Breaking News: Aussie Open playoffs finalists Dokic and Luczak awarded wild cards
The 2011 Australian Open team has awarded two more wild cards to players Jelena Dokic and Peter Luczak. Both players reached the finals of the wild card playoffs held by Tennis Australia, but were defeated in the last round. However,
the Australian Open team recently announced that they would still be issued spots in the tournament due to the discretionary wild cards issued to the both of them.
Dokic, 27 years old, had already been given a wild card for the Brisbane International and performed well in the semifinals of the playoffs by defeating Alicia Molik, but was taken down by teenager Olivia Rogowska, even after maintaining
a 6-1, 3-1 lead. However, she need not worry; Dokic’s reward is the same as Rogowska’s. She seems elated by this, saying, “I had a pretty good play-off considering I didn’t play a match in over two months, it was a good practice run for me and I’m very happy
to receive the wildcard. There was a big difference between my first match and my semis and finals and I was disappointed to have lost the final when I was winning so easily and everything was going so well.”
Like Dokic, Peter Luczak (who lost to Marinko Matosevic in the final) is also excited about the early wild card. He says, “I feel as though all my Christmases have come at once.”
The 31-year old player also talked about the advantages of knowing so early about his participation, saying, “Before, I was up in the air whether to play Sydney or not depending on the wildcard... so it's nice knowing that my summer's
set. I can play Brisbane, I can play Sydney, then hopefully get a few wins under my belt and have a bit of confidence coming into the Australian Open.”
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