When you’re a young tennis player trying to force your way up the rankings in the world of tennis the last thing you want to do is draw the top seed in the opening round.
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That was the fate of Australia’s Ash Barty on Monday and she only had herself to blame.
As the players representative at the draw for the Bendigo International, it was Barty’s job to randomly pick up the tokens for each player.
The first token selected would be drawn to play top seed Risa Ozaki – a two-time runner-up at the Bendigo International.
Barty had the choice of 24 tokens and unluckily she selected her own.
She took the tough draw in her stride.
“I’ve been drawn to play the top seed many a time, so for me it’s just about preparing as if it’s any other match,’’ Barty said.
“Yes, there’s a number next to her name, but we’re all in the same draw and we all have the same chance to win the tournament.”
The Queenslander is nine months into her tennis comeback after she tried her hand at cricket.
“I had a really enjoyable time playing cricket and I met some wonderful people, but tennis was always my first love and I had so much success as a junior and in my first career,’’ Barty said.
“We’re looking to go better and beyond this time around.”
The Barty versus Ozaki match will be played at 10am on court one on Wednesday morning.
The final round of qualifying will be played on Tuesday morning while the main draw action also starts, with seven Australians in action.
The highlight will be the all-Australian clash between Storm Sanders and Jaimee Fourlis, with the winner to advance to a second round battle with either Barty or Ozaki.
33-year-old Australian Monique Adamczak will take on Thailand’s Varatchaya Wongteanchai in the first round.
In Monday’s qualifying matches, young Australian Michaela Haet scored an upset win over second seed Gabriela Ce.
The 17-year-old upstaged the world number 496 in a two-hour thriller 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
Haet now needs to defeat Ukraine’s Marianna Zakarlyuk to advance to the main draw.
Fellow Aussie Genevieve Lorbergs will play Italy’s Georgia Brescia in the final round of qualifying after she outlasted Anne-Marie Medcalf 7-5, 6-3.
Play on Tuesday starts from 10am at the Bendigo Tennis Centre.
Main draw doubles action also begins at the BTC on Tuesday, with games scheduled to be played from 2pm onwards.
