MELBOURNE, December 9, 2018 (Press Release)
Australia’s top emerging players will compete for a coveted Australian Open 2019 wildcard at the Australian Open Play-off, commencing tomorrow, Monday 10 December and running to Sunday 16 December.
A fixture on the tennis calendar, the AO Play-off has played an important part in the careers of many of the nation’s top players.
Alex de Minaur won the event last year when ranked outside the world’s top 200, and has finished 2018 as Australia’s top ranked male player. He’s just one of a host of former winners, including James Duckworth, Jordan Thompson, Daria Gavrilova, Casey Dellacqua, Jelena Dokic and Alicia Molik, who have used the play-off as a springboard to a successful start to their season.
Alex Bolt (SA) is top seed in the men’s draw and will take on wildcard Aleksandar Vukic (NSW) in the first round. Second seeded John-Patrick Smith (Qld) will meet Victorian Jeremy Beale in the first round.
In the women’s draw top seed Arina Rodionova (Vic) will meet Queensland wildcard Olivia Tjandramulia, with No.2 seed Ellen Perez (Vic) up against wildcardAlexandra Bozovic (NSW).
Rinky Hijitata (NSW) and Gabriella Da Silva-Fick (NSW) both won the 18/u Australian Championships at Melbourne Park yesterday and will be competing in the play-off.
Men’s singles action will take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and women’s singles matches will be played on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The finals for both men’s and women’s singles will take place on Sunday 16 December.
There will also be a play-off for a women’s doubles main draw wildcard, with matches commencing tomorrow.
Men’s singles draw
|
[1] Alex Bolt (SA) |
v |
[WC] Aeksandar Vukic (NSW |
|
[5] Akira Santillan (Qld) |
v |
Jacob Grills (Vic) |
|
[4] Max Purcell (NSW) |
v |
Dayne Kelly (Vic) |
|
[7] Bradley Mousley (SA) |
v |
Luke Saville (SA) |
|
[8] Andrew Harris (Vic) |
v |
[WC] Rinky Hijikata (NSW) |
|
[3] James Duckworth (NSW) |
v |
Blake Ellis (Qld) |
|
[6] Maverick Banes (Qld) |
v |
[WC] Christopher O’Connell (NSW) |
|
[2] John Patrick Smith (Qld) |
v |
Jeremy Beale (Vic) |
Women’s singles draw
|
[1] Arina Rodionova (Vic) |
v |
[WC] Olivia Tjandramulia (Qld) |
|
[5] Astra Sharma (WA) |
v |
Isabelle Wallace (Vic) |
|
[4] Zoe Hives (Vic) |
v |
Naiktha Bains (Qld) |
|
[6] Lizette Cabrera (Qld) |
v |
Kaylah Mcphee (Qld) |
|
[8] Kimberly Birrell (Qld) |
v |
[WC] Gabriella Da Silva-Fick (NSW) |
|
[3] Jaimee Fourlis (Vic) |
v |
[WC] Maddison Inglis |
|
[7] Destanee Aiava (Vic) |
v |
Abbie Myers (NSW) |
|
[2] Ellen Perez (NSW) |
v |
Alexandra Bozovic (NSW) |
Women’s doubles draw
|
[1] Destanee Aiava (Vic) / Naiktha Bains (Qld) |
v |
Maddison Inglis (WA) / Kayla Mcphee (Qld) |
|
[3] Alison Bai (ACT) / Zoe Hives (Vic) |
v |
[WC] Amber Marshall (SA) / Annerly Poulos (ACT) |
|
[4] Olivia Tjandramulia (Qld) / Belinda Woolcock (Vic) |
v |
Astra Sharma (WA) / Isabelle Wallace (Vic) |
|
[2] Lizette Cabrera (Qld) / Jaimee Fourlis (Vic) |
v |
[WC] Alexandra Bozovic (NSW) / Seone Mendez (NSW) |
