Canberra Velocity is set to start their title defence in the NSW/ACT conference of the Asia Pacific Tennis League in Wollongong on Friday night. This year’s conference is set to be highly competitive with a mixture of current, former, and futures stars signed up to play.
Headlining the Velocity team is current world number 52 Nick Kyrgios, however it is still uncertain whether Nick will be available for the opening round. Jake Eames is racing against the clock to be fit for the tie after retiring hurt during this week’s pro tour event in Wollongong. Eames is in great form at the moment and sitting at a career high ATP ranking of 695. James Frawley is also in good form coming off a win at the recent Australian Money Tournament in Canberra while former ATP player Alun Jones will bring experience to the team. Robert Howe and up and coming Canberra junior Dimitri Morogiannis are also expected to play in tomorrow night’s match.
The Canberra Velocity men’s team is set to open their campaign against Macquarie University Warriors who will be led by Dayne Kelly who has a current ATP ranking of 473. Kelly has had an impressive second half of 2014 winning a futures title in Thailand and making the final in a further 3 events. Kelly who has a career high ranking of 311 will be joined by fellow ATP ranked players Marious Zelba (ATP 1636) and Jarryd Chaplin (ATP 1945), along with former ATP ranked players David Barclay and Patrick Davidson.
Alison Bai will again headline the Velocity women’s team. Bai is currently ranked WTA 492 and has come off an impressive Australian pro tour circuit where she made 3 quarter finals. Tyra Calderwood is expected to feature high up in the line up and having been ranked as high as 190 in the world in doubles is sure to bring valuable experience to the team. Teenagers Imogen Clews and Maria Vais will round out the Velocity line up for Round 1.
The Velocity women will face conference newcomers South East Smashers which boast a youthful line up. The Smashers will be led by 15 year old Brooke Winley who won her first ITF junior title in Gosford last month and is at a career high Australian Ranking (AR) of 91. The team also features Chloe Costello (AR 112), Renee McBryde (AR 135), and Rhiannon Marlin (AR 155). The smashers have great depth in their team with little separating the players in the rankings.
The other men’s match in round 1 sees the Manly Waves against the Sydney University Lions. The waves feature an impressive line up and will be looking to challenge the Velocity men for the title. The Waves feature a host of ATP ranked players including Matt Reid (ATP 260), Jordan Thompson (ATP 264), Matt Barton (ATP 537), and Jay Andrijic (ATP 1836). The Waves also feature former players Wally Masur, Sandon Stolle, and Michael Tebbutt. The Sydney University Lions are led by current world no. 490 Chris O’Connell, and supported by former ATP ranked players Steven Goh and Kris Balakrishnan.
In the women’s the Sydney University Lions will face the UTS City Lizards. Leading the Lions teams will be Sydney teenager Pamela Boyanov. Boyanov is currently ranked 38 in Australia and has previously held a WTA ranking of 880. She will be joined by Martina Hudaly (AR 58), Michelle Brycki, (former WTA 990), and Hayley Erickson. The Lions will face a tough task against the highly fancied UTS Lizards who are led by world number 327 Monique Adamczak. Adamczak who has been ranked as high as 138 will be joined by Abbie Myers (WTA 575), Deeon Mladin (AR 53), and Sonja Balic (AR 69) with the team expected to be serious title contenders.
Conference Director Daniela Scivetti said that while there are some clear standouts this year, every team is capable of taking the title.
“The great thing about the NSW/ACT Conference is that pretty much every team has a balance of stars and young, up and coming players who will gain valuable experience
Entry to all ATL ties is free and round 1 will commence at 6.30pm on Friday at Beaton Park, Wollongong.
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