{"id":5382,"date":"2013-01-15T16:52:40","date_gmt":"2013-01-15T08:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/?p=5382"},"modified":"2013-01-15T16:52:40","modified_gmt":"2013-01-15T08:52:40","slug":"hot-shots-champions-arrive-at-melbourne-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/news\/2013\/01\/15\/hot-shots-champions-arrive-at-melbourne-park","title":{"rendered":"Hot Shots champions arrive at Melbourne Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Nominees for the MLC Tennis Hot Shot of the Year competition arrived at Melbourne Park Tuesday morning as they prepare for their action-packed two days at Australian Open 2013.<\/p>\n

Decked out in their MLC Tennis Hot Shots (MLCTHS) gear \u2013 complimented by the highly popular SpongeBob SquarePants backpack \u2013 the youngsters\u2019 excitement levels were soaring from the moment they stepped off the bus.<\/p>\n

The 12 monthly winners arrived outside Rod Laver Arena at 9.30am after a big breakfast at Crown Metropol and were taken to Garden Square for a hit on the custom MLCTHS courts alongside some video and photo shoots.<\/p>\n

From there they were granted VIP access into the tunnels of Melbourne Park \u2013 an exclusive area where all the world\u2019s top players roam \u2013 and took a wander down the Walk of Champions.<\/p>\n

Already wide-eyed and soaking in the experience, excitement levels stepped up yet another gear as the nominees caught up with former world No.8 and MLCTHS Ambassador, Alicia Molik.<\/p>\n

Molik, who spent time with each kid talking all things Hot Shots and tennis, then joined the kids for a once-in-a-lifetime experience that would make most onlookers jealous \u2013 a hit on Rod Laver Arena.<\/p>\n

Treated like tennis stars, the Hot Shots were introduced onto the court in front of thousands of spectators before rallying with each other using MLCTHS\u2019s modified equipment and custom mini nets. With video cameras and photographers all around, the kids spent 15 minutes in the spotlight on Melbourne Park\u2019s most prestigious court as Andy Murray waited in the wings before entering for his Round 1 match.<\/p>\n

After coming off the court, eight-year-old Queenslander Jake Harford said he loved the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really fun. I didn\u2019t feel many nerves really (in front of all the people), it felt just like a big tennis lesson,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Asked whether playing on centre court was his best ever tennis experience, Harford said: \u201cYeah, definitely! Because I feel like I\u2019m playing in the Australian Open and maybe I\u2019ll go on the news.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, when April winner Ellie White was asked what she thought of hitting on Rod Laver Arena, the Western Australian beamed and yelled \u201cGreat! I can\u2019t wait to become a professional!\u201d<\/p>\n

Molik, as the ambassador for MLCTHS, said the on-court experience is one the youngsters should cherish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a more ultimate experience than this and I know all the kids are very appreciative of it,\u201d Molik said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was mentioning to all the kids here that the first time I ever walked in the gates of Melbourne Park or came to play here on the courts I was 16 so what an amazing experience it is for them to have a hit on Rod Laver Arena.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact they\u2019re doing it in a group too, it\u2019s fun. Imagine them going back to all their schoolmates talking about their Australian Open experience, surely that has to rub off on a lot of their friends as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nominees will spend the rest of the day with their families enjoying all the Day 2 action with prime front-row seats on centre court.<\/p>\n

The activities kick on later this evening with the official MLCTHS of the Year awards held at Melbourne Zoo in the iconic Rainforest Room. The winner will take home $5000 courtesy of MLC and will receive tennis lessons from Molik herself.<\/p>\n

The 12 kids will officially open the gates of Melbourne Park with Molik on Wednesday morning for MLCTHS Day and will also get their photos taken with the Australian Open trophies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nominees for the MLC Tennis Hot Shot of the Year competition arrived at Melbourne Park Tuesday morning as they prepare for their action-packed two days at Australian Open 2013. Decked out in their MLC Tennis Hot Shots (MLCTHS) gear \u2013 complimented by the highly popular SpongeBob SquarePants backpack \u2013 the youngsters\u2019 excitement levels were soaring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5894,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5894"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5382\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}