Rhyne Williams secures his first main draw Australian Open berth – Tennis News
American rising star, Rhyne Williams, booked a spot in the main draw at the Australian Open, first of the four Grand Slam events held in Melbourne, after conquering three matches in three days.
The American youngster, who is visiting Australia for the first time, secured a place in the main draw after displaying tremendous skills in the eight player tournament hosted by the Life Time Athletic and Tennis in Peachtree Corners.
Seeded third in this tournament, Williams outsmarted the world number 250, Daniel Kosakowski, in the opening round with poise. He carried his momentum in the second round against second seed, Denis Kudla. After stunning the 20-year-old in almost three hours,
the booming American set up a date with top seeded Tim Smyczek. He battled past the world number 128 with a 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 success and eventually won the wild card for Australian Open. Williams lost his track in the second set but remained focused throughout
the battle, eventually carving out the victory in the final showdown against Smyczek.
Unlike his compatriots, Jack Sock and James Blake, the American starlet will now skip the qualifying competition at the Melbourne Grand Slam event.
Williams reflected about his performance in an interview to ATPWorldTour.com,
“It was pretty tough to play three matches in three days with no days off. I had a very physical second-round match with Denis Kudla. It was about three hours long and I had to come back the next day and play another tough opponent, Tim Smyczek, in a best-of-five
set match. I haven’t done that very often, so it was new for me. It was a great tournament and I played really well.”
Before outclassing Smyczek in this tournament, Williams was trailing 0-2 in their head-to-head record. However, he remained focused throughout his encounter and after hammering massive serves and forehands, Williams managed to carve out the victory.
When asked what strategy he changed to outmuscle Smyczek, the 21-year-old commented, “I didn’t change anything to be honest. My forehand and serve were working well for me. I just went after it and fought for every point.”
The world number 190 is focusing on his trip to Australia and is eyeing to bag his first victory in the Grand Slam.
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