Jake Dembo vividly remembers the Australian Open 2012 men’s final.
At five years of age, growing up in Western Australia, Dembo tuned into the near-six-hour epic between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, a match that quickly became one of tennis’ ‘Where were you when…?’ moments.
“I remember that match was on Australia Day. I remember really clearly, five hours, 53 minutes,” he recalled.
“I remember we had a barbecue at my house, with friends and family over, and we were just watching it on the couch at my house back in Perth.”
One half of that incredible match, Nadal is one of Dembo’s biggest inspirations. While their on-court archetypes differ, their qualities are similar.
“We have very different game styles, but I’d say the physicality he brings, I like to bring, and the competitiveness and the fight every point, the never-give-up attitude, I feel kind of came naturally to me,” he said.
“He’s a great role model for every young kid to have.”
You only had to watch the match point of his boys’ singles first-round match against Japan’s Ren Matsumura to see Dembo’s Nadal-esque fighting spirit on full display.
After taking a return from the ‘Melbourne’ sign, a sharp drop shot saw Dembo hustle at full speed to retrieve the ball, leading to an unforced error at the net from Matsumara
A passionate reaction from the 17-year-old told the story. Dembo claimed his maiden victory at a major, defeating Matsumura 7-6(4) 6-2. While claiming the win provided an unreal feeling, it meant more to Dembo to achieve the feat in front of his family on home soil.
“Doing it in Australia with my family here, I think definitely made it more special,” he said. “It was a great match from start to finish, and it was a great atmosphere out there. I loved every minute of it.
“It felt unbelievable [to play in front of the crowd]. Growing up, you always see on TV after crazy points, the crowd goes crazy, and you’re just dreaming of being the one playing while the crowd’s really getting up and about, so it really feels special.”
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When it comes to Grand Slams, Dembo has more experience than most Australians at his age. The Perth-based youngster has travelled to Wimbledon twice: first as Australia’s maiden representative at the boys’ 14/u invitational in 2022, before competing in qualifying of the junior event last year.
Those experiences have helped Dembo prepare himself to play against the best junior players from around the world.
“Playing Wimbledon at such a young age, it kind of gets you around the other good tennis players in the world,” he said.
“I feel like being from Australia, so far away, sometimes we don’t get to see the level that some of the Europeans and Americans have. I think going and travelling all the way to London really showed what some of these other kids can do, and that it’s going to be a tough battle to get [to the top level].
“Some of those kids I was at Wimbledon with are mainly here playing this tournament too, so we’ve kind of grown up together, and it was good to get around them early.”
Dembo joins top-ranked Aussie Daniel Jovanovski in the second round after he defeated Chinese qualifier Kaigaoge Kang in straight sets. It means five Australians are through to the round of 32, with Tori Russell, Cooper Kose, and Taiki Takizawa claiming wins on Saturday.