
AMELIA CHARLTON
AMELIA Charlton scarcely played a tournament in 2013, but when she did she made it count.
Her first competitive hitout late last year yielded a victory at Frankston, which she recently backed up by reaching an open Australian Money Tournament main draw consolation final in Warrnambool.
Last year’s Traralgon ITF was an eye-opener for Amelia, who was forced to shelve her aggressive style against hard-hitting opposition.
“I played really well last year but the girl I was playing was just obviously a lot better than me,” she said.
“After playing it last year I know they just hit it so hard and you just have to be ready and try to get the ball back in play instead of attacking so much.”
Amelia said she felt her form was consistent and was looking forward to the challenge.
“I’m excited to play against these people that are such a high level that you don’t normally get to play against,” she said.
“I’ll just do the best I can, go out there and try my hardest and see what happens.”
Amelia’s rapid first serve and long levers will see her challenge any opponent.
DAVID HOUGH
FRESH from an encouraging qualifying campaign at the Traralgon ATP Challenger late last year, where he forced a tiebreak first set against countryman Paul Kramberger, David Hough will take on his third Traralgon Junior International full of confidence.
Qualification to the main draw at the Auckland ITF Indoor Championships, where he eventually bowed out 4-6, 6-1, 1-6 to Kiwi Luke Hamilton, and a top 16 finish at the ITF Waikato-Bays 18 and under Championships, along with a 7-6, 6-4 national points tournament final victory over Andrew Parker in Frankston this week, puts David in his best ever position to make a splash at home.
Punching above his weight in open money tournaments, David turned in a recent quarter final performance in Warrnambool to go with main draw qualification at nationals.
“The improvement curve is always going up. He’s working really hard and going well. We could put him in plenty of tournaments he’s going to win, but we keep putting him in tournaments where he’s got to really aspire to improve,” coach Graham Charlton said.
Armed with sweeping ground strokes and an aggressive net game, David could be a surprise package this year.
